(Photo Supplied: A shot from the MCFN video that shows the band’s concerns regarding Wood Buffalo National Park. July 2, 2015. Mark Gustafson/VIMEO).
The Mikisew Cree First Nation is gaining ground in its fight for Wood Buffalo National Park. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is asking Canada to invite researchers into the region so they can study how nearby developments are impacting the park.
“We are deeply concerned about the existing impact of industrial activity and climate change on the Wood Buffalo National Park and the new threats posed by megaprojects upstream of the Peace-Athabasca Delta. We thank the World Heritage Committee for taking Mikisew’s concerns seriously in today’s decision” says Chief Steve Courtoreille in a news release.
Last December, the band started a petition to designate the park as a World Heritage Site In Danger. The committee reviewed the request and made recommendations during a decision in Bonn, Germany yesterday.
“We have been stunned by the support we have received in Bonn from members of the international community,” said MCFN’s Melody Lepine, who lead the delegation in Bonn. “We look forward to assisting the joint UNESCO/IUCN field mission as it investigates the threats facing Wood Buffalo National Park and the Peace Athabasca Delta in the coming months.”
UNESCO is also asking Canada not to take any decision related to development projects that would be difficult to reverse. The park was placed on the Natural World Heritage List in 1983 because it has the largest freshwater boreal delta in the world. But the band says developments are reducing the flow of water to the delta and affecting fish populations and migratory birds in the region.
