Vancouver, Canada – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is delighted to announce that Canada will be hosting the 5th International Marine Protected Area Congress (IMPAC 5) in Vancouver, Canada, in 2021.
“It is our hope that by 2021 when the world comes together for IMPAC5 in Vancouver, that we will be celebrating great leaps forward in marine conservation, both in Canada and globally,” said Sabine Jessen, CPAWS’ National Ocean Program Director. “Canada, together with many other countries in the world, has made a strong commitment to protect at least 10% of our ocean by 2020, so IMPAC 5 will give us an opportunity to celebrate that achievement, and to chart a course to protecting 30% of our ocean by 2030,” adds Jessen.
IMPAC is an international forum to discuss marine protected areas (MPAs) that assists in the establishment and management of MPA networks by informing, involving, and influencing stakeholders. The congress happens every four years and brings together marine conservationists, managers, practitioners and scientists from across the world to share their experiences and knowledge of marine conservation and marine protected area establishment.
The 4th International Marine Protected Area Congress takes place this week in Chile where CPAWS will lead a delegation of Canadian representatives in the hand-over event, effectively transitioning the organization of the conference from Chile to Canada.
“CPAWS looks forward to working closely with our partners at the Vancouver Convention Centre and Tourism Vancouver, as well as the Government of Canada, the Province of BC, First Nations, and the IUCN to organize the fifth annual International Marine Protected Area Congress,” said Alexandra Barron, Ocean Conservation Manager for CPAWS-BC and delegate at IMPAC 4 in Chile. “We look forward to hosting this meeting and showcasing the best of Canada and British Columbia, on an international stage,” added Barron.
In a letter of support for Canada’s nomination to host IMPAC 5, Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard and Minister of Environment and Climate Change stated, “IMPAC 5 will be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our support for global efforts to conserve the marine environment, highlight the important role of Indigenous Peoples, stakeholders, and the public in these initiatives, and promote our domestic marine conservation programs.”
With 37,000 km of coastline and 12,000km2 of coastal waters, the Province of British Columbia has played a leading role in advancing marine conservation in Canada. In a letter of support from the Provincial Government, Deputy Minister of Forests Lands and Natural Resource Operations said, “More than three-quarters of BC’s population lives in the coastal zone and many make their living from the province’s vibrant tourism industry, marine shipping and transportation sector, diverse fishing economy, and other coastal activities. Given this, we recognize the importance of the health of our marine environment and the role that it plays in supporting our way of life.”
Patrick Kelly, Board Chair and CEO of Coastal First Nations, expressed support, stating, “we have always believed that those of us who work in marine conservation stand to gain an enormous amount by collaborating to protect our waters and resources.”
Tourism Vancouver and the Vancouver Convention Centre supported the bid to host IMPAC 5. “It was our privilege to support the bid process and we look forward to welcoming experts in the marine conservation field to Vancouver in 2021,” said Ty Speer, president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver.
“We are committed to delivering an exceptional guest experience and are confident our LEED® Platinum-certified convention centre – home to a thriving restored marine habitat – will provide an inspiring platform for the global marine conservation community to address important issues facing our society,” said Craig Lehto, General Manager, Vancouver Convention Centre.
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The Coast to Cascade Grizzly Bear Initiative is pleased to see that today’s statement by the Provincial Government regarding ending the trophy grizzly bear hunt also confirms its commitment to a renewed wildlife management strategy for the province. The group notes the importance for this strategy to recognize that the fate of grizzly bears in B.C. is deeply tied to managing the species and their habitat beyond just the hunt.
“Many British Columbians are not aware that for years there has been no legal hunt for the most at-risk populations of grizzly bears in B.C., yet some of these populations continue to decline to perilous levels,” said Johnny Mikes, Field Director for Coast to Cascades. “Even though the Province will end the B.C. grizzly bear trophy hunt in its entirety, it is only improved management focused on habitat and non-hunting threats that will benefit the bears in these depressed and declining populations.”
