protected natural areas

October 28 2019

New Brunswick Leaps Forward on Protecting Nature

A coalition of five provincial environmental and conservation organizations: the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – New Brunswick Chapter, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, Nature Conservancy of Canada – Atlantic, Nature NB, and the Nature Trust of New Brunswick, have issued a joint statement in support of the Government of New Brunswick’s recent commitment to protecting 10% of New Brunswick’s total land mass by 2020.

“We are pleased to hear the provincial government’s announcement to commit to conserving 10% of New Brunswick’s total land mass by 2020. New Brunswick is known for its remarkable wildlife and natural heritage. This announcement ensures that future citizens of New Brunswick will have the opportunity to discover wild nature, to see flora and fauna in their natural settings, and it ensures that these natural spaces will remain intact so they can weather the storms of climatic impacts.

As the changing climate causes more extreme and unpredictable weather, it is even more important to protect natural areas, so that they can act as natural defenses against the impacts of storms, floods and droughts. This commitment to conserving significant habitats that disperse and absorb floodwaters, stabilize soil and snow, and reduce the impact of storm surges is a considerable step forward for the province in terms of climate change adaptation.

Globally, more than one million species are at risk due to loss of biodiversity. By conserving more habitat and functioning ecosystems, we are helping to not only protect the plants, animals, and biodiversity of New Brunswick, but also species at risk, including migratory species, that rely on New Brunswick habitat for their survival.

Currently, New Brunswick has the second lowest percentage (4.6%) of total protected land compared to the rest of Canada. Thousands of New Brunswickers from throughout the province sent letters and signed petitions to support increasing the protection of New Brunswick’s natural spaces and to encourage our province to actively contribute to the national goal of 17% of Canada’s land and freshwater protected by 2020. The government has listened to New Brunswickers on this critical issue.

All our organizations are committed to working with Indigenous communities throughout the province on reconciliation and environmental issues such as land and wildlife conservation, species at risk, and climate change.”

Contacts:

Roberta Clowater, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – NB Chapter: email rclowater@cpaws.org; phone (506) 452-9902

Lois Corbett, Conservation Council of New Brunswick: email lois.corbett@conservationcouncil.ca; phone (506) 458-8747

Paula Noel, Nature Conservancy of Canada – Atlantic: email Paula.Noel@natureconservancy.ca; phone (506) 450-6010

Vanessa Roy-McDougall, Nature NB: email executive.director@naturenb.ca; phone (506) 459-4209

Renata Woodward, Nature Trust of New Brunswick: email renata.woodward@ntnb.org; phone (506) 261-1260

CPAWS NB’s Roberta Clowater interview with CBC NB’s Shift on New Brunswick’s 10% for Nature announcement.

April 25 2019

How much of Canada should we protect?

Steve Reid Blog Parks and Protected Areas, protected natural areas

For decades protected areas have been championed as the best way to preserve the natural world from harmful human impacts. Protected areas ensure healthy habitat, allow plants and animals to thrive, and keep ecosystems functioning. In addition to benefiting nature, protected areas provide lots of benefits to our wellbeing and health. As the world’s second largest country, Canada has an important responsibility when it comes to protecting wilderness!

A new survey of over 2,000 people from across the country has found overwhelming support among Canadians for protected areas, ensuring space for wildlife and preserving our natural landscapes [1]. When researchers asked Canadians about just how much should be protected, most survey participants thought that between 45 and 51% of Canada’s land and sea area, and the planet at large, should be set aside in protected areas. This research shows that Canadians believe in the value of protected areas, but also that current targets in Canada and beyond for protecting nature fall short of our expectations.

Targets set by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity call for 17% protected area on land and 10% in marine and coastal areas by 2020. Canada has set the same targets and several other conservation goals for the coming year. As target deadlines fast approach, efforts to increase the coverage of protected areas around the world has increased, though national and global coverage still falls short of targets. This new research also revealed a gap between how much of Canada’s nature is currently protected and how much the surveyed Canadian’s believed is protected. While most survey participants believed that between 20 and 25% of Canada are currently protected, as of 2017 only 10.6% of terrestrial and 7.7% of marine environments were protected [2].

Map of Canada’s protected areas by the Conservation Areas Reporting and Tracking System of the Canadian Council on Ecological Areas (CCEA), accessed from https://ccea.org/download-carts-maps/.

It is likely that many Canadians believe our wilderness areas to be healthy and protected from urban sprawl and industrial development, but total protected area in Canada was only 9.5% as of 2017 [2]. It is clear that we need to take urgent action to meet current conservation targets – and be looking past 2020 to much more ambitious targets. If 93% of Canadians agree that protected areas are needed to ensure our special landscapes are healthy and abundant for the future [1], It is not beyond our grasp to see 50% of Canada, on land and at sea, protected for nature, for all its benefits.

CPAWS-NB is committed to working with Indigenous Peoples, and the provincial, federal, and territorial governments to increase protection of Canada’s wilderness. Now is the time to stand up for nature and tell our communities and leaders just how important protected areas are to New Brunswickers and Canadians alike!

You can support CPAWS-NB in our conservation mission with a donation!

Read the research paper here (access may be restricted).

Header photo by Nick Hawkins

References

[1] Wright, P., Moghimehfar, F., & Woodley, A. (2019). Canadians’ perspectives on how much space nature needs. Facets, 4, 91-904.

[2] CARTS. (2017). Report of protected areas in Canada. Retrieved April 23, 2019 from https://ccea.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CARTS2017ReportEN.pdf

Julie Reimer is a PhD student at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Board Member of CPAWS-NB. Having worked in the whale watching industry in New Brunswick and conducted her Masters research on conservation planning for the North Atlantic right whale, Julie is an advocate for MPAs in New Brunswick. Julie’s current research attempts to see the “bigger picture” of conservation, reaching beyond protected areas to understand the synergies between conservation actions and ocean industries. To connect with Julie, visit http://juliereimer.wixsite.com/hello.