State of Conservation (SOC)

The Bureau recalled that the Committee, at its last session, expressed serious concerns regarding the infection of the remaining 3,200 bison in the Park by bucellosis and tuberculosis, as well as with logging operations. The Bureau was informed of a longer term threat to the integrity of the site caused by activities upstream along the Peace/Athabasca Rivers, which include the expansion of pulp mills, logging operations and dam construction resulting in water pollution and loss of water quality, changes in the flooding regime and the gradual drying-up of the Athabasca Delta. The Bureau noted that the large surface area is no longer an adequate basis to ensure the long-term integrity of the Wood Buffalo National Park, and similar World Heritage sites such as Yellowstone (USA), Serengeti (Tanzania) and Banc d'Arguin (Mauritania), and that an ecosystem management approach taking into account activities outside the Park would be required.

After listening to the detailed response of the Delegate of Canada (see paragraphs 32 and 33 of the Rapporteur's Report of the fifteenth session of the Bureau, i.e. Document SC­91/CONF.002/2) the Bureau acknowledged that the Canadian Government was taking appropriate measures to preserve the integrity of this Park. The Bureau requested the Canadian authorities to make special efforts, both within the Park and throughout the entire drainage basin, in order to retain and restore the integrity on the types and nature of technologies which are currently used for mitigating negative impacts on the Peace and Athabasca Rivers due to development activities. The Bureau agreed with the IUCN report that the Wood Buffalo National Park will, in many ways, be a test case for conservation of large, remote reserves and could provide lessons applicable elsewhere.

The observations and recommendations of the Bureau were transmitted to the Canadian authorities by letter of 12 August 1991. In response, the Canadian authorities have transmitted, by letter of 10 October 1991 and attachments, detailed information on the following:

a)       the membership, roles and responsibilities, and terms of reference of a Northern Bison Management Board (NBMB) that was set up in June 1991 to develop a plan for the management of bison in the Wood Buffalo National Park by the end of 1992;

b)       the types of environmental impact studies that have been carried out and administrative mechanisms that have been set up for the Biological Monitoring of the Peace and Athabasca Rivers, and