Introduction

Background, Mandate

The Board

Annual Reports

Background, Mandate

The Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (MVRMA) came into being in 1998 as a result of the Gwich'in and Sahtu Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements. The Act created co-management boards for both the Gwich'in and Sahtu settlement areas and it established the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (MVLWB).

While the Gwich ‘in Land and Water Board, the Sahtu Land and Water Board and the Wek'eezhii Land and Water Board each have jurisdiction over the issuance of land use permits and water licenses in their own settlement area, the MVLWB has three main functions:

•  Issuing land use permits and water licenses in the unsettled claims area until the balance of the land claims are settled in the Mackenzie Valley;

•  Processing transboundary land and water use applications in the Mackenzie Valley ; and

•  Ensuring consistency in the application of the legislation throughout the Mackenzie Valley .

The mandate of the boards is to regulate the use of land and waters and the deposit of waste so as to provide for the conservation, development and utilization of land and water resources in a manner that will provide the optimum benefit to the residents of the settlement area and of the Mackenzie Valley and to all Canadians.