Arctic Species Conservation Fund
The Arctic Species Conservation Fund supports research and stewardship actions, safeguarding some of Canada’s most emblematic species.
The Arctic Species Conservation Fund supports research and stewardship actions, safeguarding some of Canada’s most emblematic species.
The Arctic Species Conservation Fund supports high-quality stewardship and research initiatives focused on wildlife and habitats in the Canadian Arctic. WWF-Canada relies on partnerships with Indigenous organizations and the best available information to jointly advocate for effective Arctic conservation policies and legislation. Established in 2016, the ASCF is proud to support applied conservation initiatives that focus on Arctic wildlife including Atlantic walrus, barren-ground caribou, beluga whales, bowhead whales, narwhal, polar bears, and ringed seals.
Since the Arctic Species Conservation Fund began in 2016, more than 70 projects have been supported across Canada’s Arctic. Results from these projects include:
Applicants from all backgrounds (community groups, Hunters and Trappers Organizations, governments, universities, independent researchers, non-government organizations, etc.) and fields of study (Indigenous Knowledge (IK), Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ), natural sciences, social sciences, etc.) are eligible to apply.
The types of projects the fund seeks to support include:
Applications should be submitted in PDF format to [email protected]. For full fund criteria, please refer to the 2023 call for proposals available in English, Inuktitut and French.
A three-year project building upon existing data obtained from satellite tags will assist in a unique opportunity to combine movement and acoustic data to provide a detailed three-dimensional portrayal of how bowhead whales respond to underwater human-made noise. This project is strategically situated in an area slated for major shipping traffic in the future and will provide an invaluable tool in managing the anticipated impacts related to planned mining activities in the region.
Project partners – Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Mitacs, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Igloolik Hunters and Trappers Organization
In this project’s third and final year, this research continues analyzing decades of narwhal movement data to determine migration routes and important stopover habitats. Additionally, the work looks at how a warming climate and increased ship presence is affecting the whales. As it wraps up, this work will be applied to ongoing environmental review processes and protected area planning in the Baffin Bay region, home to 90 per cent of the world’s narwhal.
Project partners – University of Windsor, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mitacs
Increasing impacts of climate change at the southern extent of the polar bear range inform this project aimed at reducing human-polar bear conflict in southern Hudson Bay. With researchers working alongside northern Ontario communities to document their priorities and inform future conservation, this project will contribute to broader regional management efforts as well as develop and strengthen knowledge sharing and implementation efforts for the recently announced Mushkegowuk National Marine Conservation Area.
Project partners – York University, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Polar Bears International, POLAR Knowledge Canada
WWF continues its partnership with the Issatik Hunters & Trappers Organization in Whale Cove, Nunavut in an effort to reduce human-polar bear conflict in the community. As climate change continues to negatively affect the fragile ecological systems in western Hudson Bay, both bears and humans find themselves in dangerous situations more frequently than ever before. Under the direction of the Issatik HTO, the bear monitors and youth support worker work diligently to keep the community safe and document their observations of the drivers of polar bear behaviour.
Project partners – Issatik Hunters & Trappers Organization, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated
WWF is a longtime partner of the world’s most comprehensive telemetry study of polar bears, which occurs in the Churchill, Manitoba region. This year, the project continues focusing on the movements of polar bears that have caused problems in Churchill to better understand which types of bears are prone to conflict. This work will inform planning to minimize polar-bear human conflict and increase community safety.
Project partners – University of Alberta, Government of Manitoba Department of Conservation and Climate, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Nunavut Department of Environment
This community-led research will document walrus reactions to disturbance such as passing ships, which have been shown to cause walrus to abandon their preferred haulout habitat. Working in collaboration with research technicians from Sanirajak, Nunavut, researchers will deploy tags on walrus to track their movements. Paired with camera traps at walrus haulouts, this combined data will deliver a better understanding of habitat use at different times of the day and how walrus are reacting to increasing ship traffic in the Canadian Arctic.
Project partners – Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sanirajak Hunters and Trappers Organization
Researchers and harvesters will work together to develop a gold-standard monitoring plan informed by local knowledge to examine the effects of industrial shipping on seals. This is a direct response to what was seen by the community of Pond Inlet, Nunavut as an inadequate plan by a mining company to properly address the protection of the vitally important ringed seal during their marine shipping season. This project speaks to the importance of partnerships between researchers and land users to serve the interests of northerners and ensure that the voices of local communities are heard during project monitoring and evaluation.
Project partners – LGL Limited, Mittimatalik Hunters & Trappers Organization
Last year, researchers looked for evidence of microplastics in walrus stomach samples obtained from five different Nunavut community harvests. The initial findings prompted further analysis of blubber and livers from the same walruses to determine the presence of plastic-related and plastic-derived contaminants. The results will help inform Nunavut communities about long-standing concerns around contamination of traditional food sources.
Project partners – Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Carleton University, Gamberg Consulting, Amaruq Hunters and Trappers Organization
Expanding on their existing wildlife monitoring plan of the Agnico Eagle Meadowbank mine all-weather road, the Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Organization have created an opportunity for a local young person to gain valuable work experience in the environmental field while contributing to a better understanding of the impacts of the road on local wildlife, specifically barren-ground caribou. The Youth Wildlife Monitor will work alongside experienced wildlife monitors during patrols, collecting and reporting environmental information that will inform ongoing environmental assessments and mine operations.
Project partners – Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Organization
The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB) is interjurisdictional co-management board that works tirelessly to safeguard the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq barren-ground caribou herds, and to ensure the long-term conservation of these herds for the people who depend on them. A vocal advocate for caribou conservation and calving ground protections, WWF-Canada is proud to support the BQCMB with a grant this year as they undergo the development of a new 10-year plan to guide the actions of the board into the future.
Project partners – Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board
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