Progress report shows BC needs faster action on nature conservation

Today marks the first day of spring, and it’s a cool, crisp day where I live on Secwépemc territory in the interior of BC. I made sure to spend some time outside this morning, as I do on each equinox, to ground myself in the changing seasons. It’s one of the ways I can connect with nature even when I’m spending most of my day at a desk.

I know that connection to nature is important to you as well, and to so many people here and in BC and right across the country. And it’s one of the reasons CPAWS has released a new report, Path to 2030: a report card on progress to protect land and ocean across Canada. The report outlines the progress made to protect land and ocean from coast to coast to coast since 2022, and it probably won’t surprise you to hear that the results are mixed.

While conservation commitments and funding announcements have been positive over the last few years, the reality on the ground (and under the water) is that progress has been glacially slow, earning BC an overall letter grade of ‘B’.

When I joined CPAWS-BC back in 2017, about 15.4% of BC’s lands and freshwater were protected, and we were advocating for 25% by 2025 as a stepping stone to reaching 30% by 2030. Now, eight years later, that’s only increased by 0.5% (to 15.9%*)—unless you agree with the province’s own accounting of 20% protected, which we don’t (see the Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures explainer below for details).

That means BC needs a huge acceleration in the pace of protection between now and 2030 to stand a chance of meeting that goal. It’s not impossible, but it’s going to take a serious effort to make it happen.

It will require key improvements, such as funding for land-use planning and making sure all of the protected areas in BC are truly protected, meeting international and Canadian standards.

It’s not all bad news, of course.

BC made bold commitments to protect nature:

• Formally committed to protecting 30% of lands by 2030
• Signed a Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation
• Committed significant funding, particularly through the Great Bear Sea
• Project Finance for Permanence and the BC Conservation Fund.
• Established the largest provincial park in a decade with the Klinse-za Park expansion
• Released a draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework in 2023.
• And released its first-ever Coastal Marine Strategy in 2024.

This new report also highlights some key Indigenous-led conservation initiatives that can support the province’s push to protect biodiversity on both land and ocean.

Working in partnership with, and following the leadership of, First Nations will be critical if BC is to meet its targets. There’s a lot of work to be done and 2030 feels like it’s just around the corner now.

You can help keep the momentum going by asking the government to keep its promise to protect nature.

Additional resources:
Link to the full report
Link to the BC Pull Out
Why we don’t count OECMs

* The report numbers are based on the latest CPCAD reporting, but this includes recent announcements made in 2024.