A FRAMEWORK FOR BLUE CARBON IN CANADA’S ARCTIC COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS

Aquatic ecosystems from the sediments through the water column, and in the Arctic, to the ice and snow perform these essential functions by pulling carbon from the atmosphere, in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2), to utilize and store. [...] In addition to the nascency of the concept in many circles and the transboundary nature of blue carbon ecosystems, the exploration of the tools applicable to Canada’s Arctic requires inquiry into the intergovernmental, legislative and policy frameworks of 15 variously overlapping jurisdictions. [...] From northwest to northeast, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut comprise the four Inuit regions of Inuit Nunangat recognized through the five Inuit-Crown treaties negotiated between 1975 and 2005: the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, the Nunavut Agreement, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, the Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement and the Labrador Inuit Land Cla. [...] A complicating factor in the jurisdictional analysis and in the design of a blue carbon sequestration framework is the marine- terrestrial divide between the federal government and the provinces and territories. [...] In the marine realm, biodiversity tends to be high in the vicinity of the Arctic gateways from the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans.39 The functional significance of different groups of organisms in maintaining the integrity, structure, services, and health of Arctic ecosystems, however, is generally greatest among those we understand least.