FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Ottawa, Sept. 28, 2020)—Nature Canada welcomed the federal government joining a global “high ambition coalition” Monday to champion the target of conserving 30 percent of the world’s lands and ocean by 2030.

It’s an important signal of leadership just two days before the Sept. 30 United Nations Biodiversity Summit in New York, said Nature Canada executive director Graham Saul.

“This pledge increases confidence in Canada’s commitment to protect vast tracts of wilderness and ocean from disruptive human activity, helping threatened species avoid extinction,” Saul said.

In Canada alone over 600 species are listed as at-risk from extinction. The number one cause of population declines in vulnerable species is habitat loss. With the longest coastline in the world and vast forests, Canada’s conservation measures ripple across the planet.

“Protecting nature is also critical to help halt climate change,” Saul said. “Beyond providing wildlife habitat, Canada’s forests, wetlands and grasslands are massive natural carbon stores. We can’t let these areas shrink any further.”

The High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People is an intergovernmental coalition of more than 30 countries around the world promoting the 30×30 proposal. It is co-chaired by France and Costa Rica. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson took part in virtual events with fellow leaders Monday. 

The summit of heads of state on Wednesday during the UN General Assembly is a milestone in working out a plan for the next ten years for the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Nature Canada executive director Graham Saul and policy director Gauri Sreenivasan are available for further comment. 

Graham Saul is Executive Director of Nature Canada. He has worked on social and environmental justice issues for more than 25 years in Canada and abroad and is the former head of Climate Action Network Canada and Ecology Ottawa.

Gauri Sreenivasan is Director of Policy and Campaigns at Nature Canada. Her work for sustainability and justice spans more than 25 years, with previous roles on Parliament Hill and at the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Nature Canada has been a voice for nature for more than 80 years. We are a charitable organization advocating the conservation of land and the protection of waterways, and oceans to help stop the loss of species. We facilitate mobilization among more than 900 nature organizations and 100,000 nature-lovers while helping Canadians connect to nature. Learn more at naturecanada.ca.

Please contact:

Lara Falkiner

lfalkiner@naturecanada.ca

Mobile 250-240-2804