Inuit Leadership Crucial to Protect Oceans

Monday, February 13, 2023 — Real progress on protecting ocean ecosystems requires the full participation of Indigenous Peoples. That message was heard clearly at last week’s Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) in Vancouver, Canada.  

“Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples are the original stewards of the land, waters, and ice and we have a unique role to play in addressing the urgency to protect the oceans,” said Herb Nakimayak, ICC Canada Vice President, International who attended the meeting along with Inuit delegates from Canada and Alaska. 

A keynote speech from Dalee Sambo Dorough, former ICC International Chair brought home the importance of Indigenous knowledge and the internationally acknowledged rights of Indigenous Peoples to govern their lands, waters and ice and the responsibility to fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

There are already many examples of Inuit leadership in protecting the oceans. These include Tallurutiup Imanga  (Lancaster Sound), sometimes called the “Serengeti of the Arctic” for its biological diversity. This area is home to approximately 75 per cent of the world’s narwhal population and its wealth in wildlife is important for the 3,600 Inuit who live in five communities in the region and to those who live in the broader Arctic Archipelago. Inuit are the best stewards of these globally significant marine regions. Inuit know their lands, waters, and ice better than anyone and have the knowledge and skills to protect and conserve their Nunaat—the Inuit circumpolar homeland. 

There is an important lesson here, according to ICC’s International Chair, Sara Olsvig. “Appropriate and sustainable financing to support Inuit and other Indigenous Peoples to govern and steward our lands through our own practices will help protect ecosystems and the species on which our livelihoods depend.”

“We have very different jurisdictions across Inuit Nunaat, but Inuit share our connection to the land and sea, and resources around us. For our culture and identity to thrive, protection of ecosystems, and reversing the degradation of the environment and biodiversity, is essential,” Olsvig elaborated.

Some other examples within Inuit Nunangat of management plans and protected and conserved areas that were highlighted at IMPAC5 include: Imappivut (Nunatsiavut), Ninginganiq (Nunavut), Aviqtuuq (Nunavut), Aqviliit (Nunavik), Anguniaqvia niqiqyuam (Inuvialuit), and Tarium Niryutait (Inuvialuit).

ICC is working hard to push for the implementation of the recommendations of the Pikialasorsuaq Commission, which call for cross-border Inuit-led management of the North Water Polynya between Greenland and Sarvarjuaq in Canada.  

ICC is also an essential partner in the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement. This agreement speaks to the precautionary principle of taking time to understand this ecosystem, while setting a moratorium on commercial fisheries for 14 years in order to do so. Signed by 10 Parties, the agreement requires that Indigenous knowledge be used in the decision making for the future of this high sea region—truly a transformative approach. ICC hopes the same precautionary approach and respect for Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge will be supported in the final meeting this month towards the United Nations agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). 

Indigenous Peoples played a leadership role at the IMPAC5 and their participation showed how transformative change can support Canada’s goal of protecting 30 per cent of oceans by 2030. 

ICC delegates appreciated the dialogues and knowledge sharing with Indigenous Peoples from across Canada and around the world. Inuit shared a great deal of knowledge through multiple sessions from our role at the International Maritime Organization, to Inuit-led conservation across Inuit Nunaat, to the value Indigenous knowledge has to offer the solutions of tomorrow. 

Inuit look forward to supporting Senegal in preparing for and welcoming Inuit to IMPAC6 in 2026.

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