The Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Catherine McKenna, announced that the Action Plan to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site has been completed and submitted to the World Heritage Centre.
“Thanks to the hard work and commitment of governments and Indigenous peoples, Canada has submitted its Action Plan to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site,” said the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada. “This is an important step to ensure that this unique place will be protected for future generations. Our government’s commitment is real and through collective action with our provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners, we will secure the future of Wood Buffalo.”
The Government of Canada is taking more than 140 actions with partners through its Action Plan, responding to all the recommendations of the World Heritage Centre. The actions related to environmental flows and hydrology include:
- Establishment of a Federal-Provincial-Territorial-Indigenous committee to provide recommendations to governments on hydrology and water management.
- Enhanced modelling of flows on the Peace, Athabasca and Slave Rivers, including identification of areas and conditions where changes to water quantity can support outcomes for ecological and hydrological integrity and the exercise of Aboriginal and treaty rights.
- Enhancement of monitoring indicators of water quantity for Wood Buffalo National Park and the Peace Athabasca Delta to support an adaptive management approach.
- Actions that could enhance spring flooding in the Peace Athabasca Delta and actions to identify strategic short and long-term water management control structures.
- Development of an environmental flows assessment models to improve understanding of localized effects of past, on-going, and projected climate changes to inform future management options.
- Establishment of a knowledge-hub to make the Peace Athabasca Delta information and data from both science and Indigenous knowledge sources more easily accessible.
The Government of Canada worked with Indigenous peoples, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, and the Government of the Northwest Territories to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site.
