Conservation good news needs celebrating

When it comes to the future of nature, good news can be hard to find. Media reports remind us that wild species are disappearing fast, and trouble looms for the clean air, water, and food that all of us depend on. It can be tough to see the bright side. Yet, there is a bright side: at no other time in recent history have the forces for saving nature in Canada been so aligned, focused, and funded. Conservation in Canada is—quite literally—gaining ground. While it’s no time to let down our guard, it is time to notice successes and to acknowledge those responsible for them. That’s why we’re relaunching Canada’s premier conservation prize. For more than 50 years—before COVID-19 triggered a hiatus—the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) awarded a biennial prize to Canadians who had made significant contributions to the preservation of land, ocean, and species across this country. Over the decades, the award became known as the most prestigious national honour celebrating Canada’s greatest champions for nature. Previous winners include Jean Chrétien, Elizabeth May, Mike Harcourt, and other well-known Canadians, as well as dozens of revered Canadian conservationists, such as Jim Thorsell, John Theberge, and Monte Hummel. Then, two years after the prize was last awarded in 2018, the pandemic struck. They were gloomy times. A 2019 report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services—the biodiversity equivalent to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—estimated that one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. A 2020 United Nations biodiversity summit that many expected would tackle the crisis was indefinitely postponed due to pandemic concerns. Sandra Schwartz is the national executive director of CPAWS. Photograph courtesy of CPAWS Even so, glimmers of hope appeared. Canada’s 2018 federal budget invested in nature as never before, with $1.3-billion for protected areas and species-at-risk. Budget 2021 committed still more. A growing recognition of Indigenous Peoples as nature’s first and best stewards revealed itself in the creation of Indigenous-led protected areas, such Thaidene Nënéin in the Northwest Territories, and others. Momentum gathered, and the postponed UN conference on biodiversity finally convened in Montreal last December. More than 190 nations, including Canada, agreed on a global biodiversity framework, marking a turning point in efforts to stem the tide of vanishing species. Meanwhile, with support from CPAWS, Canada made huge strides towards its declared goal to protect 30 per cent of lands and ocean by 2030. The combined area of Canadian protected lands now equals more than twice the size of France—13.6 per cent of Canada’s landmass. In the last five years, our total marine protected areas jumped to 14.7 per cent of Canadian ocean. Every protected square inch adds an encouraging measure of promise. In keeping with this optimism, the relaunched award will have a new name—the CPAWS Conservation Award. Previously known as the J.B. Harkin Medal, after the father of Canada’s national parks system, the award’s new name acknowledges that conservation’s culture—and Harkin himself—sometimes failed this country’s Indigenous Peoples. The relaunched prize will reflect a clear recognition that conservation in Canada should not—and, indeed, cannot—happen without Indigenous leadership. This year, CPAWS is celebrating 60 years as Canada’s leading national and regional voice for the protection of public land, freshwater, and ocean. Nominations for candidates to be considered for our relaunched conservation prize are now open, and a fall announcement of a deserving winner will cap our anniversary celebrations. While recent years have witnessed more threats to wilderness from development, exploitation, and climate change, they’ve also seen Canadians respond to nature as never before. Saving it is increasingly seen as an imperative by governments, businesses, and the public alike. At a time when other bad news seems endless, the relaunch of CPAWS’s esteemed award is a reminder that—in conservation, at least—people are making good things happen. Conservation is gathering steam and having an impact. In a world of many difficult crises, the loss of biodiversity is being increasingly revealed as one that can be solved. This prize is a symbol of that hope. It’s a celebration of the solution-makers. Sandra Schwartz is the national executive director of CPAWS. The Hill Times