Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
As you may have seen, the initial round of funding for the various NCP funding programs has been approved, and contribution agreements are in place or are currently being negotiated. Most recently we announced 47 new projects, totalling $5 million, under the new national wetland conservation fund. The calls for proposals in this fiscal year have been issued and are now undergoing review.
We have put in place a contribution agreement with Earth Rangers, which supports their work to help connect families to nature. We finalized a funding agreement with the Nature Conservancy, which is leading the implementation of the natural areas conservation program. The government has also announced the 10 national wildlife areas where we will be investing additional resources under the pillar of connecting Canadians, which was the third pillar of that plan.
We're also continuing to promote the NCP and its goals, and to create greater awareness. This, of course, is in the broader context of the full range of ongoing work that we and our partners at Parks Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada are doing to preserve and restore Canada's natural areas.