What is the issue?

Across Canada, many natural areas are rapidly disappearing, along with critical habitat for the many plant and animal species that they support. Losses of habitats are clustered largely in southern Canada, because diversity and pressure for development are the highest there. Protected areas help conserve natural ecosystems and maintain biodiversity, provide ways to understand ecosystem trends, and can also provide a source of species for reintroduction to restored areas. Protected areas include nature reserves, designated wilderness areas, national parks, habitat/species management areas such as migratory bird sanctuaries, and other conservation areas.

What do we know?

Canada is characterized by large natural tracts of land, diverse landscapes, and many different ecosystems. The country contains over 20% of the world’s Arctic regions, 10% of its forests, and 25% of its wetlands, and it has the longest coastline on the planet. In 1997, 8.6% of Canada’s land area, or almost 859 000 square kilometres, was protected in approximately 3 100 sites through the combined efforts of governments and conservation agencies.

From 1990 to 1997, the total area under protection in Canada increased by roughly 17%. Despite these increases, the total representative natural regions in Canada still fall short of the 12% protection target endorsed by Members of Parliament in 1991.

•  Download Area and number of protected areas in Canada, 1985-97 (MS-Excel)  
• Area and number of protected areas in Canada, 1985-97 (HTML)

Establishing conservation areas helps to maintain biodiversity but does not completely guarantee the protection of species. Protected areas are increasingly affected by habitat fragmentation and alteration from the effects of development, as well as from competition and disease from exotic or nonnative plant and animal species. Tourism and recreational facilities can cause additional pressures. Some protected areas allow logging, hunting, and mining, while others exclude virtually all human activities.

What additional information do we need?

The protection of ecosystems in Canada is shared by governments at various levels, as well as by nongovernmental organizations and individual landowners. To complete Canada’s network of protected areas, we need to identify gaps in the representation of biodiversity in the existing set of areas that have been designated for the preservation of native species and ecosystems. The first step is learning as much as possible about the many different terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems throughout the country. At the same time, we need to identify areas of species or special characteristics that should have priority for protection or sustainable use.

What are we doing based on the information we have?

Canada continues its progress towards completing a network of protected areas representing Canada’s land-based natural regions (e.g., ecological reserves, wildlife areas, parks, etc.). In order to protect special sites, wildlife organizations, businesses, and private groups are making acquisitions through purchase or donation. Private stewardship agreements between individual landowners and governments are also helping to protect ecosystems.

The Government of Canada’s Millennium Partnership Program provided financial support to "Natural Legacy 2000," a nationwide initiative that helps Canadians to protect the long-term health of Canadian landscapes. This initiative is being delivered by four of Canada’s largest nature conservation organizations: Ducks Unlimited Canada, the Canadian Nature Federation, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and the World Wildlife Fund (Canada). The initiative focuses on saving endangered species, building a protected areas network, conserving ecologically significant private lands, conserving wetlands, and protecting bird habitat. The EcoGifts expanded program set out in Budget 2000 provides for a 50% reduction in capital gains tax payable on donations of ecologically sensitive lands.

Some of Canada’s protected areas are designated under the terms of international treaties or agreements that recognize areas for their contribution to global conservation goals. The Ramsar Convention, for example, provides a framework for the conservation of wetlands of international importance. Biosphere reserves, established under the Man and the Biosphere Programme of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, respond to a wide range of objectives, including scientific research, training, monitoring, and demonstration, as well as conservation.

Further information

For additional information on the natural areas issue, check the following*:

• Canadian Council on Ecological Areas:
  www.cprc.uregina.ca/ccea/
• Canadian Nature Federation:
  www.cnf.ca/
• Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society:
  www.cpaws.org/
• Ducks Unlimited Canada:
  www.ducks.ca/
• Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network web site:
  www.cciw.ca/eman-temp/intro.html
• Natural Legacy 2000:
  www.naturallegacy2000.com/
• Nature Conservancy of Canada:
  www.natureconservancy.ca/
• Parks Canada, Canadian Heritage:
  www.parkscanada.gc.ca/parks/main_e.htm
• Wildlife Habitat Canada:
  www.whc.org/
• World Conservation Union classification system:
  www.iucn.org/
• World Wildlife Fund (Canada):
  www.wwfcanada.org/

*Note: Information found on some sites is presented only in the language in which it was written. We apologize for any inconvenience.