Advisory Committee for Cooperation on Wildlife Management (ACCWM)

Mandate

The Committee’s mandate includes the following trans-boundary responsibilities:

• The development and implementation of a management plan for the Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West, and Bluenose-East caribou herds;

• The development of sub-plans for different aggregations of caribou within these herds;

• The discussion of total allowable harvests;

• The discussion of non-quota limitations on harvesting;

• The discussion of measures for the protection of calving and post-calving grounds.

The ACCWM meets, at minimum, once per year (usually in November) to discuss the status of the three caribou herds and coordinate management actions across their ranges.

Management Principles

The Committee is guided by the Taking Care of Caribou Management Plan (2014), which lays out the following management principles: 

• Management decisions will respect treaties and land-claim agreements and Aboriginal harvesting rights in areas both with and without a land-claim agreement 

• Management decisions will reflect the wise use of the herds in a sustainable manner 

• Adequate habitat (quantity and quality) is fundamental to the welfare of the herds 

• Management decisions will be based on the best available information – including science, as well as traditional and local knowledge – and will not be postponed in the absence of complete information 

• Effective management requires participation, openness and cooperation among all users and agencies responsible for the stewardship of the herds and their habitat. Shared use requires shared responsibility 

• Harvests must be allocated in a manner which respects Aboriginal harvesting rights and the sustainable harvesting limit, if any, of each herd 

• The impacts to caribou herds and their habitat must be anticipated and minimized 

• Harvesting is fundamental to the cultural, social, spiritual and economic well-being of the communities of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut