WWF Urges Canada Not To Sell Arctic Oil, Gas Rights
CANADA: May 28, 2008
OTTAWA - A major environmental group formally urged Ottawa on Tuesday not to
proceed with plans to sell oil and gas rights in the Beaufort Sea in
Canada's Arctic, saying not enough had been done to protect the area's
wildlife.
WWF-Canada said the planned June 2 sale contravenes a law that requires a
management plan to be set up for the region before the rights can be sold.
"This sale is premature due to the absence of a ... plan that would protect
sensitive habitats, which polar bears, beluga and bowhead whales need for
their survival," Peter Ewins, the group's director of species conservation,
said at a news conference.
"In addition, there is no proven technique for recovering oil spills in such
dangerous ice waters," he said.
Earlier this month, Canada, which is home to two-thirds of the world's
25,000 polar bears, said it would soon list the animals as a species of
special concern.
Ewins said the polar bear population in the southern Beaufort Sea was
showing clear signs of distress.
No one from the Canadian federal Indian affairs and fisheries ministries --
who share responsibility for the Beaufort Sea -- was immediately available
for comment.
Environmental groups in the United States are suing Washington over its
decision to sell oil and gas rights in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's
northwest coast.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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