Good afternoon. My name is Jessica Clogg. I am the executive director and senior counsel at West Coast Environmental Law, which is dedicated to safeguarding the environment through law. Since 1974, our staff lawyers have successfully worked with communities, non-governmental organizations, and all levels of government, including first nations governments and the private sector, to develop proactive legal solutions to environmental problems.
We commend the federal government for its commitment to developing a national conservation plan. A number of previous witnesses have spoken to the central elements of such a plan, much of which I agree with. In particular, I note in agreement, the framing of my colleagues from CPAWS who spoke at an earlier hearing and summarized these succinctly as “protect, connect, restore, and engage”.
In my submission today, I therefore wish to examine in greater depth three issues that crosscut these elements and should inform a national conservation plan. First is the imperative of climate change and nature conservation; second is the need for sustainable land and water management outside protected areas; and third is the honourable treatment of constitutionally protected aboriginal and treaty rights. Above all else, a framework of strong federal and provincial environmental laws must provide a backbone of an effective national conservation plan.
With regard to climate change and nature conservation, the impacts of climate change on our land and water are sobering. Globally, 20% to 30% of animal species are likely to go extinct. The biological underpinnings—