B.C.’s most threatened grizzlies will still face human-caused deaths related to poor management of garbage and other attractants, poaching, livestock conflicts, plus issues such as habitat loss and fragmentation, and genetic and demographic isolation. Stronger management measures by the provincial government are urgently required to prevent threatened populations from disappearing and the overall range of grizzly bears in B.C. from shrinking further.
In late 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assessed the world’s brown bear populations, and identified eleven around the world as Critically Endangered. Three of those are in Canada – all in southwest BC. Without provincial intervention for these populations, there is a real possibility that those grizzlies will eventually die out.
“We expect that the BC Auditor General’s Office will be releasing its report on the effectiveness of grizzly bear management in B.C. sometime this fall,” said Mikes. “We’re optimistic that the thorough sort of analysis that the Auditor General is known for will help identify opportunities to address the issues that confront our most vulnerable bears.”
The Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative was formed in 2013 to help ensure the survival of threatened grizzly bear populations in southwest BC where recovery to self-sustaining numbers is supported by a broad range of local governments, First Nations and non-profit organizations. CPAWS-BC is a leading Canadian partner in this initiative.
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Contact:
Johnny Mikes, Coast to Cascades Field Director
604-905-9630
For more information on the Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Recovery Initiative, visit www.coasttocascades.org
Vancouver, BC – According to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), urgent measures need to be taken to protect Canada’s endangered whales. The establishment of marine protected areas that provide much needed protection from vessel noise and ship strikes, entanglement with fishing gear, pollution, and oil and gas activities are vital to our whales and other species’ survival.
This statement was in response to the announcement made today by Fisheries and Oceans Canada regarding the launch of Let’sTalkWhales.ca. This online engagement platform seeks input from Canadians about proposed recovery measures for three of Canada’s most endangered whale species: the North Atlantic right whale, the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga, and the southern resident killer whale.
“We welcome this opportunity to provide feedback to the government on this pressing issue and are hopeful that Canadians will see real action being taken to protect these whales as a result,” said Sabine Jessen, National Ocean Program Director at CPAWS. “We know that these whales face an array of threats and that marine protected areas that have strong protection measures are one of the most effective ways to address multiple simultaneous threats to species and ecosystems,” added Jessen.
The Laurentian Channel Marine Protected Area, the St. Lawrence Estuary Marine Protected Area, and the Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area, are three proposed marine protected areas (MPAs) that would offer these three species of endangered whales protection. “Quickly finishing these MPAs and ensuring that they meet high conservation standards would provide immediate protection for these whales, and would be a positive step towards reaching the government’s commitment to protect 10% of our ocean by 2020,” said Jessen.
“Establishing a comprehensive network of marine protected areas in each region that protects the various habitats that the whales use, and also the habitats on which their prey depend, will give our endangered whales the full protection they need to provide the best chance of recovery and a healthy future. This is something that CPAWS has long been pushing for DFO to get done,” adds Jessen.
Since June, 10 North Atlantic right whales have washed up dead, probably killed either from entanglement in fishing gear or by being struck by vessels. “There are only about 500 North Atlantic Right Whales left in the world, so each death is very concerning. We need quick and drastic action to prevent any more deaths,” said Alice De Swarte, Conservation and Policy Coordinator at CPAWS’ Québec chapter. “We have long been pushing for a network of MPAs throughout the Gulf of St. Lawrence, including the proposed St. Lawrence Estuary MPA which would provide protection to the St. Lawrence beluga,” adds De Swarte.
This past June, the government released the draft regulations for the proposed Laurentian Channel Marine Protected Area, but the proposed regulations allow for oil and gas activity within the MPA. “The Laurentian Channel is an important corridor for the North Atlantic right whale and is deserving of the highest protection. Allowing oil and gas activities within this marine protected area would continue to put endangered North Atlantic right whales at risk,” said Jessen. “During the public consultation period the government has heard loud and clear from Canadians that oil and gas activities are not acceptable within marine protected areas” Jessen adds.
