From the Arctic to Africa

By Heather Robison
December 9, 2011

The Canadian Wildlife Federation was given a warm reception at the United Nations Climate Conference in Durban, South Africa.  It seems the climate was right for this unique opportunity to showcase some of our new northern traditional knowledge videos.

Climate Matters

The climate conference, known as COP17 or the 17th Conference of the Parties, was held from Nov. 28 – Dec. 9 at the Durban International Convention Centre. About 20,000 delegates from around the world attended, including international leaders and non-governmental observers. CWF’s application to host an exhibit the first week of the convention was approved on our theme of Education in Action. This presented an opportunity to showcase five of our new videos from Nunavut featuring local perspectives on the environment as well as the traditional use of nature resources. These vignettes are ultimately intended for educators to use in their classrooms.

Voices of the North

The first two English vignettes in CWF’s Traditional Knowledge series are subtitled Respecting the Environment and Combining Old and New Science. The first French vignette spotlights the group that represents francophones in the territory. The first two Inuktitut videos explore Harvesting the Land and Sea featuring interviews with a local outfitter and the mayor of the fishing hamlet of Pangnirtung. In addition to previewing these videos at the climate conference, CWF presented a slide show of photos from its filming experiences in Nunavut.  We also screened an 18-minute video created by an Alberta educator that attended our summer course in July, 2011. Titled Journey to Baffin, this project is a tribute to the Inuit.

Polarizing Issues

It can be challenging to understand international agreements on climate change. CWF takes a balanced approach. CWF wants to know how climate change could affect wildlife across Canada.

CWF’s focus is conservation and education.  For the last 50 years we have established our leadership and innovation in these areas. In 2009 and 2010 we produced daily video feeds from the climate conferences, focusing on issues not covered in the mainstream media that might be suitable for Canadian teachers to use in their classrooms. Education and water were our main concerns. In 2011, we increased the focus on northern issues in order to draw attention to what you may call polarizing issues. CWF has noticed that all too often the missing element to all the debate about global warming’s impact on Arctic species is the perspective of the people who live there. CWF is in a position to help bring these perspectives forward to national and international audiences. We have education agreements with all the governments of Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Our Below Zero program was developed in partnership with many Northern educators. Our 2011 summer course enabled educators to tour the tundra and learn from those who depend on it for survival. We also engaged filmmakers to develop new videos about the Arctic. Through these and other initiatives, CWF is achieving its goal of expanding educational resources about the north.

Northern Exposure

Through atmospheric transport and ocean currents the Arctic has become a dumping ground for many of the toxins used in societies thousands of miles away. This is impacting northern wildlife and human populations. In other words, what happens in the south does not stay in the south. The environmental impacts are far reaching. It is important to remind the international community that we feel strongly about the north as Canadians and want to work together to leave a legacy of healthy wildlife and habitat.