Lesson 3: Economy vs Environment

There are 15 caribou herds in Alberta that roam over approximately 23% of the province; all but four of them are in decline.  The federal government recognized the decline of the caribou population in Canada's Boreal forest, so in 2012 it requested that all provinces with a caribou population develop a plan to achieve caribou recovery and conservation.  Alberta has committed more than $85 million dollars, over five years, to protect the Woodland Caribou, although its recovery plan is set to be released in early 2018.

If Alberta doesn't meet the caribou recovery plan deadline, the federal government can file an environment protection order under the Species at Risk Act. This order could freeze all development that is considered harmful to the Woodland Caribou; this would include the oil and gas industry.

Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said, "With the mounting risk of an emergency protection order, the province is torn between the environment and the economy."

  To read the full draft of Alberta's Woodland Caribou Range Plan, to restore herds and habitat, click here.

Dr. David Suzuki, an environmentalist,  is well known for his career as a broadcaster (The Nature of Things), and found of the David Suzuki Foundation.

      Click here to watch an episode of The Nature of Things,
               called Billion Dollar Caribou.

                  

                  Caribou Protection and Recovery

                   Caribou Protection & Recovery from OSLI on Vimeo.

                    If the above video will not play,
                    click here to view Caribou Protection and Recovery.