The recent deaths on Canada’s east coast are not isolated incidents. 2016 was a terrible year for BC’s southern resident killer whales with the death of 7 whales, including “Granny” the famous centenarian matriarch of J-pod. “With fewer than 80 southern resident killer whales left, it is imperative that we implement the proposed Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area to protect the home of the orca against multiple known threats including vessel noise, pollution, and loss of prey from declining salmon runs,” said Alexandra Barron, Ocean Conservation Manager at CPAWS BC Chapter. “The Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area was proposed 47 years ago. In the time we have been waiting for this area to be protected, we have seen the number of southern resident killer whales decline precipitously. We cannot afford another bad year,” adds Barron.
“Canada’s whales need urgent help, and we can’t deal with the problems they face one at a time. We were really pleased to see the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard commit to doing whatever it takes to protect Canada’s whales and our advice is that to protect our whales the government needs to establish more strongly protected MPAs, much more quickly,” said Jessen. “ We need to complete the existing sites and make sure that they are fully protected and we need to move beyond this site-by-site approach that can take decades, and establish strategic and comprehensive MPA networks that protect the whales, their habitat and their prey, ” Jessen adds.
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Resources:
Learn more about Let’s Talk Whales.
Vancouver, BC – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society BC Chapter are pleased to see Prime Minister Trudeau and his family take a short break kayaking in the proposed National Marine Conservation Area in the Southern Strait of Georgia, and are urging the PM to make sure that this area is finally protected, before it is too late.
“The Prime Minister has already started building a reputation for himself as a global ocean hero, and here he has a chance to really live up to that title by finally establishing the National Marine Conservation Area in the Southern Strait of Georgia, the home of BC’s endangered southern resident orcas” said Sabine Jessen, National Ocean Program Director at CPAWS.
The Southern Strait of Georgia contains a large portion of the critical habitat of the southern resident killer whales, which now number fewer than 80 individual animals. Orcas face many threats including pollution, overfishing and noise from vessel traffic. “Marine Protected Areas, like the National Marine Conservation Area, can address multiple threats to species and ecosystems by managing all activities within a given area” said Jessen.
“This area is an ecological jewel and is home to about 3,000 other marine species, a number of which are also of conservation concern, including rockfish, ancient glass sponge reefs, whales, and various seabirds” said Alexandra Barron, Ocean Conservation Manager for CPAWS-BC. “But it is also one of, if not the most, heavily used marine areas in BC, so those ecosystems and species need urgent protection” adds Barron.
Parks Canada is currently working on a feasibility assessment for the proposed National Marine Conservation Area but progress has been painfully slow according to conservationists. “The area was first proposed as a potential marine park back in 1970, a proposal that was endorsed by none other than the Godfather of marine conservation, Jacques Cousteau,” said Jessen. “PM Trudeau has a unique opportunity now to be a real ocean hero, and finish what was started over 47 years ago” Jessen adds.
Trudeau has made strong commitments to marine conservation in Canada, promising to protect at least 10% of Canada’s Ocean by 2020, but the Southern Strait of Georgia has languished. “We have seen some great progress for marine conservation in BC with the recent designation of the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs MPA” said Jessen. “It’s now time to continue this good work and make sure that this area and the orcas, get the protection they so desperately need in the face of climate change, proposed increases in oil tankers, shipping traffic and other industrial issues” Jessen adds.
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Vancouver, BC – In its latest annual report on the state of protected areas in Canada, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is calling upon all governments to step up efforts to meet Canada’s international commitments to protect at least 17% of land and inland waters by 2020. CPAWS’ 2017 report “From Laggard to Leader? Canada’s renewed focus on protecting nature could deliver results” calls Canada out for ranking last among G7 countries in the percentage of land and freshwater protected for conservation purposes, and encourages all governments to improve the quality of their protected area systems to more effectively conserve nature.
