18/04/2024
This week our marine protected area Gitdisdzu Lugyeks was honoured with the prestigious international Blue Park Award at the international Our Ocean Conference in Athens, Greece—making it the very first Blue Park in Canada.
The Blue Park Award is a designation given to marine protected areas that meet the highest standards of conservation effectiveness in their implementation and management based on a rigorous vetting process by international scientists.
“Being a part of the work establishing Gitdisdzu Lugyeks, for me, is being a part of a legacy that was started by some of my own late and present grandfathers,” says Kitasoo Xai'xais Community Marine Use Coordinator Santana Edgar. “Being a part of what they started and helping accomplish the goals they set is almost indescribable."
"The management plan for Gitdisdzu Lugyeks combines our traditional knowledge and responsibilities with western science in a way that protects ecosystems and human livelihoods, and we’re grateful that this award recognizes the strength in that combination," says elected chief councillor Douglas Neasloss.
We hope this offers a symbol to other indigenous communities, to the Canadian government, and to the world, of the strength of indigenous protected areas and the leadership we can offer in the UN Ocean Decade. Thank you to the Marine Conservation Institute for this major recognition of our work.
UN Environment Programme Indigenous Leadership Initiative Convention on Biological Diversity
