Great Bear Sea PFP Agreement Creates New Pathway for Indigenous-Led, Collaborative Conservation

The completion of the Great Bear Sea Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) realizes decades of vision and collaboration to create a co-governed model for conservation that will protect a globally significant marine ecosystem and benefit coastal communities. 

“The landmark achievement of the Great Bear Sea agreements should be celebrated as one that advances conservation, and also one that demonstrates the potential of collaboration and respect. This initiative realizes decades of vision by the First Nations and the support of the federal and provincial governments,” says Hadley Archer, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy's Canada Program (Nature United). “Our organization is proud to have supported all of the governance partners towards this significant outcome for Indigenous-led, co-governed stewardship and large-scale financing that will benefit lands, waters and people forever.”

“The Great Bear Sea PFP flows from our Nations’ governance and stewardship responsibilities that date back tens of thousands of years. The PFP also reflects our commitment to collaborative approaches that bring all parties to the table, and we very much appreciate the partners that have worked in support of our Nations for many years,” says Christine Smith-Martin, CEO of Coastal First Nations, and Merv Child, Executive Director of Nanwakolas Council, also the co-chairs of the Great Bear Sea PFP.

“This includes The Nature Conservancy championing this initiative on the global stage and providing extensive policy, technical, and financial support here in Canada. We are proud of our work together to establish the Great Bear Sea as a world-leading model of Indigenous-led conservation.”

The Great Bear Sea (also known as the Northern Shelf Bioregion) covers two-thirds of the coast of BC, from northern Vancouver Island to the Alaska border. These waters support a globally rare and productive mix of habitats—open ocean, vibrant estuaries, dense kelp forests, expansive coral and sponge beds, and deep fjords. Stewarded by First Nations for tens of thousands of years, the Great Bear Sea is a source of sustenance, culture and livelihoods for all who call the coast home. 

The Great Bear Sea PFP will support a network of MPAs that will designate levels of conservation and permissible activities. Leaders shared and endorsed the MPA Network Action Plan in February 2023 at the IMPAC5 marine conservation summit, after more than a decade of development by First Nations in partnership with the Canadian federal and provincial governments, industry stakeholders and communities.

“A network of marine protected areas creates a whole-ecosystem approach to conservation in the Great Bear Sea that will protect its rich biodiversity, enhance its climate resilience and support community well-being,” says Jenny Brown, Conservation Director, The Nature Conservancy's Canada Program. “Indigenous knowledge and science inform the action plan, which is a world-leading precedent that truly reflects the interconnectedness between nature and people, as well as the value of integrating different knowledge systems to enrich how globally significant landscapes are protected and managed.”