Agreement Between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America on the Conservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd.

The objectives of the present Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America are: 1) to conserve the Porcupine Caribou Herd and its habitat through international cooperation and coordination so that the risk of irreversible damage or long-term adverse effects as a result of use of caribou or their habitat is minimized; 2) to ensure opportunities for customary and traditional uses of the herd by rural Alaska residents, Yukon and Northwest Territories, Native users as defined by sections A8 and A9 of the Porcupine Caribou Management Agreement (1985); 3) to enable users of Porcupine Caribou to participate in the international coordination of the conservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd and its habitat; 4) to encourage cooperation and communication among governments, users of the Porcupine Caribou and others to achieve these objectives. Moreover, the Agreement provides for the coordinated conservation of the Porcupine caribou herd which migrates annually between Canada and the United States.
Section 2 establishes an Advisory Board to be known as the “International Porcupine Caribou Board” with 4 members appointed by Canada and 4 appointed by the U.S. The Board advises on and recommends: a) Programmes for monitoring herd status; b) Actions for the collecting and sharing of harvest data; c) overall harvest and harvest limits for each country; d) Actions for monitoring and conserving the habitat of the herd; e) Ways of ensuring opportunities for customary and traditional uses of the herd; f) Ways to enable user groups (recreational hunters, First Nations and Alaska Indian Tribes) participation in the international coordination of Porcupine caribou conservation; g) Ways to encourage, and to facilitate, communication among governments, users and others; h) identify, advise on and recommend actions to conserve sensitive habitats for the Porcupine caribou herd.
This Agreement is important to Canada because the Porcupine Caribou Herd is a trans-boundary species that First Nations in the Yukon and Northwest Territories rely on for sustenance. Recognition of First Nations’ harvest rights associated with this Herd is well established in Land Claims dating back to the Inuvialuit Final Agreement. In Canada, the Vuntut and Ivvavik National Parks provide habitat for the Porcupine Caribou Herd and are managed by Parks Canada Agency. The text consists of 8 articles.