Today is World Environment Day. It’s a particularly important day to appreciate nature and reflect on actions we can take to leave a cleaner, healthier planet for future generations. With our environment increasingly under threat from climate change, it is clear we need to do more to restore balance and protect plant and animal species. We are making progress. Canada is stepping up as a leader in biodiversity and nature conservation. There is more we need to do. Working together, we can protect our environment and help ensure our planet is on a more sustainable path. Please see the Prime Minister’s statement https://bit.ly/30ofWDh and for more info on what our government is doing to protect our environment and combat climate change, please visit: www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change.html
Canada is stepping up as a leader in biodiversity and nature conservation. In 2018, we made a $1.3-billion investment in nature conservation in Canada – the single largest investment to protect nature in our history -- to help us meet our international commitments for biodiversity, sustainable development, and climate change. We exceeded our 2020 target of protecting 10% of Canada’s marine areas ahead of schedule, and we are working on a plan to conserve 25% of our land and 25% of our oceans by 2025, and 30% of each by 2030. This work will be grounded in science, Indigenous knowledge, and local perspectives.
The ‘Southern Ontario Nature Coalition Protecting Nature and People’ is a project in our area that’s part of these efforts. The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and partners will identify options to establish protected and conserved areas that address the unique challenges of peri-urban locations in and adjacent to the Greenbelt, support ecological connections and improve management of peri-urban natural areas.
This project is part of Target 1 Challenge -- an investment by our government in projects that will add to Canada’s protected and conserved areas across the country. Target 1 projects help to improve connectivity, advance Indigenous-led conservation and reconciliation, and have co-benefits for species at risk or carbon storage.
