As Arctic melt accelerates, Canada moves to protect ‘The Last Ice Area’

Tuvaijuittuq is set to become one of the world’s biggest conservation areas

IQALUIT, JULY 31, 2019

After months of bad northern climate-change news — Canada’s Arctic warming at three times the global rate, permafrost melting 70 years ahead of predictions, the worst polar wildfire season on record — plans have now moved forward to protect Tuvaijuittuq. Meaning “the ice never melts” in Inuktitut, it’s a globally important area in the Canadian High Arctic almost the size of Germany.

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association, working with the governments of Canada and Nunavut, has led the charge to make Tuvaijuittuq a 322,000 sq. km interim Marine Protected Area with an impact benefit agreement that delivers on their promise of a conservation economy. This will ensure that communities will benefit culturally and economically from protecting this marine area. A five-year feasibility study will then look at permanently protecting it from future threats such as oil and gas development.

Tuvaijuittuq is part of what WWF-Canada coined the Last Ice Area, a polar region above Nunavut and Greenland where scientists project sea ice will persist the longest in the face of a warming world.

Thanks to the thickness of multi-year pack ice and North America’s last remaining ice shelves, it could become a final refuge for sea ice-dependent species like narwhal, polar bear, walrus, seal and beluga as well as the under-ice algae that fuels the entire Arctic food web. The Last Ice Area is a vital climate adaptation effort. But to truly protect Arctic communities and species, Canada and the world must address the cause of our climate crisis — too much carbon in the atmosphere.

WWF-Canada looks forward seeing Tuvaijuittuq join the nearby Tallurutiup Imanga national marine conservation area, formerly known as Lancaster Sound, to create a massive safe habitat for Arctic wildlife and the Inuit communities that they sustain.

WWF-Canada congratulates the Qikiqtani Inuit Association for their vision. This deal will turn Tuvaijuittuq into one of the world’s largest conservation areas while also supporting local food security, infrastructure and employment needs.

Paul Okalik, senior advisor Arctic conservation, WWF-Canada

As the Arctic is warming almost three times faster than our rapidly warming planet, protecting the ‘Last Ice Area’ for communities and sea ice-dependent species has long been a focus of WWF-Canada’s Arctic work, including helping to establish the Tallurutiup Imanga marine protected area. We could not be happier to see progress on offering similar protections in Tuvaijuittuq, a region which will only become increasingly vital locally, nationally and globally as the climate crisis worsens.

Megan Leslie, president and CEO, WWF-Canada

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For further information

Joshua Ostroff, communications specialist, jostroff@wwfcanada.org, +1 416-529-2967

About WWF Canada

WWF-Canada creates solutions to the environmental challenges that matter most for Canadians. We work in places that are unique and ecologically important, so that nature, wildlife and people thrive together. Because we are all wildlife. For more information, visit wwf.ca.

About WWF

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries and territories. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. Visit www.panda.org/news for the latest news and media resources and follow us on Twitter: @WWF_media

About WWF Arctic Programme

WWF’s Arctic Programme coordinates WWF’s work in the Arctic through offices in seven Arctic countries with experts in circumpolar issues like sustainability, governance, climate change, shipping, oil and gas and wildlife. For more information, visit our website at arcticwwf.org and follow us on Twitter: @WWF_Arctic