Some scientists and environmental groups are saying the federal government’s first ever National Conservation Plan, will neglect most of Canada, given its focus on agricultural and built-up areas near urban centres, according to a report Monday (June 2) by Canada’s public broadcaster CBC.
“Our Government is committed to working closely with Canadians so that together we can provide effective stewardship of Canada’s rich natural heritage for present and future generations,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper in launching the plan.
According to a press release the plan will enable “Canadians to conserve and restore lands and waters in and around their communities, and making it easier for citizens living in cities to connect with nature.”
But CBC journalist Maura Forrest writes that “some experts fear that this focus is too narrow, particularly in light of recent budget cuts to Parks Canada and changes to environmental legislation like the Fisheries Act.”
She reports “all of the funding earmarked to protect sensitive habitats is pledged to the Nature Conservancy, which deals solely in private lands.Those private lands make up only 10 per cent of the Canadian landscape, and are largely around urban areas in southern Canada.”
“A national conservation plan, in our view, would not exclude 90 per cent of the landscape of Canada,” said Éric Hébert-Daly, national executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), a non-profit dedicated to wilderness preservation.
More information:
CBC News/Maura Forrest – Plan too narrowly focused on built-up areas, critics say – here
Prime Minister’s press release – PM launches National Conservation Plan – here
National Conservation Plan information – here
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