5 Boreal Brights Spots in 2024
December 26, 2024
The Boreal Forest in Canada is the largest intact forest left on the planet, sustaining an abundance of animal and plant life and offering a shield in the fight against climate change. This year, Indigenous Nations who call the boreal home continued to lead in ensuring boreal lands and waters remain healthy. Thanks to several Indigenous-led breakthroughs, vast areas of the boreal are on track to be sustained and conserved far into the future.
Here are some highlights in boreal conservation from 2024:
1. Groundbreaking Agreement Will Support Conservation & Stewardship across NWT
On November 14, representatives of 22 Indigenous Governments, the Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, and private donors gathered to celebrate an historic agreement that will fund Indigenous-led conservation, stewardship, and economic development across the Northwest Territories. The initiative will be one of the largest Indigenous-led land conservation initiatives in the world.
The agreement will enable $375 million to support a range of Indigenous-led activities, including the creation of new protected and conserved areas, more Indigenous Guardians programs to steward lands and waters, climate monitoring and community resilience, and on-the-land cultural revitalization programs. Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said the initiative “will enable Indigenous Governments to create and protect sacred paradises our forefathers have long cherished since the beginning of time.”
2. Interim Protections for 50,000 Sq Km Indigenous Protected Area
The Seal River Watershed in northern Manitoba is one of the largest intact watersheds in the world. Spanning 50,000 square kilometres—nearly the size of Nova Scotia—of boreal forest and barren lands, it has no permanent roads, mines, or hydro developments. It is home to polar bears, beluga whales, and nearly 200,000 caribou, and its wetlands and peatlands store 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon—equivalent to about 8 years’ worth of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The Sayisi Dene First Nation, Northlands Dene Nation, Barren Lands First Nation, and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation are working to permanently protect the watershed as an Indigenous Protected Area. They reached a major milestone on January 18, 2024. They signed an agreement with the Government of Canada and the Manitoba Government providing interim protections for the watershed while they study the feasibility of establishing a protected area. “We want to protect the land not just for the First Nations but for all Manitobans and all Canadians,” said Chief Michael Sewap of Barren Lands First Nation.
3. More than 200 Indigenous Guardians Care for Lands Across the Country
The number of Indigenous Guardians keeps growing! Guardians are trained experts who test water quality, help respond to climate impacts like wildfire and flooding, manage protected areas, and support language revitalization and cultural programs. Some Guardians programs operate in temperate rain forests and lands around southern cities, but many Guardians care for vast stretches of boreal forest where they are often the only boots on the ground in remote northern areas.
On September 27, 2024, the First Nations National Guardians Network (NGN) announced funding for 18 new and 62 existing Guardians programs. This is the first round of Guardians investments fully administered by the NGN—the first Indigenous-led national stewardship network in the world. “Guardians are stewards of the land and caretakers of culture,” said NGN Executive Director Gaunce. Now there are over 200 of these programs across the country.
4. In the Yukon, an Area Larger than Vancouver Island Moves Closer to Conservation
On December 6, 2024, the Ross River Dena Council signed an agreement with Canada and the Yukon to explore opportunities for protecting lands in the Ross River area, including considerations for a national park reserve and an Indigenous Conserved and Protected Area (IPCA). The area is known as Tū Łī́dlini, which means “where the rivers meet” in the Kaska language, and stretches 40,902 sq km from the Pelly River floor to the towering Selwyn-Mackenzie Mountains.
The Ross River Dena Council is leading the initiative with support from Elders and endorsed by the Ross River Dena community through a General Assembly Resolution. It reflects a shared vision of revitalizing Dena culture, addressing the decline of caribou and salmon, and providing economic opportunities through a green economy. Chief Dylan Loblaw said the declaration reflects “Indigenous laws and will help ensure our rights, interests and values are properly respected in this important area.”
5. Indigenous Nations Increase Fire Response and Stewardship
This year was Canada’s second worst fire season in two decades. While the boreal is a fire dependent landscape, supercharged crown fires have grown more destructive as a result of climate change and forest management practices. Indigenous Nations are often on the frontlines of these devastating fires. They are also at the forefront of solutions in fire stewardship.
Many Indigenous Nations are restoring cultural burn practices that have been proven to restore forest health and reduce the risk of out-of-control fires. And many Indigenous Nations are engaging in fire response on their territories. In June, for instance, fire crept dangerously close to Fort Good Hope, NWT, but the K’asho Got’ıne Foundation Guardians were ready. They joined the fire line using training they received from Yukon First Nations Wildfire, and they helped local Indigenous firefighters save the town. They also evacuated over 100 community members to the safety of a nearby fish camp.
“The Guardians give me hope,” said Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson, Policy Advisor for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative. “ It’s where I see the future of fire. The solutions are local; they will come from where people know their land.”