Local

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

First Nations people, scientists meet to save caribou

By: Alexandra Paul

Posted: 10/25/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Caribou numbers fell 57 per cent in a decade. (POSTMEDIA NEWS ARCHIVES)

ABORIGINAL people will meet with scientists from North America and northern Europe next week in an effort to identify ways to save the world's threatened caribou herds.

The North American Caribou Workshop has registered 400 environmentalists, aboriginal leaders, government regulators and scientists, twice as many as anticipated, to be held at The Fairmont from Monday to Thursday.

"It is a large conference, larger than we expected at the beginning and people are coming from all over the world," Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie said Friday.

The herds are in crisis, prompting some observers to compare caribou in the 21st century to buffalo in the 19th century.

Study after study is sounding an alarm about the animals that have survived ice ages and planetary shifts for 1.6 million years.

Thirty four of the world's 43 major herds are in serious trouble, with numbers plummeting 57 per cent over the last decade, environment scientists at Yale University warned last month.

So politicians are looking seriously to the summit for guidance in their policy-making.

"What I hope will come out of it is some recommendations for us, on, 'Where do we go from here with respect to protecting caribou,' " Blaikie said.

From Canada, the United States, Norway, Germany and Greenland, aboriginal people and scientists will ponder where caribou can find balance against economic progress and climate change.

Organizers like Micheline Manseau with Parks Canada and the Natural Resource Institute at the University of Manitoba believe the aboriginal perspective is crucial to success.

Traditional aboriginal knowledge is emerging as a complementary force to environment management through land settlements, she said.

In Norway, aboriginal Sami people have a reputation for sustaining reindeer herds and they're sending a representative with a video message to Winnipeg, Manseau said.

In Canada, elders from across the North and their leaders are arriving over the weekend.

"We need to come up with management plans before the interrelated world starts to come apart." former Northwest Territories premier and Dene leader Stephen Kakfwi said.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 25, 2010 A6

(You must be logged in to post your reaction)

Your reaction?

More Local

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.