UNESCO reaffirms threats to Wood Buffalo National Park; calls for action on oilsands

By Bob Weber THE CANADIAN PRESS A United Nations body has affirmed earlier findings that Canada’s largest national park remains under environmental threats from dams, oilsands development and climate change. The UNESCO report, issued Friday, concludes that the vast Wood Buffalo National Park on the Alberta-Northwest Territories boundary shouldn’t lose its place on the list of World Heritage Sites at this time. Some things in the park, such as whooping crane numbers, are improving. But it adds that about half of what makes the park a special place is deteriorating, mostly because of water quality and quantity. “Major concerns remain about the lack of progress in addressing cumulative impacts from industrial developments around the property,” the report says. “Expansion of existing oilsands projects has continued without full consideration of the…

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