Each
spring, as many as 80 000 cow caribou migrate to the small
core calving grounds located on the coastal plain of the
Refuge. Pregnant cows (who move north before the flush of
early spring forage) are in constant energy deficit during
this period, traveling an average of 20 km per day. They
are striving to reach this narrow coastal plain, located
between the rugged mountains of the Brooks Range and the
Arctic Ocean, which offers the most nutritious forage for
lactating cows and their newborn calves, and has relatively
few predators. The low number
of predators and the frequent cool breeze off the ice
covered Arctic Ocean, which keeps insects at bay, are
just some of the characteristics that make this area worthy
of a two-month-long 1000 km migration for the caribou.
According to Environment Canada biologists, calf survival
is eight to eleven per cent greater for calves born in
the 1002 lands.
Experience with petroleum development
at Prudhoe Bay indicates that calving caribou from the
Central Arctic Herd avoid roads, pipelines and human activity.
Such displacement from preferred calving locations can
translate into a negative energy balance, resulting in
lower calf survival and ultimately, lower productivity
rates for the Porcupine Caribou Herd.
A Way of Life
The Gwich'in people, who live in settlements
spread across the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alaska,
occupy the same lands as the Porcupine caribou herd. They
have relied on this herd for sustenance and their way
of life for millennia. Maintaining the herd is essential
to maintaining the way of life of the Gwich'in people.
The calving grounds have always been held sacred by the
Gwich'in and there has been an understanding within the
Gwich'in community that no disturbance or hunting should
take place in that area. The Gwich'in people have a longstanding
taboo against even visiting the area.
In Canada, the Porcupine Caribou Management
Board, the Gwich'in Steering Committee, and Renewable
Resource Councils in each Gwich'in community have been
working to ensure the long-term survival of the herd.
These native-led and co-management organizations facilitate
research, set and track harvest levels, monitor the health
of the herd, advise governments on management practices,
and lobby for conservation of key caribou habitat.
According to the Porcupine Caribou
Management Board, harvest levels by both native and non-native
hunters continue to stay within the sustainable range
of three to five per cent of the total population. However,
development is expected to cause an increase in disturbance
and displacement of calving caribou, upsetting a delicate
balance and ultimately causing a decline in caribou productivity.
This is why Canada opposes drilling
for oil and gas in the most sensitive portion of the herd's
range. Canada has long encouraged the United States to
provide permanent wilderness protection for the 1002 lands
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
A Changing World
The world is changing before our eyes.
People have altered ecosystems more in the past 50 years
than in any other time in human history. And, the trend
is continuing.
Many ecosystem changes have been essential
to meeting globally growing needs for food and water:
they have helped reduce the proportion of malnourished
people and improve human health. However, ecosystem manipulation
has also caused significant environmental damage and reduced
the Earth's long-term ability to meet essential needs.
The world's poorest people are already
being left behind; continuing to be malnourished, living
with curable diseases and suffering the immediate consequences
of failing ecosystem services.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
The United Nations convened the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
between 2000 and 2005 to review the consequences of ecosystem
change for human well-being and to establish the scientific
basis for necessary improvements to conservation and sustainable
use of ecosystems worldwide. Using knowledge held by the
private sector, scientists, local communities and indigenous
peoples, the assessment's 2000-plus authors and reviewers
synthesized, collated, and evaluated existing research
on ecosystems worldwide.
The assessment focuses on the links
between ecosystems and human well-being and, in particular,
on "ecosystem services." An ecosystem is a dynamic
complex of plant, animal and microorganism communities
and the nonliving environment interacting as a functional
unit. Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain
from ecosystems. These include provisioning services such
as food, water, timber and fiber; regulating services
that affect climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water
quality; cultural services that provide recreational,
aesthetic, and spiritual benefits; and supporting services
such as soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling.
The Past Few Decades
Humans are fundamentally changing the Earth as we know
it. Farmed areas now cover one quarter of the Earth's
landscape. Reservoirs hold three to six times as much
water as natural rivers. And, 20 per cent of coral reefs
have been lost along with 35 per cent of mangrove area.
When it comes to species, all regions of the world are
becoming more and more similar to one another because
of increased travel and shipping of species. At the same
time human activity is causing unprecedented species extinction
so that there are fewer types of species on the planet.
Fast Facts:
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment focuses on "ecosystem
services" and the links between ecosystems and human
well-being.
Between 1960 and 2000, the world population
doubled to 6 billion people and the global economy increased
by more than six times.
Roughly 1.7 million people die annually
as a result of inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Increased incidence of floods and
droughts, and rising sea levels are expected as global
temperatures rise 2.0-6.4 °C.
Industrial fishing has brought on
a 90 per cent reduction in commercial fish in much of
the world. |