NWT Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program

It is important that environmental information is collected and available to Northerners, decision-makers and industry.  The Northwest Territories Cumulative Impacts Monitoring Program (NWT CIMP) aims to look at how “all uses of land and water, and deposit of waste, affect the environment of the NWT now and in the future." The program coordinates, supports and conducts monitoring-related initiatives in the NWT. It does this by including both scientific and traditional knowledge, while taking into consideration both human and natural environments. NWT CIMP aims to fill information gaps in current monitoring activities, report on the state of the NWT environment and the cumulative impacts of land and water uses and waste deposits, and encourage and support community-based monitoring, capacity building and training.

NWT CIMP follows a community-based approach, meaning that communities must be involved throughout the program: in the design, monitoring, analysis/interpretation and reporting of traditional knowledge or science-based activities. The information collected through NWT CIMP is important and relevant to Northerners. Therefore, the program is largely guided by the expertise and efforts of northern residents.

NWT CIMP operates as a partnership known as the NWT CIMP Working Group. With representatives from Aboriginal organizations, territorial and federal governments, and observers from other organizations, it guides the design and implementation of the program.

NWT CIMP will result in:

  • a standardized, inter-connected system of data collection
  • improved data management, and analytical and reporting capacity
  • the use of scientific and traditional ecological knowledge in monitoring
  • enhanced community capacity and involvement
  • increased accessibility and compatibility of information
  • a better informed decision making process

NWT CIMP has existed since 1999 as a statutory requirement that supports informed resource management decisions throughout the NWT. The monitoring of cumulative impacts is a constitutional obligation contained in the Sahtu, Gwich’in and Tlicho comprehensive land claim agreement and a statutory requirement of Part 6 of the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.

For more information, visit the NWT CIMP website.