Water conservationists are addressing COP16 with a message that Canada’s largest river basin needs protection

A group advocating for the protection of Canada’s largest river basin attended the latest United Nations Biodiversity Conference to raise awareness of the need to protect fresh water.

Keepers of the Water is a coalition of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and environmental groups formed in 2006 out of concerns about water quality in the Mackenzie River, also known as De Cho, which translates to “big river.”

Daniel T’selei, who is Dan from Fort Good Hope, Northwest Region, attended the United Nations conference in Cali, Colombia, on behalf of Keepers of the Water.

“I grew up drinking water straight from there; that’s where my community gets its drinking water from,” he said of the river.

“There are dozens of indigenous peoples who rely on this great river and then on this watershed. It is fundamental to who we are as Dene.”

The river flows from Great Slave Lake north to the Arctic Ocean. Its basin drains 20 percent of Canada’s landmass, spanning three western provinces and two territories, and includes the Peace Athabasca Delta, home to Alberta’s oil sands.

“This watershed is recognized as a globally important area in terms of climate change and mitigation because it intersects with the boreal forest and because of its biodiversity,” T’selei said.

The group is concerned about oil sands tailings discharges flowing into the Peace Athabasca Delta.

In 2023, Environment and Climate Change Canada formed an Indigenous Working Group to examine whether tailings emissions are needed and, if so, develop regulations to address them.

The group includes nine indigenous communities living near or downstream from the oil sands. He published the initial final report their sessions with the involvement of the public.

“Even after treatment, (the water) will have high levels of salinity and naphthenic acid,” T’selei said, which he said threatens fish and, more broadly, could affect biodiversity in the area.

“Releasing these tails even after they have been processed would be a breach of the Fisheries Act.”

If the government amends the Fisheries Act, the group says it could have far-reaching consequences for Canada and beyond.

“This would be an international human rights violation because this water flows from the Athabasca River into the De Cho River … and then into the Arctic Ocean,” said Jesse Cardinal, executive director of Keepers of the Water and a member of Kikino. Métis settlement in Alberta.

An updated report is coming

In an emailed statement, Environment and Climate Change Canada said it is continuing to investigate the matter and will issue an updated report later this year that will include next steps and timelines.

The federal government sent a delegation to this year’s COP16 conference and said it is committed to protecting biodiversity and working with indigenous communities to achieve this.

“Increasing momentum for global biodiversity requires partnerships, especially with indigenous peoples,” Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Stephen Guilbeau, said in a statement.

“Canada looks forward to working with Indigenous Peoples to achieve the historic outcome of COP16 with the establishment of a permanent United Nations body under the Convention on Biological Diversity that further recognizes the role and contribution of Indigenous Peoples to the achievement of global biodiversity goals.”

T’seleie says Canada’s presence at the conference was well received, but he wants to see action.

“For all their good talk here, I think if they don’t actually step up to protect the water that people like us rely on, then their words will be meaningless,” T’selei said.

He worries that when it comes to protecting De Cho, the Alberta government could get in the way.

Cardinal said, “Alberta respects itself as one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the country … and fossil fuel extraction, coal mining, agriculture, pulp mills all require fresh water.

“Water licensing in Alberta needs an overhaul and it needs to take First Nations rights into account; it should look at human rights to water.”

In May, the province established an Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee to review options for safe oil sands mine water management and tailings remediation. The six-member committee includes a former chief of the Fort Mackay First Nation.

A statement from the office of the Minister for the Environment and Protected Areas said it was committed to resolving the issues.

“We have the largest area of ​​protected boreal forest in the world, and we are working on an Alberta-developed conservation strategy to continue to support sustainable conservation,” spokesperson Ryan Fournier wrote.

“Let’s be clear: tailings and oil sands mine water will never be released unless it’s proven to be safe.”