Inuit have lived and hunted on the land for thousands of years, and still do in many ways, says Iqaluit Mayor and Elder Solomon Awa.

SA国际影视传媒淚nuit are still living with traditions, keeping up with the environment, also keeping it clean. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 where they get the food from, from the land,SA国际影视传媒� he said, as Earth Day approaches on April 22.

Born in a sod house near Iglulik in 1959, Awa, from a young age, has spent many years on the land. He has a long history working with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) and teaching Inuit traditional knowledge with Nunavut Arctic College.

When speaking about conservation, Awa likened the land to a store for Inuit.

SA国际影视传媒淲hen you go to the store and look at the apple, it has brown on it, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 not good, ISA国际影视传媒檓 not going to buy that. Or when you open the fridge and find a mouldy orange, youSA国际影视传媒檙e not going to eat that,SA国际影视传媒� said Awa. SA国际影视传媒淏ecause weSA国际影视传媒檙e gathering traditional food from the land, we do not want to have bad apples, we donSA国际影视传媒檛 want mouldy oranges. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 how we have to keep the environment safe.SA国际影视传媒�

Local leadership, particularly Inuit leadership in NunavutSA国际影视传媒檚 25 communities, is how conservation efforts are going to succeed, according to Erin Keenan, WWFSA国际影视传媒檚 senior manager of Arctic marine conservation.

SA国际影视传媒淚 would say community leadership is the most important part of all the conservation projects that weSA国际影视传媒檙e seeing in Nunavut right now,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Land guardians programs, such as QIASA国际影视传媒檚 Nauttiqsuqtiit Inuit Stewards for Tallurutiup Imanga national marine conservation area, are important for conservation efforts as they allow Nunavut communities to be a part of the process while providing search and rescue capabilities as well as economic benefits locally.

Keenan, when talking about Earth Day, noted progress in various marine protected areas either currently in the works or already established in recent years, such as Tallurutiup Imanga and Tuvaijuittuq.

SA国际影视传媒淓ach (are) uniquely important, they all have unique contributions to conservation. Tallurutiup Imanga, for example, is a really important narwhal habitat but also a lot of other marine animals and species live in those waters,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

On a broader scale, Nunavut and the wider Canadian Arctic are host to comparatively more pristine marine environments compared to other parts of Canada, Keenan noted.

SA国际影视传媒淓stablishing protected areas now is very important before we see a lot more industrial activity in the Arctic,SA国际影视传媒� particularly with the onset of climate change, she said. Marine protected areas help avoid a situation where youSA国际影视传媒檙e SA国际影视传媒渇ighting to take back spaceSA国际影视传媒� from other activities, she added.

Some of these protected areas are extremely important in the context of climate change, such as the Tuvaijuittuq, north of Ellesmere Island.

SA国际影视传媒淭hat area is particularly important because weSA国际影视传媒檙e predicting itSA国际影视传媒檚 where multi-year sea ice is going to last the longest as we look at how sea ice is going to be affected by climate change,SA国际影视传媒� said Keenan.

More broadly across Nunavut, sea ice is slowly in decline due to climate change. With less sea ice comes more habitat for outside species, such as killer whales that hunt Arctic marine life such as narwhals SA国际影视传媒� prey they normally couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 access with year-round sea ice.

Less sea ice in the summer also presents more opportunities for fishing and shipping vessels, contributing to underwater noise as well as additional risks of oil spills.

Many can look up to Nunavut when it comes to environmental leadership, added Keenan.

SA国际影视传媒淣unavummiut are already doing quite a lot for the planet,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

New protected areas, local community leadership around conservation and the extensive work done on the Nunavut Land Use Plan SA国际影视传媒� one of the largest of its kind SA国际影视传媒� are just some of ways Nunavut is leading environmentally.

Awa said thereSA国际影视传媒檚 always more people can do to help the environment, and not just on Earth Day.

SA国际影视传媒淲hen you go to the store, donSA国际影视传媒檛 put (groceries) in a plastic bag, use a reusable bag. We can do a lot for the protection of the environment but also keeping clean,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淲e just need to move forward and change it to non-plastic bags. Anything (one-time use) plastics, we can replace it with a friendly material.SA国际影视传媒�

When talking about Earth, Awa said, SA国际影视传媒淚f we donSA国际影视传媒檛 take care of it, itSA国际影视传媒檚 not going to take care of us.SA国际影视传媒