generalspeaking

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Custodial Responsibilities: Wilderness, Animal Species

"The [Peace-Athabasca Delta] depends on recharge of its lakes and basins in order to retain its world heritage value."
"Currently, hydrologic recharge ... is decreasing. Without immediate intervention, this trend will likely continue."
Environment and Climate Change Canada study

"There's literally hundreds of different studies going on with regard to the park or the oilsands or B.C. Hydro."
"All these things are going on independently. No one had put it all together."
"I don't think we have enough studies to pinpoint exactly where they [chemicals] come from. But we do know the types of contaminants that we're measuring are probably similar to contaminants that could be coming from the oilsands."
"My intention was to determine if there was a problem at the park and not to point fingers at who caused it. I think everybody has some kind of effect."
"There probably were periods in the past where it was good, or not so good [involvement of natural cycles]."
"Without a doubt there's something going on."
Don Gorber, consultant, lead author, study

The study looked at 17 measures of environmental health, from river flows to Indigenous use. It concludes 15 are declining.

Precisely what is going on is a marked deterioration in the environment of Canada's largest national park, Wood Buffalo National Park. The study just concluded presented a 561-page report setting out findings which points out that this protected, heritage site has been deliberately and with authorization been infiltrated by industry, dams, and other intrusions and that, added to natural cycles and climate change is inexorably destroying the integrity of the vast delta of the Peace and Athabasca rivers in northeastern Alberta.

The study focused on 17 metrics of environmental health, ranging from river flows to Indigenous use of the protected area, drawing the conclusion that 15 of the 17 are in decline. Decades of research were assessed leading the study to complete the most authoritative assessment on the region yet undertaken ... a region which just happens to be downstream of the largest energy developments in Canada, along with one of its largest hydro dams. Water, it appears, and quite precisely lack of it, is behind the major changes that have occurred in the park.

Ice jams that at one time flooded wetlands in the park no longer take place. Flow of the Peace River has declined by nine percent since the building of the Bennett Dam in British Columbia. And from the Athabasca River, flows have declined a whopping 26 percent. Little wonder there's a stark deficit of water in the park to alter its integrity and threaten its status and all that exists within. That would most certainly include shrinking bison habitat.

Wood Buffalo National Park covers almost 45,000 square kilometres of grasslands, wetlands and waterways — one of the world’s largest inland deltas. (Rob Belanger / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Moreover, invasive species have been replacing native vegetation and migratory birds now avoid areas where they flocked, at one time. Access to traditional territory of Indigenous people -- who depend on boats to arrive at many areas of the park -- is no longer possible. They have the boats but not the waterways to float them upon. Consequently they are shut out of those traditional hunting areas. Trappers who once brought in hundreds of muskrats seasonally no longer can, for the animals, without their habitat intact, have disappeared.

Chemicals similar to what is seen in the oilsands are now concentrating in the park, as a result of lower water levels. As well, heavy metals and toxic hydrocarbons have been identified in bird eggs, while minnows are showing a rise in mercury levels. "It confirms a lot of these threats, the concerns, that are causing the challenges in the delta", said Melody Lepine of the Mikisew Cree whose awareness of the dire situation predated the revelations brought by the study results.

Added to the fact that forestry and agriculture take place upstream, is the added concern of climate change causing drying out in the delta. Leading to migratory birds' flight path being affected. A new unaffiliated study has pointed out that governments the world over are proud of the protected status they give large swaths of land, yet fail to protect those areas, much less place them where they are needed, the end result being political gain and the surrender of responsibility in the vital urgency of custodial duty failing future generations' inheritance of wilderness areas and the animals that inhabit them.