Members of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation came together this week to celebrate Canada’s newest Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area.
IPCAs give Indigenous governments a lead role in protecting and conserving ecosystems, through Indigenous knowledge, culture, and laws.
This newest declaration will cover the 1.8 million hectare Taku Watershed, the largest watershed on the Northcoast inaccessible by roads.
Under the IPCA, protected areas account for 60 percent of the watershed, with the remainder made up of specially managed landscapes.
Protected areas can only be used for non-extractive uses, while specially managed areas allow for respectful, clean, mineral extraction which support a low-carbon environment.
According to the Nation, the IPCA supports Tlingit laws and protocols as well as the sustainable and honourable harvesting of resources.
