At the United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Joyce Murray, announced new support for ocean restoration, conservation, and research across Canada, backed up by $227.5 million in funding. Initiatives in the funding envelope will further Canada’s efforts on marine conservation by improving our understanding of the marine environment, restoring aquatic habitats and contributing towards conservation initiatives. Canada has gone from less than one percent of its waters protected in 2015, to over 14 percent today. Canada will continue to take bold action at home to protect 25 percent of our oceans by 2025, and 30 percent by 2030.
The work needed to help meet these targets will continue during the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) hosted by Canada alongside Host First Nations – the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh – in partnership with the Province of British Columbia, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) from February 3-9 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The congress will bring together marine conservation experts to exchange knowledge, experience and best practices to strengthen the conservation of marine biodiversity.
