At the opening of IMPAC5 in Vancouver today, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced a new policy to guide the establishment and management of national marine conservation areas (NMCAs) to help advance the Government of Canada’s goal to create 10 new NMCAs to achieve its target of protecting 30 percent of lands and water by 2030. The new NMCA Policy Framework emphasizes the importance of collaboration and co-management with Indigenous peoples and sets direction for all current and future NMCAs. The new Policy articulates eight interconnected, mutually reinforcing management goals for the NMCA program. The new policy is intended to bring clarity on the management of NMCAs, along with a new zoning framework that is more responsive to both protection and ecologically sustainable use objectives. It identifies a suite of management tools for NMCAs, including regulatory tools to be developed under the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act.
