Like it was stated, I am the chair and the CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. I think you have my presentation in front of you as well.
The Inuvialuit, Canada, and the two territorial governments are party to the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, which is a comprehensive land claim agreement that was signed and came into force back in 1984, so we're talking about an agreement that's 32 years old now. It's commonly referred to as the IFA, and it's protected by section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.
Three of the main goals from the IFA in relation to the objective of today's discussion are to preserve the Inuvialuit cultural identity and values within a changing northern society, to enable Inuvialuit to be equal and meaningful participants in the northern and national economy and society, and protect and preserve the Arctic wildlife environment and biological productivity. Although these three goals must work together, this presentation will focus on the IFA provisions and implementation of the last goal, which is part of the parliamentary committee's deliberations today.
With that, to give you some perspective, we've provided a map that shows the area that the IFA applies to within Canada. As you can see it's roughly one million square kilometres in size, and about two thirds of that is ocean. On that map we've also provided some of our private lands, which are referred to as 7(1)a, where we own surface and sub-surface, as well as 7(1)b lands, which are surface only. The three large green areas on the map are also the national parks that we've negotiated with the federal government to have created for various purposes.
I should point out that the Inuvik National Park was also created under the land claim, which was the very first one to be done under a land claim with negotiations between the governments and ourselves.
The next page will show you the range and use by the Inuvialuit people within the ISR, and for the different purposes. This one is showing the harvesting purposes that were used within the region, to give you some perspective as to the use by the Inuvialuit of the area.
The next map will show you, again, the different travelling routes and the land use and occupancy by the Inuvialuit people for other purposes again.
The next map will also show you, again, different purposes of our use of the region. The reason I'm emphasizing some of this is to show you the importance of the land, and the environment, and the ecosystem to the Inuvialuit people, and our continued use of the region through today. So sustainability and the preservation of the ecosystem is very crucial to our identity, our culture, and our well-being because that's where we get the majority of our nutrition.
With that, the next map will also show you the different categories of importance that we've put on the different land and water areas within the Inuvialuit settlement region.
The next one has two images that will provide you with further detail on significant areas where we conduct our harvesting activities.
To provide you with a little bit of detail on the Inuvialuit settlement region, there are four national parks within this area. The land mass that it encompasses is roughly between 55,000 and 60,000 square kilometres. We also have one marine protected area established, and we've been in negotiations and are near the final process to approve another with the federal government as well.
We have major bird sanctuaries within the ISR. We have a territorial park, which is on the Yukon coast, which people continue to utilize and travel over on a regular basis.
We also have one national historic site, recognizing the Inuvialuit contribution to Canadian society.
Along the North Slope, the area on the northern part of the Yukon, as it's referred to, we have the North Slope Wildlife Management Advisory Committee. Within that area, east of the national park, the land is withdrawn under a withdrawal order in the Inuvialuit final agreement, so no development can take place up in that region without our consent. This also applies to the government, if there was a decision to have that area opened up.
I made reference to the conservation plans that each of our communities has established for their harvesting areas, identifying the sensitivity of those areas to wildlife harvesting practices and habitats. This process is a guideline and a tool that can be used for that purpose. It is also a reference for environmental screenings and reviews that might be required within those areas.
I've already pointed out that we have surface and subsurface lands within these areas that we manage through our Inuvialuit Land Administration Commission.
My counterpart under the Inuvialuit Final Agreement is the Inuvialuit Game Council. Under that, the six communities have six hunters and trappers committees that monitor and manage harvesting and the sustainability of the ecosystem within the region.
The Inuvialuit was the first comprehensive land claim agreement to establish environmental and wildlife management boards. These boards have appointed representation from Inuvialuit, Canadian, and the territorial governments, and they are commonly referred to as co-management boards.
As well, we have the Environmental Impact Screening Committee, which screens all development proposals within the Inuvialuit settlement region. No development can proceed without being screened by this committee. The EISC may reject approval of terms and conditions or refer the development to the Inuvialuit Environmental Impact Review Board. The Inuvialuit Environmental Impact Review Board undertakes a comprehensive review of the development proposals referred to it and advises the minister on its findings. Under those two bodies, there's also federal and territorial representation, along with Inuvialuit, and they conduct those activities according to their mandate.
As well, we have a Wildlife Management Advisory Council for the Northwest Territories, which provides wildlife conservation advice to the appropriate ministry within its mandate. There is a similar Wildlife Management Advisory Council for the Yukon North Slope.
From the marine aspect, we have the Fisheries Joint Management Committee, or FJMC, and they provide advice to the federal minister on fish and marine habitat within the Inuvialuit settlement region.
We have a joint secretariat that provides administrative support and services to those co-management bodies I just made reference to.
The Inuvialuit are also concerned with the environment and the impacts on wildlife and beneficiaries, and we have undertaken several initiatives to ensure that the impacts are minimized to the greatest extent possible.
We have a community-based monitoring system to gather harvesting information that also provides us with the indicators of the changing ecosystem as well as predatory species that may be moving into the region, such as pink salmon. We found that they have come to the region en masse over this summer and fall, and this is the first time that's been seen.
We also have social, cultural, and economic indicators to measure the impact of development on beneficiaries. We've provided the website to you. We encourage you to look at it because it is cutting-edge information and a new way that should be looked at for assessing such indicators within different regions in Canada.