Engaged Youth A Promise for Sustainability: Happy 15th Birthday to Jaragua Summer Camp!

Nature Canada, with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency and working with BirdLife, proudly supports our partner in Hispaniola, Gupo Jaragua, in their work to improve peoples livelihoods and conserve biodiversity and natural resources.

One of the key components of this efforts is the Jaragua Summer Camp, which has been engaging youth on a path to sustainability for 15 years this summer. Join us celebrating Grupo Jaragua's success!

Time to Say NO to the Mackenzie Gas Project

The time has come for the National Energy Board (NEB) to reject the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP). A decision by the NEB on the proposed $16 billion megaproject is expected in the coming weeks.

The Joint Review Panel (JRP) that exhaustively reviewed the social and environmental impacts of the proposed project made 176 recommendations for approving the project so that it could provide a foundation for the sustainable development of the North.

The Governments of Canada and Northwest Territories, even as they claim to accept the majority of the JRP’s recommendations, are in fact rejecting the JRP’s framework for implementing the project sustainably. In their final response, the Governments’ have only accepted 11 of the 115 recommendations directed to them by the JRP and in most cases, they have not addressed the JRP’s objections to the Governments’ proposal for changing the JRP recommendations. (Actually, despite a JRP call for transparency, the interim governments’ response was never made public and the Panel’s response to it was only available on Environment Canada’s website for a limited period of time before being taken down.)

The Panel concluded that “in the absence of implementation of its Recommendations, and in particular those Recommendations directed to the Governments, the adverse impacts of the Project could be significant and its contribution towards sustainability could be negative. In that event, the opportunity for the Project to provide a foundation for a sustainable northern future would be lost.” (Emphasis in the original.)

As we said to the NEB in our 22 November 2010 letter, proceeding with the project without implementing the recommendations of the JRP would compromise a sustainable future for the North. Therefore the project is not in the public interest and the NEB must reject it.

On December 1, 2010 Nature Canada wrote again to the NEB to bring to their attention a recent event that illuminates what the governments’ claims to accept “the intent” of a recommendation might actually mean:

Panel recommendation 11-2 calls for providing areas identified as of high conservation value through the NWT Protected Areas Strategy with interim protection until permanent protection is achieved. The governments accepted “the intent” of this recommendation. How is the Canadian government following through? On October 28, 2010 the government failed to renew crucial interim subsurface protections that had been in place for over eight years on the land beneath Edéhzhíe, leaving the area open to mining claims. Edéhzhíe is one of the most revered sites of the Dehcho and Tłicho Dene communities around western Great Slave Lake, and a candidate National Wildlife Area identified through the NWT Protected Areas Strategy (Step 5) and sponsored by the Canadian Wildlife Service.

This is one of 77 important recommendations for which the governments claim to “accept the intent”. Ten recommendations that are key for the sustainability of the project were rejected.

Sustainability should be the guiding principle for this basin-opening project. It won't be. The NEB should reject the MGP.

Is a Rio 2012 Summit the Answer?

International cooperation over the last 40 years has not quite solved the long list of global environmental problems or made them any less urgent. To put it mildly.

Could going back to Rio for another Earth Summit make a difference?

Maurice Strong and Felix Dodds think so. Find out why.

And what do you think?Share your views with us bellow or at csbert@naturecanada.ca

Mackenzie Gas Project: Final NEB Hearings Start Next Week

After approximately four years, the Mackenzie Gas Project's review is finally coming to an end this month. The National Energy Board will hear final argument from April 12th to 24th in Yellowknife and Inuvik, NWT. The NEB is then expected to make a decision this fall on whether or not to grant approval to the project.

Nature Canada will not appear at the hearings, but we will be following them closely. In addition to the many specific concerns we have about the proposed project, we are concerned by the National Energy Board's reaction to the recommendations made by the Joint Review Panel in its December 2009 report. The Panel made 176 recommendations and concluded that the project could be carried out without a negative impact to the region if all the recommendations were fully impelmented. The NEB comments on the Panel's report addressed only about half of the recommendations, arguing that the rest were not within the Board's jurisdiction, instead of committing to ensure that all of the panel's recommendations are implemented as a package.

In response to the NEB, the Joint Review Panel last week reaffirmed its conclusion the project can only be carried without a negative impact if all the recommendations are fully implemented. The stakes are very high for sustainability, as a new Pembina Institute fact sheet makes clear.

Perhaps the NEB will be convinced at the final hearing to adopt the Panel's approach to sustainability for the Mackenzie Gas Project, if it approves the project. The NEB hearing will be broadcast live on the NEB’s website in Inuvialuktun, Gwich’in, North Slavey, South Slavey, Dene Tha’, English and French. Listen in or stay tuned for an update.

Mackenzie and Suffield: Opportunities for Sustainability?

The Joint Review Panel of the Mackenzie Gas Project spent two years writing a report that optimistically and ambitiously set out the conditions under which the Panel believes the basin-opening project could be the basis for sustainable development in the Mackenzie Valley and Delta.

The report tackles the big picture issues and many of its recommendations aim to mitigate negative cumulative impacts and maintain a high standard of care for future developments. If all the 176 report recommendations were to be fully implemented, perhaps the project could be a positive thing. But the chances for that are looking slim.

The National Energy Board responded last week to the Joint Review Panel's recommendations by rejecting the integrated approach to sustainability the Panel recommended. Despite claiming in November 2009 that it's taking a sustainability approach, the NEB seems inclined to taking a narrow approach to the Mackenzie Gas Project. The NEB can still reconsider after its hearings in April and the federal and territorial governments have yet to respond to the Panel's recommendations, so a commitment to sustainability might still prevail.

Yes, I'm trying to be positive today.

Another place where an opportunity to do the right thing is waiting to be seized is Suffield National Wildlife Area, or perhaps I should say EnCana's headquarters. As readers of this blog are aware, EnCana has applied to drill an additional 1,275 gas wells within Suffield National Wildlife Area. But why does EnCana still want to drill there? In North America, proven reserves of natural gas have increased substantially in the past two years, so the time may be just right for EnCana to abandon further drilling within Suffield National Wildlife Area. Read more here. And stay tuned, we'll continue to report on both energy projects, as well as the Northern Gateway.

Image: CFB Suffield by Cliff Wallis

Success and challenges for our Haiti project

Last fall, we celebrated the reopening of the only school in Formon, a remote community adjacent to one of Haiti's forest remnants and biodiversity hotspots. Fortunately, this area was spared the devastation of the January earthquake. However, the school and the community are now facing challenges to integrate people displaced from areas affected by the earthquake.

Read more about the achievements of this project so far and about how you can help the school in Formon! And stay tuned for updates on this project.