From: on behalf of Panel Registry Subject: FW: TNG registration of ...

system. They are relatively healthy and have managed not be overcome by substance abuse like
other reserves.
Nevertheless the community might be characterized as relatively vulnerable to potential climate
changes, since they remain very dependent on one source income (Federal government transfers)
for their livelihood and maintenance, they have very little control over the land they actually
inhabit and depend upon for sustenance, they are increasingly dependent on food and technology
imports, they have few people and resources to plan, monitor and enforce the management of their
land or to invest in new enterprise. And they also increasingly experiencing conflicts over land use
in
their territory, the results of which could jeopardize the health and biodiversity of their land and
thereby their ability to cope with climate change.
Below is an assessment of Xeni Gwet’in First Nation based on the WEHAB+ framework developed
by the Tyndall Group for Climate Change Research69.
The WEHAB+ methodology is simply an
acronym that stands
for the six or more important supports for society:
W ‐ Water
E ‐ Energy
H ‐ Health
A ‐ Agriculture and Food Supply
B ‐ Biodiversity
+ additional supports like human settlements and infrastructure
We use this framework but also add governance, livelihoods and culture as other important
supports.
6.1. Biodiversity
The XGCA is one of the last intact ecosystems on the east side of the Chilcotin range. It has large
riparian areas in the valleys ranging from open wetlands and closed canopy moist forest. It has
large plateau lands with a mix of dry forests and grasslands and long chains of wetland or wet
forest. It has high alpine features mixed with barren mountain‐sides and alpine meadows that
experience cold temperatures most of the year. It has an abundance of moose, mule deer, black
bears and grizzly bears, mountain goats, California Big Horn Sheep, wolves and coyotes, beavers,
marmots, tree nesting birds and waterfowl. It still supports almost all of the native flora that were
present during the Pleistocene era and includes populations of wild horses whose ancestry may
date back to the Spanish horses that migrated north from Central America. Its proximity to the
coastal ranges and an abundance of glaciers has also blessed it with an abundance of clean
freshwater in its many lakes, rivers and streams. These water bodies are home to one of the largest
interior salmon runs in BC, providing spawning grounds for sockeye, Chinook, Steelhead, Chum and
Kokanee as well as home to an abundance other endogenous cool water fish. This rich biodiversity
is
a result of a complex of diverse soils, water and topographic conditions but it is also a result of
limited human use in the area.
This is not to say that there are no stresses on the XGCA ecosystem. There is increasing
recreational tourism pressure on the land and water bodies, leading to more hunting, fishing, and
camping, boating, off‐road motorized and non‐motorized access. There is also increased
subsistence hunting and fishing
by non‐Xeni Gwet’in First Nations and and recreational hunters.
Salmon
stocks, as indicated in section 5.4, have
experienced a significant decline recently for
69 Tyndall Group for Climate Change Research (2005, p 42).
50