Proposed national park in Canada's Nunavat Nears Approval

The Canadian Broadcasting Company says Nunavut's fifth national park is entering the final stages of authorization. An article in the Alaska Dispatch said the effort had taken decades to surmount many impediments. The Qausuittuq National Park will lie in Canada's eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut near the community of Resolute and encompass most of Bathurst Island and a few surrounding islands.

Negotiations for the park were mostly complete about a month ago under the Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement. Parks Canada says the agreement will be signed in 2013.

The story quoted Kevin McNamee, a Parks Canada spokesman, as saying “the park will protect habitat for wildlife like Peary caribou, Arctic wolves and muskoxen as well as the vegetation they need to survive. ‘An important part of this park is (also) to communicate the importance of this land and its wildlife to Inuit culture and the role it has played in sustaining Inuit people in this region,’ he said.”

There are already four national parks in the territory and the goal, under the 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, was to create a park in each distinct ecosystem of the territory.

The park boundaries were in question. “Goadamee Amagoalik, who has represented the community in the negotiations since 2009, said the only opposition community members expressed was over the proposed boundaries. He said some residents thought the park should be named Ajurnarmat, which means ‘can't be helped. There were suggestions that we should call it that because we wanted to have the whole north Bathurst (Island) as a national park but (the) federal government wouldn't want it.’"

Amagoalik “believes Ottawa wants to limit the park boundary because of nearby resources.” But Amagoalik added Resolute residents are happy more jobs and a visitors centre are coming to the hamlet.”

“Parks Canada will be holding public meetings,” the article said, “on ... Nov. 27 in Iqaluit and Nov. 29 in Resolute Bay."

This story was posted on Alaska Dispatch as part of Eye on the Arctic, "a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations."

Indonesia And Korea Sign Memorandum of Understanding To Expand Parks

On November 23, 2012, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and Korea National Park Service “agreed to establish a partnership in increasing National Parkland managerial capacity, both in Indonesia and in Korea.”

The two agreeing agencies, the Indonesian Directorate General and the Korea National Park Service “have similar functions, authorities and responsibilities in managing resource conservation, particularly in National Parkland,” said a Web article published by SYS-CON Media, that focuses on technology.

“In Indonesia, the Directorate General manages 527 units designated as Conservation Area. National Parkland constitutes one of the Conservation Areas that currently has its own individual management unit; given such an advantage, the opportunity to become a barometer of conservation success in Indonesia is high, especially with the support of adequate availability of resources,” the article said.

“The partnership aims to accelerate an increase in the science-based National Parkland managerial capacity, which in turn is effectively managed through the approach of ‘sister parks’ between Indonesia's National Parks and those of Korea.”

The two country’s efforts will initially focus on “Mt. Gede Pangrango National Park (Indonesia) and Jirisan National Park (Korea), which share similar mountain ecology and ecosystem features. Both countries will add other locations that share similar aquatic ecosystem features, with several options, such as Takabonerate National Park, Bunaken National Park, Karimun Jawa National Park, Kepulauan Seribu National Park or Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia, which will be paired with Dodonghaesang National Park (Korea).”