Partners working with municipalities across Canada to contribute to national conservation network, supporting nature and halting biodiversity loss

From: Environment and Climate Change Canada

News release

December 18, 2023 – Gatineau, Quebec

Canadians enjoy rich natural landscapes from coast to coast to coast, and many find a connection to nature by visiting municipal and regional parks in local communities. Conserving nature at the local level is vital to fighting the triple crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced almost $1.1 million to support local conservation action. This investment recognizes the vital contribution that local green spaces make, not only to the health and well-being of Canadians and the natural environment, but to national and international conservation targets as well.

Partners Nature Canada, Ontario Nature, BC Nature, the Alliance of Canadian Land Trusts, and the Wildlands League, which are working collaboratively through the municipal Protected Areas Program, will continue to explore opportunities to add locally protected areas to Canada’s national conservation network. More specifically, partners will aim to raise awareness about contributing to Canada’s 30 percent by 2030 conservation target, and the range of tools and pathways available to conserve land and water in Canada. Through this work, up to eight municipalities will be identified and supported in their efforts to expand protected areas within their jurisdiction.

To date, 139 local protected and conserved areas have been entered into the national database, representing a combined area of over 22,000 hectares, or 220 km2. This is particularly significant because these areas are within or near urban settings, where biodiversity is facing greater threats.

By working together with other governments, Canada’s conservation network will continue to grow, benefitting biodiversity and representing more of the varied landscapes across the country. Local governments can make direct and meaningful contributions to national and international conservation targets.

The future depends on everyone working together to act now.

Quotes

“Communities across Canada are adorned with natural green spaces—many of which are protected at the municipal, local, or regional levels. They are special places, where Canadians connect with each other and with nature, and they play an important role in conservation. Working together with partners at all levels and across all sectors to recognize more of these areas is moving us closer to our target: conserving 30 percent of land and water by 2030. We know we need to do more, faster, to protect nature, and in this incredibly important work, every effort counts.”

– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

“The scale of the biodiversity crisis—the worst extinction since the dinosaurs—requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. To ensure that our efforts to reach Canada’s 30x30 conservation target have the greatest possible impact, we will need our towns and cities working hand in hand with other levels of government as champions for nature. Nature Canada is proud to bring our partners together to work with municipalities on a mission to protect nature in communities across Canada.”

– Emily McMillan, Executive Director, Nature Canada

“By engaging, supporting, and learning from community leaders, we aim to promote wise practices and policies that can serve as models for others. In the heavily developed landscapes of southern Canada, local efforts to protect near-urban nature provide a key solution to addressing the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.”

– Dr. Anne Bell, Director of Conservation and Education, Ontario Nature

“BC Nature is truly honoured to be involved in this collaborative initiative that enables local governments to make meaningful contributions to national and international conservation targets. This project is an important step in Canada’s efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and climate change, and a perfect opportunity to harness the tremendous knowledge and passion of our BC Nature clubs for their local protected natural areas.”

– Stewart Guy, Executive Director, BC Nature

“Vital and vulnerable natural landscapes within Canadian municipalities need protecting and stewarding through community-based conservation efforts. Land trusts assist municipalities with nature-based climate solutions through the protection and restoration of biodiversity-rich habitats, creating ecological connectivity, and engaging communities in the stewardship of protected land. The Alliance of Canadian Land Trusts and their regional partners, the Land Trust Alliance of British Columbia, the Ontario Land Trust Alliance, and the Réseau de milieux naturels protégés are working toward advancing land conservation within municipalities through their member land trusts across Canada.”

– Renata Woodward, Executive Director, Alliance of Canadian Land Trusts

“I live in Canada’s ecological hotspot, southern Canada, where it is imperative that we cultivate nature networks, not merely to safeguard biodiversity and our fragile ecosystems, but to safeguard the future for our children. By bringing to life an interwoven tapestry of nature with this project, including corridors, restoration, and protection, we are building a more livable world. These networks promise a future harmonized with the forces of nature and hope in the uncertain climate of tomorrow. We are privileged to work with the many voices of local leaders from Windsor, Kitchener, London, Guelph, Pickering, and more, as we create a more hopeful future.”

– Janet Sumner, Executive Director, Wildlands League

Quick facts

Canada’s network of protected and conserved areas is important to mitigating the impacts of climate change by protecting and restoring healthy, resilient ecosystems and contributing to the recovery of species at risk. Intact forests and wetlands also capture and store carbon dioxide and can help protect communities from the impacts of climate change.
A protected or conserved area must be entered into the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database to contribute to Canada’s goal of conserving 30 percent of land and water by 2030.
Across the country, provincial and territorial partners are working with municipal and regional governments, as well as Indigenous peoples, environmental groups, and other relevant agencies, to identify and recognize more areas in the national database.