Canada’s largest national park – and a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site – has been under threat for the past several years. The latest government update released in December of 2024 reports progress that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) is one of the world’s most ecologically significant protected areas. It contains one of the world’s largest boreal deltas, the Peace Athabasca Delta; the only natural nesting grounds for the endangered whooping crane; one of the greatest concentrations of migratory birds in North America; salt plains and gypsum karst formations; and the largest free-roaming herd of wood bison. These exceptional natural and cultural features that led to it being protected are known as Outstanding Universal Values (OUV). OUVs are recognized internationally and are meant to be protected by the World Heritage Committee once the region is recognized as a World Heritage Site.
Yet for the past several years, we have seen these ecological values deteriorate from multiple cumulative impacts from industry and lack of action from Crown governments. In 2014, Mikisew Cree First Nation petitioned to have WBNP listed as a World Heritage Site in Danger due to mounting concerns. Despite high-level commitments outlined in Parks Canada’s Action Plan (2019), the latest 2024 State of Conservation (SoC) report reveals a troubling reality of delayed progress and ecological decline. While yes, some progress has been made, much work remains if we are to protect the region before it is too late. It is important to be aware that several First Nations in the region have called out misleading progress being reported in the SoC. To put it lightly, it appears the report was written through rose–coloured glasses.
What are the Action Plan and State of Conservation report?
For years, there have been ongoing concerns about the health of WBNP which the World Heritage Committee (WHC) was made aware of. In an effort to protect the region from further decline, Canada was required to create an Action Plan in 2019 identifying specific activities they would undertake to address the root of the threats. The Action Plan outlines the activities and timelines in detail with the hope that if completed in its entirety, WBNP will return to a healthy and thriving ecosystem for generations to come.
The State of Conservation (SoC) Report is a biannual companion piece to the Action Plan. It is a formal update submitted by Canada to the WHC outlining the progress made in implementing the Action Plan. Its purpose is to demonstrate how Canada is addressing threats to the park’s Outstanding Universal Values (OUVs), including environmental degradation, changes in water quality and quantity, and impacts from industrial development. The report is reviewed by UNESCO and other advisory bodies to assess whether the site should maintain its World Heritage status or be added to the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.
Rose-Coloured Reporting
In the latest SoC report, the federal government boasts that 80% of the Action Plan’s 137 measures are “underway or complete”. However, the depth and quality of that implementation is questionable. This figure includes completed items among actions that have hardly begun. Furthermore, several Indigenous communities who are members of the Crown Indigenous Working Group (CIWG) have reported that meaningful outcomes do not exist for some items that are already stamped “complete” by Parks Canada.
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) has called for more transparency and specificity on certain items in the Action Plan, with clearer timelines and benchmarks for each action – rather than lumping everything together under a broad statistic that gives the illusion of strong progress. This inflated figure masks the lack of tangible change on the ground and delays urgent interventions in areas like water management, oil sands risk, and Indigenous governance.
Moreover, the Action Plan has not been updated to reflect the urgent priorities identified in the 2022 UNESCO Reactive Monitoring Mission (RMM). Although the RMM called for major amendments to the Action Plan – including a moratorium on dam development until tools are developed and in place to assess what the region can support, an updated Action Plan and strengthened Indigenous governance – many of these actions remain stalled, vague, or entirely unaddressed in the State of Conservation (SoC) report.
Instead of making updates to the Action Plan (as recommended by the World Heritage committee), Parks Canada reiterated old commitments as evidence of success. A stated commitment to action does not equate to the actual implementation of the plan or tangible, positive, impact for Wood Buffalo National Park.
For example, the report highlights the creation of models that assess hydrological flows, however, Indigenous partners said they have seen no meaningful development on these tools in almost 2 years as of August 2025.
The progress listed in the report is inflated and delays real action while masking the urgent threats still facing the parks ecosystems and communities.
Indigenous Partners Left in the Dark
Both Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation have voiced their deep frustration with the lack of communication, collaboration, and influence on decision-making throughout the report.
