The Miawpukek First Nation is located on the finish of the gorgeous Baie d’Espoir fjord at Conne River on the south coast of Newfoundland—the place inexperienced forested hills meet the ocean. Throughout hotter months, the morning air is filled with songs from Black-capped Chickadees, Swainson’s Thrush, White-throated Sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, and Black-and-white Warblers. The afternoons are alive with the sound of gulls and kittiwakes. Larger Yellowlegs dot the shoreline throughout low tide. Bald Eagles will be discovered on twisted branches on the fringe of the forest or hovering overhead. In different phrases, this place is teeming with birds in addition to different wildlife.
The folks listed below are engaged on two initiatives to guard these vibrant lands and waters—the self-declared Little River Indigenous Protected and Conserved Space (IPCA) and the South Coast Fjords Nationwide Marine Conserved Space (NMCA). Establishing these protections will assist to make sure these important ecosystems stay wholesome for generations to come back.
In 2024, the Miawpukek First Nation introduced the institution of the Little River IPCA as a solution to protect the cultural and historic significance of the area for conventional harvesting in addition to to preserve the ecological values of the river and surrounding lands. IPCAs are a conservation instrument that shield nature and cultural values, whereas elevating the rights and tasks of Indigenous communities. They are often self-declared by the First Nation or co-established with the provincial or territorial authorities. The Little River IPCA is a self-declared Indigenous Protected and Conserved Space.
In 2023, Miawpukek First Nation and Qalipu First Nation signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the provincial and federal governments to steer a feasibility research on creating a brand new Nationwide Marine Conservation Space to guard the South Coast Fjords. The initiative is presently within the feasibility evaluation part of the multi-step course of and has already confronted some vital challenges. The unique proposed measurement of the conserved space when the settlement (MOU) was first signed was 9,000 sq. kilometers. Nonetheless, in February of 2025 the federal authorities lowered the scale to six,538 sq. kilometers, altering the boundaries to deal with issues from the fisheries business.
The method of creating an NMCA generally is a lengthy and arduous journey, however historical past exhibits that the Mi’kmaq individuals are used to overcoming hardships relating to what’s greatest for his or her group. There’s a nice documentary entitled Forgotten Warriors that tells the story of how in 1983 9 Mi’kmaq activists fought for his or her group and located justice for his or her households. The results of these males’s heroic actions set the group on a path from being an impoverished and remoted group with nearly 90% unemployment within the Eighties to changing into the sturdy and vibrant group with almost one hundred pc employment that it’s at the moment.
Participating the youth of the group is a key precedence and likewise a necessary a part of long-term planning for each the NMCA and IPCA. Passing on conventional information and growing western science, forestry, and maritime abilities at an early age helps to pique curiosity in future job alternatives related to the protected areas, preserving the administration of lands and waters inside the group for years to come back.
One academic program includes sea expeditions aboard the Polar Prince, a retired Coast Guard icebreaking vessel owned by the Miawpukek First Nation. Aboard, youth and younger adults be taught all facets of engaged on a ship, in addition to about marine biology, sea tourism, pictures, and ornithology from Universities and NGOs, together with Audubon.
For the Miawpukek First Nation, group engagement is just not restricted to their youth. Adults in the neighborhood who’ve frolicked out on the land are being requested to help the Little River IPCA by sharing their information by way of interviews. Members are requested to determine the biologically wealthy places the place they hunt and fish, in addition to report any modifications they’ve noticed on the land through the years. This data is getting used to replace maps that have been created from interviews again in 2006–2007. The maps are then in a position to inform land administration selections and help their conservation initiatives for years to come back.
