Canada's wildlife and its habitat are in crisis. The future of all living things depends on action taken now. Efforts to protect biodiversity and habitat for species at risk are vital to the health of the planet, and are a priority for the Government of Canada.
Today, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced $260,000 over four years for Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust to carry out work that protects grassland habitat on agricultural land in Delta, British Columbia.
Only five percent of native grassland remains within the lower Fraser River Delta. Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust works with farmers to temporarily take fields out of agricultural production, plant native grasses, and set them aside as undisturbed grassland habitat for species at risk and species of other concern. This work targets four species: the great blue heron, the barn owl, the barn swallow, and the short-eared owl.
This is just one of the measures the Government of Canada is taking to protect nature as it prepares to welcome the world to Montréal in December 2022 for the fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. The fifteenth Conference of the Parties presents an opportunity for Canada to demonstrate its leadership in taking action to conserve nature and halt biodiversity loss around the world.
