World Wildlife Foundation - Mackenzie Gas Project Public Hearings

World Wildlife Foundation

Mackenzie Gas Project Public Hearings

The Mackenzie Valley Watershed is located in the Northwest Territories. The valley covers about a fifth of Canada, which is almost two times larger than the province of Ontario. The Watershed is home to many animals including Caribou, wolves, grizzly bears, moose, and a very large bird population, that includes ducks, geese, and swans and many varieties of shore birds.

WWF and the residents of the Northwest Territories were apposed to a gas line 30 years ago but now feel that the area is ready for development, providing it is done right, protecting natural habitats and the animals that reside the area.

WWF believes that before any work can progress on the pipeline, natural habitats must be preserved that represent all natural regions thereby protecting all natural plant and wildlife common the area. WWF states the 16 of the basins natural regions will be affected by the pipeline but plans to date only include 5 regions with little or no consideration for marine life. WWF is currently participating in hearing lobbying to ensure that the natural eco-systems and wildlife will be protected, that the natural gas reserves are developed in way that co-exists with the sustainable energy strategy - keeping greenhouses gas emissions to a minimum and not adding to the problem of global warming.

The paradigms that WWF is currently promoting are conservation first in all environment assessments. Develop a NWT Protected Area Strategy. WWF wants a Joint Review Panel to review the impact that the gas line will have from the NWT to the Alberta oil sands and the rest of the world in respect to global warming. The growing demand in continuing to develop the oil sands in Alberta requires more natural gas to heat the water to extract the bitumen from the sand. This is a very energy intensive process that increases the amount of greenhouse gas produced. This process of extracting the bitumen with heated water produces three times as much greenhouse gas as compared to conventional oil production.

The extent the environment is being protected at a cost to the economy has not yet been measured. The MacKenzie Gas Project has been under discussion for the last 30 years and it is only now that the residents feel that it is time