Thank you, Mark.
The second recommendation we would like to make is related to the way in which certain areas are accounted for in the current protected area inventory.
We have secured long-term protection on over 500,000 acres via fee-simple purchase or permanent conservation easements. However, based on the current guidelines, most of the lands we secure do not satisfy the criteria for permanent protection and inclusion in Canada’s protected areas inventory.
The federal government has already recognized the value of private lands conservation measures by funding programs such as the natural areas conservation program and the national wetlands conservation funds, which are due to sunset in 2019. It has also allocated modest amounts of funding to start the process to fully capture and track all of Canada’s natural heritage assets on private land.
As guidelines for protected areas accounting are being updated at the international and national levels, we recommend that the government continue to advance its national inventory of conservation measures. This complete baseline of national conservation measures will be essential to inform how the federal government develops a strategic road map to meet and exceed protection targets, in collaboration with provinces, territories, indigenous peoples, and other conservation partners.
The third and final point we would like to raise with the committee is the need to act now where opportunities present themselves.
In the Northwest Territories protected areas strategy, for example, protection is proposed for wetlands that are key breeding habitats for waterfowl populations that migrate across the continent. We strongly encourage the federal government to play a leadership role where such strategic land-use planning initiatives exist. Increased support to indigenous people and their partners would enable the more efficient identification of areas to be protected, the facilitation of fair negotiation processes, and the designation of these areas by federal or local tools.
As part of conservation planning efforts, we will need support to complete the Canadian wetland inventory, as there is no complete mapping of wetlands on the Canadian landscape to consistently inform land-use decisions. Wetlands should also be added to Natural Resources Canada's national terrestrial monitoring framework, so that we can better understand and monitor landscape change as it pertains to wetlands.
Another way to easily expand the protected areas network is to enable the Canadian Wildlife Service to secure lands adjacent to existing NWAs and MBSs as they become available. Currently, funds have been set aside under the national areas conservation plan, but the CWS does not have a mechanism to swiftly deploy these funds to hold biodiversity hot spots for migratory birds and species at risk near existing NWAs and MBSs.
We propose that the committee and government should examine how lands can be acquired under permanent protection through streamlined processes.
We thank you for the opportunity to speak today and highlight these issues of importance to Ducks Unlimited. We hope to have the opportunity to meet again to discuss strategies for the expansion of the protected areas network in Canada, as well as the role of wetland ecological services for Canadians.