{"id":55933,"date":"2022-12-15T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=55933"},"modified":"2022-12-19T14:58:22","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T19:58:22","slug":"nature-groups-give-high-marks-for-canadas-new-commitment-to-a-high-ambition-action-plan-to-halt-and-reverse-nature-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/press-release\/55933\/nature-groups-give-high-marks-for-canadas-new-commitment-to-a-high-ambition-action-plan-to-halt-and-reverse-nature-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature groups give high marks for Canada\u2019s new commitment to a high ambition action plan to halt and reverse nature loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

December 15, 2022 \u2013 Unceded territory of the Kanien\u2019keha:ka \u2013 Montreal. <\/strong>Today at a COP15 panel hosted by Nature Canada in Montreal, Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, committed to advance a wide-ranging domestic strategy and action plan to halt and reverse nature loss in Canada. Canadian nature groups welcomed the announcement saying the Minister\u2019s remarks promise to deliver a national strategy that commits to \u201craise the bar\u201d to deliver on a great many issues that the nature community has been asking for.<\/p>\n\n

While Canada remains firmly focused on ensuring agreement at COP15 for a strong global deal for Nature, the federal government has already committed to halt and reverse nature loss at home. Today Minister Guilbeault shared for the first time how the federal government intends to deliver on this historic commitment.<\/p>\n\n

The Minister pledged that the action plan will build on existing Canadian priorities but also include new tools and approaches to bend the curve on species loss in the next eight years. This includes continued action to protect a minimum of 30 percent of land and ocean by 2030, a prioritization of Indigenous knowledge and conservation, and commitments to redirect or eliminate subsidies that harm nature. He will also seek support for a new federal biodiversity accountability law to drive implementation of the \u2018Halt and Reverse biodiversity loss\u2019 goal.

\u201cThis is exemplary Canadian leadership,\u201d said Gauri Sreenivasan, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Nature Canada. \u201cBy committing to deliver a national strategy to halt nature loss at home, Canada is doing its part to leverage a similar commitment to halt mass species extinction world-wide. We are pleased to hear the Minister commit to a whole-of-government<\/em> approach to align federal policies and actions with Canada\u2019s biodiversity commitments.. Canada needs to move now to put the action plan in place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Minister Guilbeault\u2019s announcement comes on the heels of a call by 17 national environmental groups<\/a> released last week, and an earlier open letter to the Prime Minister<\/a> from over 200 groups last Fall calling for a plan to act on the Government\u2019s election pledge.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cEnvironmental groups have called for an action plan to reverse biodiversity loss in Canada and we are pleased that the Government of Canada is responding,\u201d said Sandra Schwartz, National Executive Director at the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). \u201cThis commitment builds on the work to protect at least 30 percent of land and ocean by 2030, by addressing a broader suite of actions necessary to support biodiversity and fight climate change.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt is critical that all initiatives in Canada\u2019s action plan to halt and reverse nature loss recognize Indigenous rights and title, and embed respect for Indigenous knowledge and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People,\u201d said Jay Ritchlin, Director General of B.C. and Western Region for the David Suzuki Foundation. \u201cThe government\u2019s commitment today along with recent investment in four new Indigenous-led protected areas and a Canada-wide Indigenous Guardian network bodes well for advancing Indigenous leadership in halting and reversing nature loss.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe are particularly pleased to see Minister Guilbeault\u2019s public support for a new accountability act that would require the federal government to meet its commitments to protect nature,\u201d said Reykia Fick, Nature and Food Campaigner for Greenpeace, \u201cCanada\u2019s current laws are inadequate to meet the challenge of the biodiversity crisis. That\u2019s why we need a new law that combines government accountability with strong respect for sovereign Indigenous rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Today\u2019s speech lays out public commitments to the action plan but without clear timelines. Canadian nature organizations expect the Government to develop this plan in 2023 and will be watching for how these promises translate to action in the coming year. Groups also look forward to seeing further elements in the plan, including a robust target for restoring 20 percent of all degraded ecosystems, expanded actions to reverse species decline, ambitious targets for ending harmful pollution, and a plan to expand public engagement and equitable access to nature for all.<\/p>\n\n

Other Supporting Quotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cLegal reform from an Indigenous rights-based approach is essential to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Governments can talk all they want but what matters at the end of the day is policy that puts action on the land. We hope today\u2019s announcement actually results in implementation of the biodiversity targets here at COP15 and we\u2019ll be watching to make sure it does.\u201d \u2013 Charlotte Dawe, Conservation and Policy Campaigner, Wilderness Committee<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

