VANCOUVER, BC, June 25,
2024 /CNW/ - Coastal First Nations - Great Bear
Initiative,
Na̲nwak̲olas
Council, and Coast Funds, along with the federal and provincial
governments and philanthropic investors,
are celebrating the closing of the Great Bear Sea Project Finance
for Permanence (PFP) initiative. The
Great Bear Sea PFP, led by 17 participating First Nations, launches
a new era of collaborative governance in marine conservation and
stewardship. A total of $335 million
for the PFP —$200 million from the Government of Canada, $60
million from the Province of BC, and $75 million from philanthropic investors —
ensures our communities will now have access to durable, long-term
funding to care for our marine territories and support sustainable
economic development on the coast.
First Nations across the North Pacific Coast/Great Bear
Sea have cared for and governed these lands and waters since time
immemorial. The Great Bear Sea (also known as the Northern Shelf
Bioregion) extends from northern Vancouver Island to the
Canada-Alaska border. The region is one of the
richest and most productive cold-water marine ecoregions on Earth,
home to marine life from herring and salmon to whales, dolphins,
seabirds, and kelp forests. Stewarded and cared for by our Nations
for tens of thousands of years, the Great Bear Sea is a source of
sustenance, culture, and livelihoods for all who call the coast
home.
"Almost 18 years ago, we announced the completion of a new
conservation finance model for the Great Bear Rainforest, which is
recognized as a world-leading success. We protected vast areas of
ancient temperate rainforests, created nearly 1,300 jobs, launched
over 130 new businesses, and raised household incomes across the
region. And we were just getting started," said Dallas Smith, President of
Na̲nwak̲olas
Council. "Our intent was always to protect land and sea.
Today, we have followed through on this commitment to our
ancestors, our Elders, our communities, and our future generations.
The Great Bear Sea PFP is the model we need to protect
marine ecosystems and restore biodiversity, all while supporting
prosperous economies and healthy communities."
PFPs are a proven tool for conservation finance that blend
public and private investment to deliver long-term conservation and
economic benefits. This investment will help protect
important marine ecosystems while creating thousands of new jobs
and supporting healthy communities over the coming
decades.
The Great Bear Sea PFP will provide ongoing funding for
the collaborative implementation of both the Marine Protected Area
(MPA) Network Action Plan and the Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP).
These two initiatives represent over a decade of work between our
Nations, Canada, and British Columbia. Along with local governments
and stakeholders from commercial fishing, tourism, energy, and
other sectors, these initiatives have yielded multi-use marine
plans along with a proposed network of marine protected areas that
combines existing and potential new MPAs for an anticipated total
of approximately three million hectares or 30 per cent of the Great
Bear Sea. These co-developed plans will support healthy fisheries,
protect and conserve ecosystems and important cultural sites,
enable sustainable marine economies, improve food security, and
increase coastal resilience.
"We believe that if we take care of the land, the land
will take care of us, and if we take care of the ocean, the ocean
will take care of us. These are our breadbaskets," said
K̓áwáziɫ
(Marilyn Slett), President of
Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative. "The Marine
Protected Area Network is designed to protect and conserve these
important resources from a place of co-governance that honours our
expertise and our jurisdiction over our territories. Together, we
have created a model that will support the conservation goals the
world needs – protecting locally and globally significant
ecosystems and species – and ensuring our communities have the
resources, training and equipment for durable and collaborative
management."
Coast Funds, the world's first Indigenous-led conservation
finance organization, will manage these funds on behalf of the
participating First Nations. Over the next 20 years, Coast
Funds expects the PFP will support more than 3,000 new
jobs and 200 new businesses in marine stewardship, transportation
and renewable energy, sustainable fisheries, eco-cultural tourism,
and manufacturing and processing.
"With today's announcement, First Nations are extending a
successful model of collaborative stewardship, backed by durable
conservation financing, from the rainforest to the sea," says
Eddy Adra, CEO, Coast Funds. "We
look forward to continue working closely with First Nations,
supporting them to invest in their community prosperity and marine
stewardship programs which, in turn, will strengthen coastal
communities and economies."
By working together with our philanthropic investors, both
in Canada and across the world,
our Nations recognize that we have created the model we need to
ensure the viability of our coast for generations to
come.
"Today we celebrate the future of the Great Bear Sea and
the people who depend on it — with a new co-governance model
designed by First Nations and backed by large-scale financing that
will create sustainability and prosperity across this region," said
Hadley Archer, Executive Director,
Nature United. "Nature United is proud to have supported all of the
governance partners towards this historic milestone, which
demonstrates the power and potential of Indigenous-led,
collaborative conservation. This is the model we need to replicate
across Canada to tackle the dual
biodiversity and climate crises while supporting resilient
communities and economies."
The 17 First Nations participating in the Great Bear Sea
PFP are the Haida Nation, Gitga'at First Nation, Gitxaała Nation,
Haisla Nation, Kitselas First Nation, Kitsumkalum First Nation,
Metlakatla First Nation, Heiltsuk Nation, Kitasoo Xai'xais Nation,
Nuxalk Nation, Wuikinuxv Nation, Da'naxda'xw Nation,
K'ómoks First Nation, Kwiakah First Nation,
Mamalilikulla First Nation, Tlowitsis Nation, and Wei Wai Kum First Nation.
Associated links:
Tripartite News Release
Our Great Bear Sea:
ourgreatbearsea.ca
Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative:
coastalfirstnations.ca
Na̲nwak̲olas
Council: nanwakolascouncil.com
Coast Funds: coastfunds.ca
MPA Network: mpanetwork.ca
SOURCE Nanwakolas Council