• Park Program
  • People and Places
  • Risks, Challenges & Opportunities
  • Benefits of Parks & Special Places
• Park Establishment
  • Feasibility
  • Planning
  • Establishment
  • Operations
• Park Projects
  • Coral Harbour
  • Kugaaruk
  • Clyde River
  • Hall Beach
  • Kekerten
  • Sylvia Grinnell
• Land Claims
  • Parks and the NLCA
  • Parks and the IIBA
• Publications
  • Nunavut Parks
  • Planning Studies
  • Technical Reports

Benefits Parks & Special Places

Parks and special places in Nunavut, like protected areas anywhere, hold value. Some of the benefits for local communities can be measured as direct benefits from employment, operations, and tourism. Parks Officers, seasonal staff and summer students are hired to help manage, operate and promote parks. Park development and operations requires materials, equipment and other tendered services which provides further benefits to local and territorial companies. Promoting and marketing parks results in more visitors and new or expanded economic opportunities for communities. In experiencing and enjoying our landscape and culture, parks visitors spend money on purchasing local arts and crafts, hiring local guides and tour operators, and taking part in home-stay programs to extend their stays in communities. This is in addition to money spent on airlines and hotel accommodations which provide further benefits to communities and Nunavut.

Parks and special places also provide safe and sustainable recreational opportunities - enhanced by conservation officers and visitor services, registration systems and emergency response, and support facilities such as emergency shelters and camping sites which are used by residents and tourists alike.

There are also other indirect benefits that may be more difficult to measure, but are no less important. Parks and special places protect natural and cultural heritage values for everyone to appreciate, learn from, and enjoy. More so than other sectors, parks and parks-related tourism have considerable ability to promote, strengthen and support Inuit culture, improve quality of life, and develop positive role models. This is because opportunities more closely reflect cultural traditions on the land and are at the community level. As such, they have the potential to stimulate pursuit of traditional activities and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ). By protecting and interpreting these important values and sites, parks encourage a sense of responsible stewardship in both individuals and communities.

Parks and special places are a means for people to protect their natural and cultural heritage, and traditional ways of life. Designating an area a ‘park’ means that it will be protected against unwanted or unplanned development; and safeguards the value for which the area is protected. By planning and managing these places in a way that reflects the traditions and aspirations of local communities, they become important sources of local pride and identity and give visitors and residents alike an increased appreciation of those things that define us as Nunavummiut.

As such, they are valuable educational and heritage appreciation tools which strengthen Inuit culture and help communities express and share their culture proudly. Through collection and documentation of oral histories, development of interpretive displays and park visitor centres, and developing and supporting community based programs, Park programs provide interpretive and educational benefits to communities through summer science camps, visitor centres and signage programs, and for visitors, act as windows to enhanced appreciation of Inuit culture.