While Parks claims they are moving at the “pace of Indigenous partners”, the partners themselves have noted that they are being left out of critical conversations. While the process should allow the appropriate amount of time needed to achieve shared governance, it seems Parks is unfairly shifting the blame onto Indigenous partners for delayed action.
Hydrology and the Peace-Athabasca Delta
The ecological health of the Peace Athabasca Delta (PAD), one of the world’s largest inland freshwater deltas, continues to degrade due to numerous threats – such as dams being built on the rivers that flow into the delta, toxins from upstream oil sands production seeping into the land and water, and impacts of climate change.
While Parks Canada has committed to developing hydrological models to understand flows of the delta and what is needed to improve ecological function, the World Heritage Committee has repeatedly expressed concerns about the lack of a completed, functional model that is yet to be applied.
In addition, Parks Canada has still not committed to a moratorium on a new dam development on the Peace River until impact evaluation tools are in place – a clear recommendation of the 2022 Reactive Monitoring Mission. Instead, the 2024 SoC Report simply notes that the Amisk dam project is “on hold” and that “hydrological modelling will be available to inform future decisions”. However, noting that a project is “on hold” does not have any permanence and offers the delta no protection against future decision-making changes.
Water management is a growing concern across the province as drought becomes more frequent, with many Indigenous communities and Albertans having voiced their concerns for decades. Furthermore, concern for the quality and quantity of the water is growing as the Alberta government pushes for the imminent release of tailings from the downstream oil sands into the Athabasca River. What happens in WBNP will have far reaching impacts across Alberta and beyond. The delta cannot keep waiting – solutions are desperately needed and must be based on science, Indigenous knowledge, and urgency.
Oil Sands – A Growing Risk Canada has yet to Address
There are significant concerns regarding the absence of a complete adequate risk assessment for northern Alberta’s tailings ponds. Put simply, tailings ponds are the waste-byproduct of oil sands extraction, and there is no community supported solution to their growing sprawl. Tailings ponds continue to be a serious risk to wildlife, ecosystems, and downstream communities. And yet, the risk continues to grow alongside oil sands expansion while no clear path forward on how to manage or clean up tailings ponds exists.
Despite multiple references to the Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) program and the formation of new advisory bodies in the State of Conservation (SoC) report, actual progress towards a completed risk assessment remains elusive.
Meanwhile, proposals to release treated tailings into the Athabasca River are still on the table – despite strong, repeated opposition from Indigenous communities.
Without a risk assessment, Wood Buffalo National Park’s Outstanding Universal Values (OUVs) remain at grave risk.
Species at Risk
WBNP’s globally significant species, the whooping crane and wood bison, continue to face serious threats. Disease management of the herds in the park is an ongoing issue that threatens the recovery of wood bison across Canada.
Oil Sands tailings ponds continue to pose risks to the whooping crane, and hundreds of other migratory bird species, as the oil sands region intersects with major flyways. Once birds reach Wood Buffalo National Park, they are in a protected area, but their journey include many dangerous stopovers.
What now?
The next Reactive Monitoring Mission is scheduled for 2026. With current funding scheduled to run out in March 2026, we look to Parks Canada and Prime Minister Carney for a renewed commitment to the Action Plan, the Park, and the communities who call this region home.
Wood Buffalo National Parks is not just a national treasure, it is of global significance and should be recognized as such. Delayed action is certainly not what the park needs at a time when threats continue to mount and erode the nature that sustains life and culture in the north. CPAWS Northern Alberta asks Parks Canada and the federal government to focus on these key actions:
- Renewed commitment and funding to see the Action Plan through to completion.
- Improved communication, transparency and co-governance with Indigenous partners.
- A moratorium on new dams until hydrological impacts are fully understood.
- An immediate tailings risk assessment and science-based action to address the tailings crisis.
We hope to see a renewed commitment from the federal government to see these promises through to completion and give Wood Buffalo National Park the stewardship and protection it deserves.
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