Canada has the world’s longest coastline and is bordered by three oceans, and Oceans North is raising awareness of the powerful potential of partnerships and environmental stewardship.Supplied
Oceans provide 95 per cent of the world’s habitable space and play a critical role in regulating the global climate. Growing recognition of the significant risks to these ecosystems due to human activity inspires a groundswell of collaborative marine conservation efforts.
Whether providing food or absorbing excess heat and carbon dioxide, the ocean has provided humans with a great “abundance of resources that has allowed us to thrive,” says Louie Porta, executive director, Oceans North, a Canadian charity supporting marine conservation in partnership with Indigenous and coastal communities.
“People increasingly understand why the ocean matters so much, how we have benefited from it in the past, and what we have to do to ensure it continues to provide these valuable services in the future,” he adds. “Here in Canada, which has the world’s longest coastline and is bordered by three oceans, we have a particular responsibility as stewards both for our own country and the global community.”
Global challenges, community-based solutions
Human activity has left an outsized impact on ocean environments, Mr. Porta explains. “We’re seeing changes across the board – in temperatures, circulation, acidity and productivity, in diversity and species migration – and in the ability of our ocean to sequester carbon. And while we all need healthy oceans, the changes are affecting coastal communities that rely on productive waters the most.”
These communities may see more extreme weather events, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, but they also represent a source for solutions, he suggests. “We need to listen to the people who have known how to take care of their homes for generations. Tapping into their energy and wisdom – and that inherent sense of responsibility – is the only way we can have a healthy ocean.”
Firstly, solutions must be co-designed, co-implemented and co-governed with Indigenous communities, says Mr. Porta. “For over a decade, Oceans North has been working in deep partnership with Inuit and First Nations communities to address the unprecedented environmental changes taking place. Our experiences have taught us that to achieve meaningful, durable change, we must advance marine conservation within the context of supporting Indigenous Peoples to be the leading stewards and caretakers of their homelands and waters.”
It is also critical to recognize the important economic and cultural links that coastal communities have to healthy oceans. Working with partners who have a deep understanding of the area and local issues means “you don’t have to convince people why this matters,” he says, “but you do need to find out what can make their lives better, and that discussion often goes beyond conservation.”
Historically, community development – including building schools, hospitals, roads and other amenities – often coincided with projects like mines, forestry licences or oil and gas development, and Mr. Porta suggests conservation initiatives can be leveraged for similar benefits.
“Tallurutiup Imanga, Canada’s largest marine protected area, was established with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association,” he notes. “It is a good example of local communities protecting an environment that is very meaningful to them. The area is at the heart of their own creation story since it is associated with Sedna, the sea goddess in Inuit mythology, who created all marine mammals.”
Not only is the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) rich in biodiversity, it has also been used by Inuit since time immemorial – and community leaders “spent 40 years trying to get the area protected in a way they saw adequate,” recalls Mr. Porta.
Outcomes now show a positive impact on all levels, he says. On the federal level, the NMCA represents a significant contribution towards Canada’s target of protecting 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030. At the local level, the five communities involved were able to build on “their relationship with the sea as something they nourish, and which nourishes them. They also attracted significant investments into local governance, guardianship and science.”
Catalyzing energy, changing outcomes
By bringing together various partners and making sure communities have a voice in the discussion, Oceans North envisions “catalyzing energy and changing outcomes,” he says. But doing so will also require breaking patterns of resource management that follow boom-and-bust cycles.
Examples include the cod collapse in the early 1990s, when the Northern cod population fell to 1 per cent of historical levels due, in large part, to decades of overfishing, technological factors and a lack of understanding of a complex ecosystem. As a result, the once-thriving cod fisheries in the Atlantic northwest all but disappeared, causing approximately 37,000 fishermen and fish plant workers to lose their jobs.
“Since our goal is long-term sustainability, it makes sense to study the environment and create a sustainable management plan early on,” he says. In the Central Arctic Ocean, for example, where commercial fishing has yet to start, countries agreed to a moratorium while science and traditional knowledge was gathered about this relatively untouched ecosystem. “If we want abundant seas that support communities,” says Mr. Porta, “we need to rebuild what we’ve lost while protecting what we have.”
An optimistic outlook
When local partners work with scientists, government representatives and other collaborators, this can help perpetuate best practices “and push everyone to do better,” notes Mr. Porta. “We have to find new answers and perhaps make new mistakes that will ultimately allow us to create better outcomes.”
Despite considerable challenges, he remains “deeply optimistic for two reasons: one philosophical and the other practical.
“When adversity and hope collide, you get positive change,” he says. “While I’m not blind to the big challenges affecting our planet, I know that giving up hope guarantees a negative outcome. When we remain optimistic, we can inspire one another to create a better world for future generations.”
The practical reason results from a groundswell of action, Mr. Porta says. “During my career, I’ve never seen so much energy directed at protecting our environment, our ocean and coastal communities. I’ve never seen more attention paid to these matters by all levels of society.”
These efforts bring together “people who want to make a difference in an innovative and impactful way,” he says. “When we’re able to unlock everyone’s personal responsibility for our planet – and when we see conservation as an opportunity rather than an issue to be managed – we can get some real movement.
“That’s how Canada can play a big role not only in looking after our part of the world but also in contributing to a healthy, biodiverse planet.”
Advertising feature produced by Randall Anthony Communications with Canada’s Clean50. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.