With only 10.6% of its landscape currently protected, Canada lags behind the global average of 15%, and also trails other large countries such as China, Brazil, and Australia. In 2010, as part of a worldwide effort to stem the tide of biodiversity loss, Canada committed under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to protecting at least 17% of land and inland waters by 2020 and improving the quality of their protected area systems to more effectively conserve nature.
The report recognizes that Canadian governments are finally starting to take this commitment seriously after years of inaction. In February 2017, federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for parks and protected areas publicly announced their commitment to work together to achieve this target. A new Pathway to 2020 process was initiated, and the Indigenous Circle of Experts and National Advisory Panel appointed to advise Ministers on this work.
“With less than 3 years to fulfill our 2020 commitment, we need to get going now,” says Eric Hébert-Daly, National Executive Director at CPAWS. “In the report we identify places across Canada where a considerable amount of work has already been done on proposed protected areas. By acting now to permanently protect these sites, while also planning for what’s needed to conserve nature in the long term, Canada has a chance to move from laggard to leader.”
In British Columbia, the grasslands of the South Okanagan-Similkameen have been identified as an immediate conservation priority. The importance of establishing a National Park Reserve in this region has long been recognized by scientists, governments, and local communities; however, it has remained a decades-long struggle to protect this globally significant landscape.
“The new BC government has an incredible opportunity to demonstrate its leadership and commitment to conservation efforts by working immediately to establish a National Park Reserve in the South Okanagan,” says Jessie Corey, Terrestrial Conservation Manager for CPAWS-BC.
“This is the biggest opportunity in nearly two decades to finally get down to business and get some much-needed federal protections for these grasslands. With First Nations support and a commitment from the federal government to see this process through, the timing has never been better,” says Corey.
In addition to identifying opportunities for new protected areas across the country, the report also notes that Canada’s protected area targets are about more than just percentage of lands and waters protected – they’re about creating a resilient network of connected, well-managed protected areas that represent the broad diversity of ecosystems found here in the province and across the country.
Protected areas are important to conserve wildlife and wilderness, as well as provide clean air and water for all Canadians, store carbon, and play a major role in improving our health and well-being. They also make economic sense. Protected areas around the world generate US$600 billion per year in direct spending, while costing less than US$10 billion per year to manage.
For over 50 years, CPAWS has been working with all levels of government, and other partners across the country to protect more of Canada’s public lands. As the only nationwide charity dedicated to the protection of our public lands and water, we are uniquely positioned to help governments protect what nature really needs.
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Read the full report: http://www.cpaws.org/uploads/CPAWS-Parks-Report-2017.pdf
For interviews, contact:
Jessie Corey, Terrestrial Conservation Manager
(604) 685-7445, ext 25
jessie@cpawsbc.org
Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) welcomed the proposed changes to the Oceans Act and the Canada Petroleum Resources Act tabled in the House of Commons on 15 June 2017.
The proposed changes include providing some interim protection to sites identified as potential marine protected areas (MPAs) and setting time limits for final designation of those sites, requiring the application of the precautionary principle when designating an Oceans Act MPA, and strengthening enforcement powers and fines.
“This is another positive step forward in the Government of Canada’s push to meet our international commitments to protect at least 10 percent of our ocean by 2020,” said Sabine Jessen, CPAWS’ National Ocean Program Director. “Until now, Canada’s marine protected areas have taken far too long to establish. Some sites have taken up to 20 years to establish, with no interim protection, leaving ecologically important areas at great risk from industrial uses,” said Jessen.
Under the proposed changes, by designating “interim protection” the government could “freeze the footprint” of human activities in a proposed MPA so current activities would be allowed to continue but new activities would be prohibited. Sites that receive interim protection would then have to be fully designated within five years.
But according to Jessen, freezing the footprint might not be enough. “In some instances, we know existing activities pose significant threats to known ecological values, so freezing the footprint would offer little protection to vulnerable ecosystems,” said Jessen.
Jessen points to the newly designated Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reef MPA as an example. “We knew ongoing fishing activities like mid-water trawling and prawn traps and bottom trawling near the reefs were causing damage, so freezing the footprint would have done little to protect the reefs,” said Jessen. “Freezing the footprint is a start but we hope Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) will provide stronger interim protection for sites in the future,” Jessen adds.
