Twenty-two Indigenous governments across Canada’s Northwest Territories have signed a landmark $375 million agreement to protect, steward, and care for their ancestral lands over the next decade. The deal, called N.W.T.: Our Land for the Future, was formalized at a ceremony in Behchokǫ̀ attended by more than 200 people — and is considered one of the largest Indigenous-led conservation efforts in the world.
At a glance
- Indigenous-led conservation: Twenty-two Indigenous governments co-signed the agreement alongside the federal and Northwest Territories governments, giving Indigenous nations direct control over how the funds are used.
- Land stewardship funding: The $375 million breaks down as $300 million from the federal government and $75 million from private donors, with funds expected to begin flowing in mid-2025 C.E.
- Guardian programs: Money can support Indigenous land guardians, new protected areas, eco-tourism, traditional economies, climate research, and on-the-land language and culture programs.
Why this agreement is different
Most large conservation funding flows through government agencies or international NGOs. This deal is structured differently. Indigenous governments identify the priorities. They decide where new protected areas go, how guardian programs are run, and what “stewardship” means in their own communities.
Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty put it directly: “It’s our land, and that means ‘we’. We’ve done this together.” He said the agreement “respects our diversity and our unique priorities that our communities and our nation have for the land and also for the economy.”
That framing matters. Conservation efforts that bypass or marginalize Indigenous peoples have a poor track record — both for biodiversity and for the communities involved. Research compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature consistently shows that Indigenous-managed territories hold disproportionately high levels of biodiversity and carbon storage globally.
The land as a living relationship
Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian described the agreement in terms that go beyond policy. “We’re protecting the spirit of the land,” he said. “The land itself is a living organ and itself, it needs protection.” Norwegian added that true reconciliation, in his view, starts with the land and water — not just legal frameworks.
That perspective echoes a growing body of evidence connecting Indigenous land tenure to better environmental outcomes. A 2022 C.E. study published in Nature Sustainability found that formal recognition of Indigenous land rights is among the most cost-effective strategies available for protecting biodiversity and storing carbon at scale.
The Northwest Territories cover roughly 1.3 million square kilometers, much of it boreal forest, wetlands, and subarctic tundra — ecosystems that store enormous quantities of carbon and support species found nowhere else. Canada’s federal nature commitments include protecting 30 percent of land and freshwater by 2030 C.E., and Indigenous stewardship agreements like this one are central to reaching that target.
A decade of possibility
Dahti Tsetso, deputy director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, helped facilitate the working group that brought all governments to the table. “It is very rare for an opportunity to come along that has the potential to catalyze large-scale, cross-generational impact,” she said. She closed the ceremony by asking everyone in the room to hold a vision for the future.
The range of eligible uses under the agreement is broad by design. Funds can go toward establishing new protected areas, running guardian programs, supporting eco-tourism and traditional economic activities, conducting climate research, or delivering on-the-land language and culture programming. That flexibility lets each community direct resources toward what matters most locally.
N.W.T. Environment and Climate Change Minister Jay Macdonald said the process of bringing 22 distinct governments into a single agreement was unlike anything he had encountered before in his career. Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree told those gathered: “We as a country are counting on you to continue the work you have always done.”
What remains to be worked out
Agreements of this scale involve complex implementation. How funds are disbursed equitably across 22 governments with different capacities and priorities will require ongoing coordination, and the long-term success of guardian programs often depends on sustained training and staffing pipelines that take years to build. The next decade will test whether the framework holds its promise.
Read more
For more on this story, see: CBC News
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Indigenous land rights recognized across 160 million hectares at COP30
- Ghana establishes new marine protected area at Cape Three Points
- The Good News for Humankind archive on Canada
About this article
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