Unceded Algonquin Territory – Ottawa, ON – October 28, 2022 – Ahead of the UN’s COP15 summit on Biodiversity in Montreal this December (NatureCOP), Nature Canada and hundreds of partner organizations are planning mass mobilizations to demonstrate the importance of the NatureCOP, celebrate biodiversity, and create excitement for a strong Global Framework and a National Action plan to halt and reverse species loss.

“The planet is staring down the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss and we need an action plan that’s commensurate with the scale of the problem,” says Graham Saul, Executive Director at Nature Canada. “NatureCOP Montreal could be the moment we turn it around for nature and Canada  unexpectedly finds itself in the driver’s seat.  So we’re going to ask our representatives — Trudeau, Guilbeault, Murray, Wikinson – let’s be the change. Let’s set the standard with a national action plan to halt and reverse nature loss and let’s get the global framework that will steer us away from catastrophe.”

Nature Canada’s Nature Network partners are planning a massive education and awareness campaign in the lead up to NatureCOP and will be chartering several buses to criss-cross the country collecting messages from Canadians from coast to coast. Nature-lovers will be encouraged to submit messages, artwork, and letters demonstrating their excitement about this historic opportunity. Their messages will be displayed as part of Nature Canada’s event in the Canada pavilion in Montreal.

“It’s got to be visible – this is a shouting from the rooftops moment,” says Hannah Dean who is leading Nature Canada’s mobilization efforts. “NatureCOP Montreal is not just another talking-heads summit. Canadians and the world need to know that this is a critical opportunity. And the voices of all Canadians can really make a difference to how Canada’s leadership approaches this in the next weeks.”

With the eyes of the world on Canada as the host, local and regional nature groups across the country are mobilizing demonstrations to coincide with the summit in Montreal, national nature groups will be deploying digital advocacy campaigns and in-person demonstrations, and international nature organizations will be coordinating to ensure a strong Global Biodiversity Framework is achieved.

Throughout the coming weeks Nature Canada will be asking supporters and partners to call for a strong global framework and also highlight the need for a Canadian action plan to halt and reverse nature loss that:

• Protects 30 percent of land, ocean, and freshwater by 2030
• Supports the conservation leadership of Indigenous Peoples 
• Invests in nature-based solutions to climate change
• Restores degraded ecosystems and ensures the recovery of threatened wildlife
• Promotes urban biodiversity and equitable access for all people

Despite being delayed for two years and moving from China to Montreal, COP15 is hugely important. After years of negotiations, the 196 countries gathered are expected to sign a new global agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss over the next decade – the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

Biodiversity – the variety and quantity of life – is declining across the planet. More than one million species face extinction. Approximately two thirds of the world’s ecosystems are degraded or unsustainably used. As many as 40% of all animals and plants may be extinct by the end of this century.
This is the greatest mass extinction since the dinosaurs.

This crisis does not just matter for nature. Collapsing biodiversity is destroying the natural
systems human societies rely on for food, clean air and water, stable climates, and fuel. If
nothing changes, damage to these natural services could cost over $2.7 trillion a year by 2030.

COP15 is meant to rally the globe together to halt and reverse these declines. This will require
urgent action on conservation, supporting nature’s contributions to people, ensuring fair sharing
of the benefits from genetic resources, and funding the protection and restoration of nature for
the benefit of the planet and people.

For more information on Nature Canada’s activities in the lead up to NatureCOP contact:
media@naturecanada.ca

Nature Canada is Canada’s voice for nature. For 80 years, Nature Canada has helped protect over 110 million acres of parks and wildlife areas in Canada and countless species. Today, Nature Canada represents a network of over 170,000 members and supporters and more than 1,200 nature organizations.

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For more information contact: 

Scott Mullenix 
media@naturecanada.ca