Inututi - Support for the Baker Lake Basin Aquatic Cumulative Effects Monitoring Program in Nunavut (NGMP ID 16EC33)

Community growth and development in the Baker Lake Basin (operating and proposed gold and uranium mines) and observed climate related changes in Baker Lake could potentially have cumulative impacts on the lakes water quality, the inflowing river systems, and the downstream estuary at Chesterfield Inlet. The overall purpose is to build a cumulative effects monitoring program (CEMP) from the Baker Lake pilot project for all of Nunavut. This objective relies on multiple stakeholders pooling data and resources to characterize the impacts of development, community growth, and climate change. Through the Baker Lake Limnology Study (Project 1), the goal is to characterize the baseline aquatic conditions in the Baker Lake Basin's end receiver: Baker Lake. This critical information will be used as a benchmark to compare all future potential changes in the basin's aquatic environment. In the One Voice Study (Project 2), the goal is to develop a method to evaluate the aquatic environment using both western ecological science and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ), with equal importance given to each, by facilitating important conversations with elders in and around Baker Lake. In the Paleolimnology Caribou Investigation (Project 3), the goal is to test a novel technique of estimating caribou herd size from DNA preserved in lake sediments.