Alberta Must Protect Half of Oil Sands Region
February 1, 2010Respected conservation group warns species faces extinction unless government acts
Edmonton -- Alberta must act fast to protect 50% of the oil sands area from industrial use so that wilderness, biodiversity and traditional use can continue into the future.
That is the key advice contained in an open letter from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) to Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach. CPAWS wrote the letter to the premier on the occasion of World Wetlands Day, February 2, and the International Year of Biodiversity.
The province and energy industry have been criticized by leading thinkers and governments for their rush to extract fuel from the oil sands without regard for the environmental costs. Alberta has a chance to prove the critics wrong, says Helene Walsh, Boreal Conservation Director for CPAWS-Northern Alberta’s chapter.
Smart land use planning key to healthy environment, sustainable energy sector
It’s possible and necessary to reconcile the interests of both habitat conservation and the industry in the oil sands area by moving quickly on protection of wildlife habitat through the land use planning process currently underway according to Walsh.
“Since only 40% of the Lower Athabasca region contains commercial oil sands, this should easily be possible,” claims Walsh.
“Due to lack of planning in the past, the decline of woodland caribou in the region is alarming. Woodland caribou is the species that best indicates the health of the Boreal forest, and the science shows they are headed for extinction without immediate improvements in wilderness protection measures.”
Government committee recommends immediate, aggressive action to protect habitat
In April 2009, the government committee responsible for advising on how to restore healthy caribou populations in the oil sands region issued its report: “Boreal caribou will not persist for more than two to four decades without immediate and aggressive management intervention. Tough choices need to be made between the management imperative to recover boreal caribou and plans for ongoing bitumen development and industrial land-use.” (Athabasca Caribou Landscape Management Options Report 2009, Athabasca Landscape Team)
The committee recommended that the province establish large protected and restored areas for caribou through the new planning process under the Alberta’s Land Use Framework.
“Protection of caribou and wildlife habitat, through our new land use planning process, would send a strong message to the entire world that we in Alberta do intend to meet our commitments to sustainable resource development and maintenance of the biodiversity of our province,” writes CPAWs in the letter to Stelmach.
CPAWS also wants the federal government to be aware of potential opportunities for Alberta to improve its image on environmental protection and to prevent the local extinction of a species at risk in the oil sand area.
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Contact:
Helene Walsh, Boreal Conservation Director, CPAWS -Northern Alberta Chapter
780-922- 0908 or 780-432-0967
Comments | Commentaires
Note: Any opinions expressed here, except as specifically noted, are those of the individual commenters and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of CPAWS.I 100% support the need to protect these fragile areas from ongoing rampant and unsustainable oil and gas development. The environmental damage that is occurring truly is a crime. The short term economic benefits of oil sands development should be critically assessed in light of the long term and permanent socio-ecological impacts. These areas cannot and will not ever be reclaimed following extraction. The cost of doing so is prohibitive and the political will to enact legislation is non-existent. The corporate interests will simply walk away from their mess. Environmental reclamation eats into the bottom line of these projects and the clean-up required on this massive scale would eliminate all profits. There is no economic benefit to big oil and gas to reclaim these lands and believe me, these companies are all about turning a profit. I have worked in oil and gas site reclamation (on much smaller scale than the tar sands) and have seen it/lived it/argued it hundreds of times. What you see up there is the legacy that we leave behind. Enough ranting!
I request some clarification as I must be missing something here. It is stated that only 40% of the lower Athabasca contains oil sands development potential (therefore I assume 60% have no development potential). Yet the campaign is requesting 50% of the Lower Athabasca be protected...is this not then allowing 100% of oil sands development to proceed. Therefore, we'll only protect 50% of the 60% area with no development potential. That's a great deal for Big Oil. If this is the case, I think that the campaign should be much more aggressive to restrict activities and protect lands within that 40% of development potential.
I hope that this sparks some much needed discussion.
Reply from CPAWS:
Response from Helene Walsh, CPAWS Northern Alberta's Boreal Campaign Director:
Hi Darrin,
Thanks for your interest in our campaign. We chose over 50% protection as our ask because it has been accepted by many scientists as the amount needed to maintain boreal ecosystems and wildlife. In Alberta, in the oil sands area, it will be very difficult to get even 50% in an area that is mostly already allocated to industry through forestry tenures and petroleum leases. In the detailed ask some of the areas of commercial bitumen will have to be protected because they are currently very important habitat for caribou, and so that does not enable 100% of the oil sands development to proceed.
Best regards,
Helene
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The Oil Sands need to be cleaned up! With all the earth changes happening - eg earthquakes - tornados - hurricanes etc. there needs to be a strong effort to clean up the tailings to protect all life and habitat....
Posted by maureen on February 3, 2010 5:09 PM