Partners working together to improve conservation and connect more Canadians with nature

OTTAWA, ON, March 9, 2023 /CNW/ - Nature is part of the Canadian national identity. This is part of what drives Canada's commitment to maintaining the momentum from the 15th United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties (COP15). In December, the world came together and reached a historic agreement to address the critical loss of biodiversity, because protecting nature has never been more important.

Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced that the Government of Canada will invest $2.32 million for three projects that will contribute to Canada's rich network of protected and conserved areas.

The projects include:

• $1.4 million over four years to the Cape Jourimain Nature Centre to enhance visitor experience, and for nature conservation at the Cape Jourimain National Wildlife Area in New Brunswick. This project will support updates to interpretation programing in order to better incorporate Indigenous history and ways of knowing, and to help protect the Piping Plover (endangered) and the Bank Swallow (threatened) habitats, as well as other coastal, wetland, and forest habitats in the National Wildlife Area. It will also support new efforts to demonstrate the effects of climate change and provide visitors with information on how to mitigate them, while demonstrating how nature is part of the solution.
  
  The Centre is also making important infrastructure updates and continuing efforts to minimize its ecological footprint, using novel approaches to minimize water use and exploring natural energy sources to go off-grid.
  
  
• $690,000 over three years to the Nature Conservancy of Canada to explore new avenues for creating and identifying protected and conserved areas in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Nature Conservancy of Canada will work with Indigenous and provincial partners to support policy development that will identify and strengthen protections for provincially significant wetlands; recognize municipal conservation areas as Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures; and examine and document culturally significant wetlands.
  
  
• $230,000 over three years to the Friends of Wye Marsh to develop and implement more inclusive practices to better engage underrepresented groups; improve access; and facilitate meaningful connections to nature in the Wye Marsh National Wildlife Area in Ontario. Efforts will focus on building a more inclusive environment for underrepresented communities, including training staff; adding signage that includes Anishinaabemowin (the local Indigenous language); building meaningful relationships with local Indigenous, community, and youth groups; and improving trails to increase accessibility.

The Government of Canada is committed to working with provincial and territorial governments, as well as with Indigenous peoples and other partners, to address the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change, while also making nature more accessible to all Canadians.

Quotes

"We have a lot riding on nature—our health, wellbeing, and ultimately our future depends on it. By working with partners, the Government of Canada is supporting important projects that improve conservation outcomes across the country, while also helping more Canadians connect to nature in meaningful ways. When we take time to appreciate the value nature holds, the more evident it becomes that we must protect it."
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"The Cape Jourimain National Wildlife Area is a uniquely beautiful stretch of land. Through this investment, our government is investing in its ongoing protection—and ensuring that families in Tantramar and across New Brunswick continue to have access to nature."
– The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities

Quick facts

• In 2021, the Government of Canada committed $4.1 billion to nature protection, including $2.3 billion over five years for Canada's Enhanced Nature Legacy program to continue supporting nature conservation measures across the country, including Indigenous leadership in conservation.
• Canada and the other 195 members of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity reached a historic agreement to safeguard the world's nature at COP15 in Montréal.
• The Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework will aim to safeguard the world's nature, halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and put nature on a path to recovery by 2050.
• Canada's network of protected and conserved areas mitigates 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.
• Canada is committed to protecting 25 percent of land, inland water, and oceans by 2025, and 30 percent of each by 2030.

Associated links

• Canada's Nature Legacy
• Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures
• Current National Wildlife Areas
• Visit a National Wildlife Area
• Cape Jourimain National Wildlife Area
• Wye Marsh National Wildlife Area

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Twitter page
Environment and Climate Change Canada's Facebook page

SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

Kaitlin Power, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 819-230-1557, [email protected]; Media Relations, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free), [email protected]