Joan Eamer and Tomasz Wlodarczyk SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd.

Increasingly, a number of domestic and international jurisdictions are recognizing the significance of assessing and understanding the multiple services and values that ecosystems provide. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for the Arctic scoping study completed in 2015 provides guidance on possible pathways for future management of ecosystems and their services in the Arctic. 

This paper will present the overall scope of the TEEB Arctic study and describe the concept of ecosystem services upon which it was based – that is, as a means of making the value of ecosystem functions explicit for policy making and drawing attention to the biodiversity and biophysical processes that provide these functions.  The paper will describe some key recommendations for policy directions regarding the management of development activity in terrestrial ecosystems, with a focus on mineral exploration and development, and cumulative effects.  Specifically, the paper will describe how the following recommendations can assist in planning for change and sustainability in Canada's Arctic.

1. Making wider use of spatial planning and strategic environmental assessment approaches at the scale of ecologically meaningful regions, such as for caribou herd ranges;
2. Incorporating the full spectrum of ecosystem services into environmental impact assessment through guidelines, procedures, methodologies and regulations at all levels for all activities subject to EIA in the Arctic
3. Improving participatory processes; and,
4. Accounting for ecosystem value by making use of financial policy instruments that capture the values of ecosystem services.

Bill Kendrick – Special Projects Coordinator, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Land and Resources Branch & Bill Trerice – Traditional Economy Specialist

The “traditional economy” is a seemingly undefined concept that means more than just hunting, fishing, and trapping.  Building natural capital values was the principle cultural objective and lasting legacy of ancient Northern Aboriginal societies. This is currently not understood well and leads to popular misconceptions about the historic traditional economy. The primary misconception today is a focus on resource harvesting while underestimating the role of stewardship and land use patterns as the means to develop natural capital across the landscape.

The term has implications for First Nations and the Yukon as a whole, and can inspire opportunities for more effective land use planning in the Yukon.  The “traditional economy” and later “renewable economy” areas were being considered as potential land use designations by the Dawson Regional Land Use Planning Commission prior to its hiatus.  While “protected areas” continue to be sought by First Nations and environmental groups as a way to protect the land and water from unplanned industrial development, a “traditional” economy focus has potential for effective stewardship and sustainable economic development.  Further, a “traditional economy” model can also provide tools and guidance to better plan industrial and non-renewable activities like mining within the Yukon landscape and Yukon societal context.

In a quest to have more effective land use planning in our Yukon, this presentation and open discussion should not be missed!