Parks Canada and the International Polar Year
Ecological integrity: a view from the land
Poking for permafrost in Torngat Mountains National Park © Parks Canada / Chantal Ouimet
Parks Canada has established a system of
Parks Canada and the International Polar Year
Ecological integrity: a view from the land
Poking for permafrost in Torngat Mountains National Park © Parks Canada / Chantal Ouimet
Parks Canada has established a system of national parks and national historic sites to protect and celebrate places of natural and cultural significance. This responsibility is built on the principle of ecological integrity, which features the protection of specific natural resources and natural processes that give such places their distinctive character.
The National Parks Act outlines the meaning of ecological integrity, which sets the mandate for Parks Canada. The specific language includes references to existing species and biological communities, while allowing natural processes of change to continue where they are typical of that particular ecosystem. An outstanding example of such change processes is the role of fire in renewing forests. Ecological integrity also includes obvious inhabitants, such as plants and animals, as well as non-living aspects of their environment that contribute to their survival, such as a wetland or geological feature.
This concept was significant in a number of research projects undertaken during 2007 and 2008, a period designated as the International Polar Year (IPY). Throughout the Arctic and Antarctic, thousands of researchers from dozens of countries took part in expeditions dedicated to enhancing our understanding of the changes taking place in these regions. Four of these ambitious multinational initiatives have been mounted over the last 130 years, a concentrated effort that has significantly accelerated progress across a wide range of scientific disciplines.
Parks Canada regarded this latest IPY as an ideal opportunity to consider how to appropriately assess the ecological integrity of the large northern parks and reserves that have been created in the last 35 years. One project in particular, Climate Change Impacts on Canadian Arctic Tundra (CiCAT) brought together researchers studying soil, 