Montreal, Quebec - From feeding our families and supporting important industries, to housing diverse species, habitats and ecosystems, our oceans connect us all. Now more than ever, we are seeing the impact that climate change and biodiversity loss has on our marine spaces. That is why the Government of Canada is committed to conserving and protecting our oceans now, and for future generations.
Today 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, including:
- An investment of $75 million over the next five years for the Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration Fund, as part of the expanded Oceans Protection Plan, to support projects that conserve and restore priority coastal and upstream aquatic areas.
- An additional investment of $7.5 million, over three years, through the Ecosystem and Oceans Contribution Program, to fund science-based activities and research in support of marine conservation efforts.
- An initial investment of $6.9 million for the first round of a national Call for Proposals through the Oceans Management Contribution Program to advance outreach, monitoring, stewardship, and capacity-building initiatives across the country that help protect marine areas. This is part of a larger funding envelope of $145 million over 5 years to support collaboration with key partners across the country.
These initiatives 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 made historic progress on conserving our marine waters going from less than one per cent protection in 2015, to over 14 per cent today. As Canada welcomes the world to COP15 and leads on international efforts, we will continue to take bold action at home to protect 25 per cent of our oceans by 2025, and 30 per cent 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.
Through these initiatives and continued collaboration with partners, Canada is making concrete progress towards ocean conservation and protection. These efforts are making a difference in building a cleaner, more sustainable aquatic environment for generations to come.