\u201cNow, more than ever before, accountability is critical to ensuring Canada meets its obligations to a sustainable environment, to healthy communities, and to our Indigenous partners. Indigenous leadership is mandatory in rising to meet the global biodiversity crisis and in guiding the designation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas towards the realization of 30% of lands and waters protected by 2030, and we are encouraged to see this reality being recognized by the federal government.\u201d \u2013 Stewart Guy, Executive Director, B.C. Nature<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

\u201cA key aspect that was raised by panelists at the discussion today was that Canada needs to follow its existing laws to protect species at risk. Legal accountability is an essential part of ensuring Canada meets its commitments to protecting biodiversity. Today\u2019s support from Minister Guilbeault for an accountability law is an important first step. But implementation is vital.\u201d- Maggy Burns, Executive Director, Ecology Action Centre<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt is great that Canada is playing a strong leadership role in the UN negotiations of a global biodiversity framework, but the rubber really hits the road when governments turn promises into action on the ground. We welcome Minister Guilbeault\u2019s support for a biodiversity accountability law, which would be our best means of delivering on those promises.\u201d \u2013  Anna Johnston, West Coast Environmental Law Association <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

 \u201cWe welcome this commitment from Minister Guilbeault, and look forward to its application not just on land but across the country\u2019s coasts and waters. Near-term decisions to prohibit deep sea mining and limit expansion of bottom trawling in fragile environments will show that Canada is serious in its efforts to protect and restore biodiversity. Stopping destructive activities before they start and using a whole-of-government approach will be key to halting biodiversity loss.\u201d  \u2013 Chris Debicki, VP Policy Development and Legal Counsel, Oceans North<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

\u201cMinister Guilbeault\u2019s support today for a nature accountability law is an important first step to ensure Canada can achieve its biodiversity targets. Just as the federal government introduced an accountability law to achieve net-zero emissions, we need a strong nature law developed in ethical cooperation with Indigenous leadership that holds governments accountable for reaching biodiversity targets.\u201d- Melanie Snow, Legislative Affairs Specialist, Ecojustice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe look forward to a biodiversity accountability law setting the course to meet targets, but also to ensure we protect nature for nature\u2019s sake, and not only as a commodity for use as offsets to industrial pollution.\u201d \u2013 Louise Comeau, Director Climate Change Solutions, Conservation Council of New Brunswick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cL\u2019engagement du ministre Guilbeaut en faveur d\u2019une loi sur la responsabilit\u00e9 en mati\u00e8re de biodiversit\u00e9 est un imp\u00e9ratif. Inscrire nos objectifs de 2030 en mati\u00e8re de nature dans la loi canadienne est exactement le leadership n\u00e9cessaire \u00e0 ce carrefour pour nous donner de l\u2019espoir pour l\u2019avenir des oiseaux et de toute vie sur la plan\u00e8te.\u201d  Patrick Nadeau, Pr\u00e9sident- Directeur G\u00e9n\u00e9ral, Oiseaux Canada<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cJust as we can\u2019t negotiate with nature, we can\u2019t negotiate with our children\u2019s future. The ChariTree Foundation is encouraged that Canada is taking the lead on accountable steps to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, especially for children and youth.\u201d -Andrea Koehle Jones, Children\u2019s Climate Education Advocate, The ChariTree Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cAt COP15, we\u2019re seeing growing emphasis on the need for national accountability mechanisms to ensure that countries turn agreements from words into concrete action, at the pace and scale the biodiversity crisis demands. Federal biodiversity accountability legislation for Canada could bridge that gap between what\u2019s promised on the global stage and what\u2019s delivered at home \u2013 as long as it recognizes Indigenous rights, sovereignty and traditional knowledge. Implementation isn\u2019t an abstract concept: it will determine the future of the forests, endangered species, wetlands, and waters that sustain us and bring us wonder.\u201d Caroline Brouillette, National Policy Director, Climate Action Network \u2013 R\u00e9seau action climat Canada<\/strong>

\u201cWe are very pleased to hear the Minister\u2019s commitments to halt and reverse nature loss in Canada. The commitment to a federal biodiversity accountability law will be key to ensuring that long overdue species and habitat protections will  be prioritized and achieved.\u201d Lisa Mitchell, Executive Director, East Coast Environmental Law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n


For more information contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Stacy Corneau
613-620-2592
corneau.stacy@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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