Reports raise alarm over Herschel Island's survival

Two recent reports, including one from the United Nations, have raised new concerns about the threat climate change poses for preserving the heritage of northern Yukon's Herschel Island.

The report released last Tuesday by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) mentions how rising sea levels and melting permafrost are eroding shorelines on the island, located five kilometres off the territory's north coast in the Beaufort Sea.

"The decrease of sea ice leads to a higher exposure of coastal areas to storms, therefore enhancing coastal erosion," the report reads.

Doug Olynyk, the manager of historic sites with the Yukon government, said little can be done now to preserve the site's historical value.

"If we move all the whalers' buildings up onto the hills, it would be hard to interpret the history as a maritime community," he said. The territorial government has already moved the old whaling station twice to protect it from the rising water.

"Societal values, world values, are also being threatened, not just our economy and our environment," he said.

The 110-square-kilometre island contains many artifacts from its colourful past, including the oldest frame building in the Yukon: the original Pacific Steam Whaling Company station built in 1893. Back then, the island was home to about 1,500 residents, including American whalers, Inuvialuit and Gwich'in.

When the whaling market collapsed around 1907, people left the island, leaving behind the wooden buildings and graves that make up the heritage site. There are no longer any permanent residents on the island.

Herschel Island is being considered for nomination on UNESCO's World Heritage Site list.

"The fact that evidences of climate change threats appear on a site that is not yet listed as World Heritage raises an important concern regarding archeological heritage," the report reads.

"It means that such threats may also apply to other buried evidence whose existence we may not even be aware of currently."

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The UNESCO report, titled Case Studies on Climate Change and World Heritage, describes 26 of the world's 830 heritage sites that "are representative of the dangers" associated with climate change. Other sites reported to be at risk include the Tower of London, Kilimanjaro National Park and the Great Barrier Reef.

Meanwhile, a Canadian heritage organization has also raised concerns about Herschel Island's survival. In February, the Heritage Canada Foundation included the island on its annual top 10 list of the most endangered heritage sites in Canada.

Foundationexecutive directorNatalie Bull said listing Herschel Island marks the first time her organization has listed a site being threatened by climate change.

"Normally our list includes places that are under threat for the usual reasons: demolition, demolition by neglect," she said. "So it was really a bit unusual for us to bring attention to Herschel Island, which is under threat because of global climate change."

Olynyk said that, depending on the weather in the coming decades, the island's permafrost could melt, possibly making the island disappear completely.