An Impact Assessment on Shipping in the Canadian Eastern Arctic: A Baffinland Mine Case Study – Phase 2 Project Proposal
Sea ice is melting at an unprecedented rate, improving access to the Arctic and greatly increasing development opportunities such as mining. The Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation Phase 2 project proposal aims to expand iron ore production at the Baffinland mine facility in Nunavut. If approved, this...
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ftdalhouse:oai:DalSpace.library.dal.ca:10222/80261 2023-05-15T14:51:07+02:00 An Impact Assessment on Shipping in the Canadian Eastern Arctic: A Baffinland Mine Case Study – Phase 2 Project Proposal Cucinelli, Jessica 2021-02-22T18:15:56Z http://hdl.handle.net/10222/80261 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/10222/80261 Report 2021 ftdalhouse 2021-12-29T18:20:24Z Sea ice is melting at an unprecedented rate, improving access to the Arctic and greatly increasing development opportunities such as mining. The Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation Phase 2 project proposal aims to expand iron ore production at the Baffinland mine facility in Nunavut. If approved, this development will extend the shipping season beyond open-water season as well as increase vessel traffic from the port in Milne Inlet, through Eclipse Sound and out into Baffin Bay. This will increase the likelihood of shipping hazards such as the introduction of aquatic invasive species, underwater noise pollution, chemical pollution, habitat disturbance, and vessel strikes (with marine mammals), likely posing serious environmental and socio-cultural impacts, threatening local wildlife and neighbouring Inuit communities (e.g. the Hamlet of Pond Inlet). This study is threefold as it identifies shipping hazards and their potential impacts on valued-ecosystem components; reviews Baffinland’s proposed management measures to reduce adverse impacts; and provides a high-level assignment of the likelihood and severity of impacts from shipping given Baffinland’s proposed management plans. This study addresses the above research objectives through employing both a literature and policy review, while an impact matrix was developed to identify potential management gaps and areas of management priority. Recommendations were provided to further minimize adverse impacts from shipping hazards. The results suggest a need for Baffinland to strengthen their proposed management plans prior to project approval. Keywords: Arctic shipping, shipping hazards, Baffinland Iron Ore Mine, impact assessment, impact management, Arctic wildlife, Inuit, Eclipse Sound, Pond Inlet Report Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Eclipse Sound inuit Nunavut Pond Inlet Sea ice Dalhousie University: DalSpace Institutional Repository Arctic Baffin Bay Eclipse Sound ENVELOPE(-78.998,-78.998,72.635,72.635) Milne Inlet ENVELOPE(-80.499,-80.499,72.335,72.335) Nunavut Pond Inlet ENVELOPE(-77.960,-77.960,72.699,72.699) Sound Pond ENVELOPE(-55.798,-55.798,52.167,52.167) |
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Dalhousie University: DalSpace Institutional Repository |
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description |
Sea ice is melting at an unprecedented rate, improving access to the Arctic and greatly increasing development opportunities such as mining. The Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation Phase 2 project proposal aims to expand iron ore production at the Baffinland mine facility in Nunavut. If approved, this development will extend the shipping season beyond open-water season as well as increase vessel traffic from the port in Milne Inlet, through Eclipse Sound and out into Baffin Bay. This will increase the likelihood of shipping hazards such as the introduction of aquatic invasive species, underwater noise pollution, chemical pollution, habitat disturbance, and vessel strikes (with marine mammals), likely posing serious environmental and socio-cultural impacts, threatening local wildlife and neighbouring Inuit communities (e.g. the Hamlet of Pond Inlet). This study is threefold as it identifies shipping hazards and their potential impacts on valued-ecosystem components; reviews Baffinland’s proposed management measures to reduce adverse impacts; and provides a high-level assignment of the likelihood and severity of impacts from shipping given Baffinland’s proposed management plans. This study addresses the above research objectives through employing both a literature and policy review, while an impact matrix was developed to identify potential management gaps and areas of management priority. Recommendations were provided to further minimize adverse impacts from shipping hazards. The results suggest a need for Baffinland to strengthen their proposed management plans prior to project approval. Keywords: Arctic shipping, shipping hazards, Baffinland Iron Ore Mine, impact assessment, impact management, Arctic wildlife, Inuit, Eclipse Sound, Pond Inlet |
format |
Report |
author |
Cucinelli, Jessica |
spellingShingle |
Cucinelli, Jessica An Impact Assessment on Shipping in the Canadian Eastern Arctic: A Baffinland Mine Case Study – Phase 2 Project Proposal |
author_facet |
Cucinelli, Jessica |
author_sort |
Cucinelli, Jessica |
title |
An Impact Assessment on Shipping in the Canadian Eastern Arctic: A Baffinland Mine Case Study – Phase 2 Project Proposal |
title_short |
An Impact Assessment on Shipping in the Canadian Eastern Arctic: A Baffinland Mine Case Study – Phase 2 Project Proposal |
title_full |
An Impact Assessment on Shipping in the Canadian Eastern Arctic: A Baffinland Mine Case Study – Phase 2 Project Proposal |
title_fullStr |
An Impact Assessment on Shipping in the Canadian Eastern Arctic: A Baffinland Mine Case Study – Phase 2 Project Proposal |
title_full_unstemmed |
An Impact Assessment on Shipping in the Canadian Eastern Arctic: A Baffinland Mine Case Study – Phase 2 Project Proposal |
title_sort |
impact assessment on shipping in the canadian eastern arctic: a baffinland mine case study – phase 2 project proposal |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10222/80261 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-78.998,-78.998,72.635,72.635) ENVELOPE(-80.499,-80.499,72.335,72.335) ENVELOPE(-77.960,-77.960,72.699,72.699) ENVELOPE(-55.798,-55.798,52.167,52.167) |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay Eclipse Sound Milne Inlet Nunavut Pond Inlet Sound Pond |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Eclipse Sound Milne Inlet Nunavut Pond Inlet Sound Pond |
genre |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Eclipse Sound inuit Nunavut Pond Inlet Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Eclipse Sound inuit Nunavut Pond Inlet Sea ice |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10222/80261 |
_version_ |
1766322187744051200 |