Context and Opportunities for Expanding Protected Areas in Canada

Michael A. Wulder, Jeffrey A. Cardille, Joanne C. White and Bronwyn Rayfield
Additional contact information
Michael A. Wulder: Canadian Forest Service (Pacific Forestry Centre), Natural Resources Canada, Victoria, BC V8Z 1M5, Canada
Jeffrey A. Cardille: Department of Natural Resource Sciences and McGill School of Environment, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
Joanne C. White: Canadian Forest Service (Pacific Forestry Centre), Natural Resources Canada, Victoria, BC V8Z 1M5, Canada
Bronwyn Rayfield: Apex Resource Management Solutions Ltd., Ottawa, ON K2A 3K2, Canada

Land, 2018, vol. 7, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: At present, 10.5% of Canada’s land base is under some form of formal protection. Recent developments indicate Canada aims to work towards a target of protecting 17% of its terrestrial and inland water area by 2020. Canada is uniquely positioned globally as one of the few nations that has the capacity to expand the area under its protection. In addition to its formally protected areas, Canada’s remote regions form de facto protected areas that are relatively free from development pressure. Opportunities for expansion of formally protected areas in Canada include official delineation and designation of de facto protected areas and the identification and protection of land to improve connectivity between protected areas (PAs). Furthermore, there are collaborative opportunities for expanding PA through commitments from industry and provincial and territorial land stewards. Other collaborative opportunities include the contributions of First Nations aligning with international examples of Indigenous Protected Areas, or the incorporation and cultivation of private protection programs with documented inclusion in official PA networks. A series of incremental additions from multiple actors may increase the likelihood for achieving area-based targets, and expands stakeholder engagement and representation in Canada’s PA system. Given a generational opportunity and high-level interest in expansion of protected areas in Canada and elsewhere, it is evident that as a diverse number of stakeholders and rights holders collaboratively map current and future land uses onto forest landscapes, science-based conservation targets and spatial prioritizations can inform this process.

Keywords: conservation; biodiversity; ecosystems; IUCN; land use; protected areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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