The proposed amendments to the Oceans Act also require the precautionary principle to be applied in the establishment of MPAs, so that a lack of scientific certainty should not be used as a reason to delay or fail to designate an MPA. According to Jessen, this is something conservationists have been pushing for years.
“We are very happy to see the precautionary principle added as a requirement in the Oceans Act. Scientific studies take time, leaving sensitive ecosystems exposed to harmful human activities for years simply because we don’t have enough data.”
In addition to amendments to the Oceans Act, complementary changes are being proposed to the Canada Petroleum Resources Act that would give the Minister of Natural Resources Canada the authority to prohibit oil and gas activities within a proposed MPA that is under interim protection. Additionally, the Minister of Natural Resources Canada could cancel a company’s exploration licenses or leases to mine an area that is designated an MPA.
“These changes are a great improvement, as the Oceans Act currently contains no explicit prohibitions on oil and gas activities, unlike the National Marine Conservation Areas Act.. We wouldn’t allow an oil rig in our national parks and we shouldn’t allow them within our marine protected areas.”
“However, we are disappointed that these changes on oil and gas activities do not apply in areas off Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia where offshore petroleum boards regulate oil and gas activities,” noted Jessen. “Proposed sites like Laurentian Channel MPA prohibit all fishing activities but would allow oil and gas activities to continue, which is a clear double standard. We think the amendments need to apply in these offshore regions of Canada where oil and gas activities are taking place” Jessen adds.
“Oil and gas activities simply do not belong in marine protected areas, and recent polling by WWF and Environics has shown Canadians do not want these activities to be allowed inside our MPAs. We are pleased the government is listening to Canadians and taking steps to ensure our MPAs are better protected,” said Jessen.
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Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) today responded to Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s announcement about Fisheries and Oceans Canada policy and sites regarding Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs).
“While we appreciate the efforts that Minister LeBlanc and his department have made to be the first government in the world to develop explicit policy on marine OECMs, we are concerned that neither the policy nor the sites announced today meet the test set out by the Convention on Biological Diversity to protect biodiversity as a whole”, said Sabine Jessen, CPAWS National Ocean Program Director. “As long as other industrial activities are being allowed in these areas, it is difficult to see them as ‘marine refuges’, as DFO has labeled them.”
Signatory countries, including Canada, to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), have agreed to meet Aichi Target 11, which commits governments to:
By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.
Under the CBD convention, in-situ conservation of biological diversity means that the areas counted towards Aichi Target 11 should be managed to achieve the conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats and the maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings. With only 3 years left to meet these ambitious targets, countries around the world are racing against the clock to put new protection measures in place. In Canada, only 1% of our ocean territory is currently protected.
“In Canada, the Canadian Council on Ecological Areas (http://www.ccea.org) has been working for the past 5 years with the protected areas community of practice to develop science-based guidance for the identification and reporting of OECMs on land and in the sea. We are concerned that DFO’s approach is not consistent with emerging guidance from the CCEA and could also undermine efforts to define OECMs on land”, said Alison Woodley, CPAWS National Parks Program Director.
“The DFO policy is also not consistent with the emerging international consensus on OECM guidance being developed for the CBD by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)”, noted Jessen. “The draft IUCN guidance and the CCEA guidance are clear that any sites contributing toward the CBD Aichi Target 11, should be effective at conserving biodiversity. That cannot happen if these areas are left vulnerable to industrial-scale fishing, oil and gas exploration and development, and other industrial uses, which should be expressly prohibited.”
“In reviewing the sites that are being counted, we are concerned that the ancient and globally unique Strait of Georgia glass sponge reefs in BC, while protected from all bottom contact fishing, remain vulnerable to anchoring and cable laying and fail to consider the ecosystem linkages between the surface waters and seafloor ecosystem,” said Jessen.
