Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) recently published a discussion paper on the development of Canada’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy. But what role do biosphere regions play in this context, and how can they assist Canada in preserving its biodiversity?
A VISION FOR BIODIVERSITY
The Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association (CBRA), representing 19 UNESCO-designated biosphere regions across the country, has responded to this initiative and issued a response to ECCC's public consultation.
You can read the complete response here
A Biosphere region’s main goal is to promote balance between people and nature. They focus on activities that conserve biodiversity and culture, while supporting sustainable community initiatives and local economies. Moreover, they strive to respect and support the land, water, and cultural priorities of the Indigenous nations that host them.
CBRA's response outlines five main principles for a successful national biodiversity strategy:
Respect and support Indigenous nations: Indigenous nations have been custodians of the land, water and air since time immemorial. The strategy must provide sufficient resources to support conservation actions by Indigenous nations, acts of reconciliation, calls to action under the Truth and Reconciliation program, and capacity building.
Multi-level biodiversity protection: Biodiversity measures must be implemented across all ministries and levels of government, in conjunction with other initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action and other government strategies. This increases the impact of different strategies whose themes are intrinsically linked.
Work with all players in society: implementation must include Indigenous nations, civil society organizations, governments, academics and the general public.
Integrate biodiversity protection into land-use planning: Municipal and regional governments (MRCs) have the greatest influence on local and regional land-use planning. Integrating biodiversity protection into municipal and regional planning will have a considerable impact on biodiversity conservation in Canada.
Ambitious vision and action: Ambitious vision and commitment to action are needed at all levels of government, across all parties, and under the leadership of the federal government, to make significant progress in protecting biodiversity.
In addition, CBRA's response also comments on the main challenges to achieving the 2030 goals in Canada, and much more.