Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to update the people of the Northwest Territories and our Protected Areas Strategy partners on the implementation of the NWT Protected Areas Strategy.
The Protected Areas Strategy was established in 1999 as an overall framework to guide the work of identifying and establishing protected areas in the Northwest Territories. It was developed in partnership by regional Aboriginal organizations, the federal and territorial governments, environmental non-governmental organizations and industry.
A substantial amount of work has been done under the Strategy. Saoyú-ʔehdacho (Deline) was established as a National Historic Site in April 2009 and several other areas have been advanced for protection. These include Edehzhie, or the Horn Plateau, and Ts'ude niline Tu'eyeta as candidate National Wildlife Areas.
We recognize and appreciate the significant work undertaken during the past 13 years by all PAS partners, including communities, Aboriginal organizations, working groups, the steering committee and the secretariat. Work conducted through the Protected Areas Strategy has contributed to a greater understanding of the ecological, cultural and potential economic values of lands across the NWT.
The Protected Areas Strategy has provided our government and Aboriginal governments with a strong foundation for the management and conservation of lands as we prepare to take on the administration of lands in 2014.
Mr. Speaker, the work is not done. As we move forward we will need to continue to work with our Protected Areas Strategy partners to ensure we can make informed decisions on the establishment of protected areas. We will continue to support the completion of working group reports and the extension of interim land withdrawals for candidate areas to ensure this level of certainty remains until final decisions are made after devolution. We will also continue to advance the establishment of core representative areas within each ecoregion of the Northwest Territories.
The NWT Land Use and Sustainability Framework will set out the principles guiding future GNWT policy direction on land matters. Land use planning and the development of new, and use of existing, northern tools for protected areas are key features of this framework, which will be completed on a priority basis.
Mr. Speaker, working with our partners will ensure sustainability and stewardship of our land and resources. Thank you.