TAKING ACTION TODAY: ESTABLISHING PROTECTED AREAS FOR CANADA'S FUTURE Report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development Deborah Schulte Chair MARCH 2017 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. Reproduction or use outside this permission or without authorization may be treated as copyright infringement in accordance with the Copyright Act. Authorization may be obtained on written application to the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons. 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Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca TAKING ACTION TODAY: ESTABLISHING PROTECTED AREAS FOR CANADA'S FUTURE Report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development Deborah Schulte Chair MARCH 2017 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CHAIR Deborah Schulte VICE-CHAIRS Jim Eglinski Linda Duncan MEMBERS John Aldag Mark Gerretsen William Amos Joël Godin Mike Bossio Martin Shields Darren Fisher OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED René Arseneault Ken Hardie Ramez Ayoub Mark Holland Frank Baylis Bernadette Jordan Chris Bittle Stéphane Lauzon Bill Casey Rémi Massé Sean Casey Michael V. McLeod François Choquette John Nater Rodger Cuzner Jean R. Rioux Julie Dabrusin Sherry Romanado Hon. Mark Eyking Marc Serré Hon. Ed Fast Terry Sheehan Pat Finnigan Robert Sopuck Peter Fragiskatos Wayne Stetski Colin Fraser Brad Trost iii Sean Fraser Adam Vaughan Hon. Hedy Fry Erin Weir Bernard Généreux Jonathan Wilkinson CLERKS OF THE COMMITTEE Cynara Corbin Michael MacPherson LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Penny Becklumb, Analyst Tim Williams, Analyst iv THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT has the honour to present its FIFTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied Federal Protected Areas and Conservation Objectives and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................. 1 LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................... 5 TAKING ACTION TODAY: ESTABLISHING PROTECTED AREAS FOR CANADA’S FUTURE ..................................................................................................... 13 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 13 BENEFITS AND IMPACTS OF PROTECTED AREAS ............................................ 16 EXPANDING PROTECTED AREAS ........................................................................ 19 A. The Commitment to Protect Terrestrial and Marine Areas ............................. 19 1. Current Extent and Types of Protected Areas .......................................... 20 2. Current Protected Areas in the Planning Stages ...................................... 22 3. What the Targets Actually Entail ............................................................... 23 a. Quantity and Quality ............................................................................ 24 b. Connectivity ......................................................................................... 25 4. Interim Nature of Aichi Target 11 .............................................................. 27 B. The Way Forward ........................................................................................... 29 1. Ensuring that all of Canada’s Protected Areas are Counted in Canada’s Inventory of Protected Areas .................................................................... 29 2. Increasing the Extent of Area Protected ................................................... 35 a. Overarching Plan ................................................................................. 35 (i) A Plan for Reaching the Terrestrial Target .................................... 35 (ii) A Plan for Reaching the Marine Target ......................................... 38 b. Federal Roles ...................................................................................... 42 (i) Federal Leadership ....................................................................... 43 (ii) National Conservation Assessment .............................................. 43 (iii) Federal Internal Coordination ....................................................... 44 (iv) Funding ........................................................................................ 47 c. A Bottom-Up Approach ........................................................................ 53 d. Protection in Indigenous Traditional Areas: Conservation and Beyond.......................................................................................... 55 (i) From Guardians to Indigenous Protected Areas ........................... 55 vii (ii) Indigenous Peoples and Federal Protected Areas: A New Relationship .................................................................................. 58 (iii) Beyond Conserving Nature ........................................................... 62 3. Accelerating the Establishment of Protected Areas .................................. 63 a. Entrenching Conservation Timelines in Law ........................................ 65 b. Designating Protected Areas Concurrently .......................................... 66 c. Negotiating Transparently .................................................................... 67 d. Reviewing the Regulatory Regime for Minerals, Oil and Gas in the North .................................................................................................... 67 4. Ensuring Desired Outcomes ..................................................................... 69 a. Ensuring Sufficient Levels of Protection ............................................... 69 (i) Minimum Standards ...................................................................... 69 (ii) Ensuring Ecological Integrity in National Parks ............................. 71 (iii) Providing Interim Protection .......................................................... 75 b. Implementing the Species at Risk Act.................................................. 76 c. Monitoring Integrity............................................................................... 77 (i) Monitoring in Federal Terrestrial Protected Areas ......................... 78 (ii) Monitoring in Federal Marine Protected Areas .............................. 79 d. Considering Carbon Storage in Natural Areas ..................................... 80 5. Not Losing Ground .................................................................................... 81 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 82 APPENDIX A: AICHI BIODIVERSITY TARGETS ......................................................... 85 APPENDIX B: CANADA’S PROTECTED AREAS NETWORK ..................................... 89 APPENDIX C: STATUS AND GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL PARKS SYSTEM AND THE NATIONAL MARINE CONSERVATION AREAS SYSTEM .......................... 91 APPENDIX D: IUCN PROTECTED AREAS BY MANAGEMENT TYPE ....................... 99 APPENDIX E: LIST OF WITNESSES ......................................................................... 101 APPENDIX F: LIST OF BRIEFS ................................................................................. 107 REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE ........................................................... 109 viii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2010, Canada committed to a set of 20 targets known as the Aichi Targets established under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Target 11 commits parties to an aspirational goal of protecting at least 17% of terrestrial and inland waters and 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020. The target also mandates that protection focus on areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services and that protected areas be well-managed, ecologically representative, well-connected and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes. Canada’s achievement of target 11 formed the foundation of the Committee’s study. Intact, functional ecosystems