A sparsely populated region of sub-arctic forests and tundra, the Northwest Territories define remoteness. Few places on Earth have fewer people and more wild, uncharted territory.
Home to more than thirty Aboriginal communities that have lived here for thousands of years, the Northwest Territories is exploring ways to sustainably manage increasing demands for energy and minerals harvested from its remote lands and waters.
Through our work in the Northwest Territories we are helping to create one of the largest protected areas in Canada and a precedent-setting model for co-management between First Nations, federal and territorial governments. Thaidene Nene, or “Land of the Ancestors," is a 6.5-million-acre area that sits within the transition zone between Canada’s Boreal Forest and Arctic tundra. It's an extraordinarily rich habitat for grizzly bears, wolves, birds and fish, and some of the world’s last free-ranging herds of barren-ground caribou. The canyons, rivers and waterfalls are also culturally sacred for Lutsel K’e, holding ancient wisdom and providing sustenance in accordance with their traditional practices.