“In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, based upon the information provided so far, the scallop buffer zones only restrict scallop fishing, and all other activities would be allowed to continue,” noted Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS-New Brunswick. “This single restriction is not likely to contribute much to protecting overall biodiversity in these zones from current or future industrial activity.”
“In the case of the 3O coral closure, we are concerned that scientific advice that the closure should include areas within the 400m to 800m depth contour, has not been addressed,” noted Tanya Edwards, Co-Executive Director, CPAWS Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter. “In addition, while corals and sponges are being protected through the prohibition of bottom contact fishing, the other ecological values and linkages within the pelagic realm are being completely ignored.”
“While these sites each have some interim steps toward protection of specific elements of biodiversity, CPAWS believes that they all need additional measures to provide long-term protection for all elements of biodiversity, before they can count towards meeting the CBD target”, said Jessen.
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For further information about the IUCN guidance on OECMs see: https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/wcpa/what-we-do/other-effective-area-based-conservation-measures-oecms
Vancouver, BC – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) cautiously welcomes the announcement of a potential new large marine protected area off the West Coast of Vancouver Island. “Today, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) revealed an area of interest for a new marine protected area that covers 140,000 km2, making it the largest ever proposed marine protected area on BC’s coast,” said Sabine Jessen, CPAWS’ National Ocean Program Director.
The area includes several seamounts and hydrothermal vent fields, both of which are important deep sea ecosystems according to Jessen and her colleagues. “We have long been pushing for Canada to designate large marine protected areas and we look forward to working with DFO to ensure that this site provides strong, meaningful protection for these important ecosystems,” said Jessen.
Seamounts are undersea mountains, that can reach thousands of meters in height. They create important habitat for marine life, and attract species like tuna, sharks, whales, and seabirds. Hydrothermal vents, sometimes known as “black smokers”, are like underwater hot-springs that support unique communities of deep-sea creatures.
DFO has announced that “portions” of the potential marine protected area will be closed to bottom contact fishing, but conservationists say more is needed. “We know from recent polling that Canadians do not want any bottom trawling inside our marine protected areas, and the science clearly shows that large, strongly-protected marine protected areas that are completely closed to commercial fishing and industrial activities, are more effective at protecting marine biodiversity,” said Jessen.
This will not be the first MPA in Canada to protect seamounts or hydrothermal vents. Two of Canada’s oldest marine protected areas are the nearby SGaan Kinghlas – Bowie Seamount and the Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents.
“Chile was the first country to protect seamounts from bottom trawling and there have been recent high profile campaigns to protect seamounts in California and on the high seas because they are such incredible hotspots for biodiversity. This marine protected area is an opportunity for Canada to be an international leader in conserving these globally important ecosystems,” said Alexandra Barron, CPAWS-BC’s Ocean Conservation Manager.
When it is designated, the new marine protected area will help move Canada significantly closer to its target of protecting at least 10% of our coastal and marine waters by 2020. “A large, strongly-protected, offshore marine protected area (MPA) will complement Canada’s ongoing efforts to establish new MPAs and MPA networks across our coasts,” said Jessen.
“We are pleased to see the government take another significant step to protect our ocean ecosystem. We will continue to work with them to ensure that this site and the rest of Canada’s ocean is well protected, for generations to come” Jessen adds.
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Over the past 100 years, temperatures in Northern B.C. have increased by nearly three times the global average, and local First Nations communities are seeing big changes as a result of climate change. Wildlife such as caribou and elk are no longer found in some nations’ traditional hunting grounds, temperatures in rivers and lakes are rising and changing traditional fishing areas, berries and medicinal plants are being lost, and places of refuge for some communities may no longer be safe.
In the next 50 years, temperatures in Northern B.C. are expected to increase by up to 6 degrees, and the growing impacts of climate change will have significant effects on local communities. The ability for First Nations to maintain traditional values and practices, remain healthy, and ensure economic well-being are dependent on understanding climate change and on learning how to prepare for and adapt to these changes.
DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACH TO CLIMATE CHANGE PLANNING
Adaptation planning for climate change is a process by which communities can become better prepared for dealing with the effects of climate change. Recently, CPAWS-BC partnered with Takla Lake First Nation (TLFN) in the northern interior of B.C. to complete a climate change vulnerability and risk assessment for their territory, and to incorporate targeted adaptive strategies into their ongoing land use planning process.
Watch Planning for change: a community-based approach to reducing climate change vulnerability in Northern British Columbia
Following up on this work with the TLFN, we created a guide for communities to use in following a step-by-step process for climate change adaptation planning, called Reducing Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Toolkit for Communities. This process provides communities with tools to take a proactive approach to planning for the local impacts of climate change including:
- Assessing the local effects of climate change;
- Determining how to best minimize the negative effects of changing environmental conditions; and
- Taking advantage of emerging opportunities offered by a changing landscape.
This process supports communities in determining their own trajectory in the face of an uncertain climate future. Different communities will have their own unique set of circumstances and will experience climate change in different ways, so we have designed this toolkit to serve as a guide in creating a customized approach to dealing with climate change. Throughout the various stages, community values and traditional knowledge is maintained as a core aspect upon which other work is based.
The toolkit is intended to evolve over time, incorporating lessons learned through its application, and additional resources that become available. We hope that users will provide us with feedback as they progress through the process of adaptation planning, in order to streamline and improve the process for future users.
Special thanks to the Real Estate Foundation and Wilburforce Foundation for supporting CPAWS-BC’s climate change adaptation work in Northern B.C.
Vancouver, BC – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s BC Chapter (CPAWS-BC) welcomes the provincial government’s proposed Boreal Caribou Recovery Implementation Plan announced last week, but notes that without a strong commitment to stop the decline of all herds and their critical habitat, the plan’s goal of self-sustaining populations may not be achieved.
“This new plan is a big improvement over the abysmal 2011 boreal caribou plan,” says Johnny Mikes, CPAWS-BC Northern Terrestrial Campaign Manager. “Most notably in that it now includes a goal to recover these threatened populations to self-sustaining levels rather than to simply manage their decline. We are pleased with the research and monitoring investment made by the province in recent years and that the new Boreal Caribou Recovery Implementation Plan appears to be more in line with the federal recovery strategy. However, there are some aspects of the plan left open, that are concerning,” says Mikes.
For example, the new plan outlines implementation objectives linked to forestry, oil and gas, and species and wildfire management. There are also some details on linear disturbance limits, mandatory habitat offset requirements for new disturbances, management of early seral forest, and wildlife measures. However, the cumulative benefit of such actions in terms of having a total of undisturbed critical habitat are not captured in the document. CPAWS-BC warns that the goal of achieving “positive habitat trend” is welcome but, in order to effectively protect the habitat these caribou need for survival, specific habitat disturbance targets must be better articulated and timelines clarified.
“Currently, every single one of B.C.’s boreal caribou ranges far exceeds the target habitat disturbance threshold that the province is working towards in the long term,” continued Mikes. “While it is good news that the plan appears to be calling on a moratorium for both forestry and linear disturbances in almost every core area in the five ranges (until further details about what can occur are sorted out), the plan mentions that there is some room for timber harvesting in every range, as well as for new linear disturbances. If we’re serious about giving these caribou a real chance at recovery, the most important action is to avoid further expansion of the industrial footprint in these ranges,” says Mikes.
“CPAWS is heartened by the 2016 plan,” says Mikes. “But only the ongoing monitoring of caribou population numbers and trends, and regular assessment of the condition of the habitat, will tell whether the plan is being implemented with enough resolve to actually achieve self-sustaining herds of boreal caribou in B.C.,” concluded Mikes.
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Contact: Johnny Mikes, CPAWS-BC Northern Terrestrial Campaign Manager
Email: johnnymikes@shaw.ca
Further Information:
Past CPAWS caribou reports: http://cpaws.org/publications/caribou
Public consultation: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/caribou/boreal-caribou/
