Provinces and territories must rally behind Canada’s goal to protect 30% of land and ocean by 2030 ahead of COP15

Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change calls on provinces and territories to publicly support Canada’s nature protection goals

August 30, 2022, traditional unceded Algonquin Territory/Ottawa, Ontario – The federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, issued a statement today urging provinces and territories to collaborate with the federal government and Indigenous Peoples on the country’s shared nature protection goals. This call to Canada’s provinces and territories comes ahead of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity taking place in Montreal this December.

Meeting Canada’s target to protect 30% of its land and ocean by 2030 is a critical step in fighting the biodiversity loss and climate change crises. We are facing these interconnected crises globally, and Canada can only rise as a leader in nature protection if all provinces and territories work together to meet the 2030 target. While some progress has been made, there is still a lot of work to do over the next eight years to achieve 30% protection of the country.

Progress on nature protection varies widely across Canada’s provinces and territories. A few have made significant gains over the last couple of years, but in most areas we haven’t seen progress at the scale necessary to halt and reverse biodiversity loss,” said Alison Woodley, CPAWS Senior Strategic Advisor. CPAWS released a Roadmap to 2030 earlier this summer that shows where Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments currently stand and offers detailed recommendations to bridge the gap to protecting 30% of land and ocean in the country by 2030.

The path forward is clear,” Woodley adds. “CPAWS has identified enough opportunities for nature protection in Canada, across both land and ocean, to get us to 30% protection by the end of the decade. We need provinces and territories to accelerate conservation action in their regions, support Indigenous led conservation, and collaborate with all governments to conserve nature and ensure a healthy future for wildlife and people.”

– 30 –

About CPAWS

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is Canada’s only charity dedicated to the protection of public land, freshwater and ocean with a strong national and regional presence across the country. Working in a way that respects the sovereignty and leadership of Indigenous nations, we are focused on conserving nature to respond to the dual crises of accelerated biodiversity loss and climate change. Our vision is that at least half of land, freshwater and ocean in Canada is permanently protected to sustain nature and people for current and future generations. For more information about CPAWS and the work we do to safeguard Canada’s natural heritage, visit cpaws.org. Join our community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Donate today. Take action.

For more information, please contact:

Tracy Walden
National Director, Communications and Development, CPAWS
[email protected]