© RYAN MARIOTTI
PROTECT THE PLACES WE LOVE
Making Peace with Nature, a United Nations report released earlier this year, underlines the urgency of expanding protected area networks to avoid the dire consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss. As Canada and other leading nations commit to protecting 25 percent of their lands and waters by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030, Ontario has a crucial role to play and plentiful opportunities to achieve these targets. Ontario Nature and its partner organizations have identified hundreds of priority places for protection across the province. “Without nature's help, we will not thrive or even survive.” —United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres As summer approaches, thousands of Canadians are making plans to visit
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protected areas to camp, hike, paddle, watch wildlife, and find peace. Protected areas provide invaluable ecological and economic benefits, including clean air, clean water, wild foods, and economic opportunities. They safeguard wildlife and habitats, increase our resilience to climate change, and when co-created and managed with Indigenous peoples, they can sustain and strengthen Indigenous knowledge systems and cultural practices. They also offer much-needed access to the outdoors, which is essential to our physical, mental, and spiritual health. One of the lessons we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is that people need to connect with the natural world for their health, happiness, and well-being. Enhancing and safeguarding opportunities to do so is a responsibility that Ontario should embrace by expanding our protected areas system. 88 percent of Ontarians support protecting or conserving more natural spaces. – Abacus Data, 2019
“People want to preserve the places they love for the vital benefits they provide,” says Caroline Schultz, Ontario Nature’s Executive Director. “It’s time to make good on our commitments and responsibilities to protect the forests, wetlands, lakes, and rivers that sustain us.” A 10-year international effort to protect at least 17 percent of our lands and inland waters ended in 2020. Slow out of the gate, Canada fell far short of meeting the target, with only about 12 percent protected. Ontario stalled at less than 11 percent. But Quebec showed us what is possible by reaching the 17 percent target in 2020 by protecting 12,600 square kilometres in 34 new protected areas. The Government of Canada’s renewed commitments to achieve even more ambitious targets are cause for hope – hope bolstered when, on April 1, 2021, the Government of Ontario announced its intention to expand protected and conserved areas. LEARN MORE AND TAKE ACTION:
ONTARIONATURE.ORG/ PROTECTED-PLACES.
