By: Lateisha Ugwuegbula

The Inuvialuit Final Agreement is a land claim agreement between the Inuvialuit of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (represented by the Committee for Original Peoples’ Entitlement) and the Government of Canada. We took time to read through the agreement, among others, to search for provisions that had either strong or weak links to any of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Here is one example:

The Inuvialuit Final Agreement contains an Annex regarding the Porcupine Caribou Management Agreement that mentions that “the continued well-being of the Porcupine Caribou Herd and the maintenance of its habitat require coordinated management, good will and cooperation between Governments and the traditional users of these caribou;” where ‘Conservation’ means the management and use of Porcupine Caribou and its habitat which best ensures the long-term productivity and usefulness of the Herd for present and future generations.”

This provision specifically outlines the terms of conservation and calls for the use of best practices in order to preserve Porcupine Caribou and its habitat for future generations. This relates directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land, and specifically, target 15.5 which states that we must “take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species”

In terms of SDG 15.5 it works to prevent and protect the extinction of threatened species and halt any potential biodiversity loss, including habitat. This provision defines habitat as “the whole or any part of the biosphere upon which the Porcupine Caribou Herd depends, including all of the land, water and air that it inhabits, crosses or utilizes at any time”. It recognizes the importance of sustainable management as well as good will and coordination between all governments and traditional users of the Caribou. The Porcupine Caribou Management Agreement puts in the Government of Canada, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, the Council for Yukon Indians, the Inuvialuit Game Council, and the Dene Nation and the Metis Association of the Northwest Territories in cooperation with each other to protect the continued well-being of the Porcupine Caribou herd. This is important as historically relations between governments have been hostile and uncooperative; this shows progress and increased recognition of the authority of First Nations communities and governments, and the importance of governmental partnerships for the successful completion of the goals.