Conservation Saves the Climate, Too

Today, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is announcing support for conservation efforts and climate action by the Government of Canada. On this note, I decided to take a deep-dive into why conservation matters in the fight against climate change.

You may have heard of the Paris Agreement. It was and continues to be a big deal, as 195 countries committed to take action at all levels to prevent the planet from warming 2 ℃. (Raghav, 2017) The direct approach is to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Another very effective tactic is the large-scale conservation of marine and land ecosystems.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada estimates that conservation of forests and coasts can do at least 30% of the mitigation work we need in order to avoid that 2 ℃ limit. Environment Minister McKenna said in April 2019 that “nature is a very effective way to store carbon.” (Weber, 2019) Terrestrial ecosystems store carbon in plants and continually absorb more from the atmosphere. Planting trees is the tried-and-true method of carbon recapture, since before we even knew what we were doing. Coastal ecosystems and oceans also store and absorb carbon, in plants, sediments, and the water. The Nature Conservancy states that forests, coasts, and wetlands protect against the severity and frequency of severe weather events that increase as climate change progresses. For example, wetlands are nature’s line of defense against flooding. However, the destruction or degradation of natural areas releases all of the stored carbon back into the atmosphere and further contributes to global climate change. Conservation protects the carbon vault while also protecting humans from the impacts of climate change It is therefore essential that we protect as much land as possible from destruction and waste.

Photo by Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock. <https://www.conservation.org/priorities/climate-change>

Conservation projects are being taken on by governments, private groups, and non-governmental organizations all around the world. Canada has made a commitment to protect 17% of its land and 10% of its ocean and coastal areas by 2020. (Weber, 2019) Very recently, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced a new Marine Protected area. It brings the total of protected marine ecosystems in Canada to over 13%! The Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area north of Nunavut is huge, encompassing part of the Arctic basin and the Arctic Archipelago. For five years from August 1, 2019, no new or additional human activities will be allowed to occur in this area. No industrial resource exploration or drilling, which has been a huge threat to the safety of Arctic regions. Even better, this protected area joins a few others, such as the Gwaii Haanas National Park in Haida Gwaii off the coast of British Columbia, in also protecting the rights of indigenous people to continue using their lands in traditional ways. (Wilt, 2017)

Photo by Sophie Galarneau. <https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/mpa-zpm/tuvaijuittuq/index-eng.html>

The new protected area in the Arctic has no trees or wetlands. So why should it be conserved? Arctic ice is necessary for the wildlife above and below the ice, for the people that live there, for the sake of rising sea levels, and for the storage of frozen carbon. In order to prevent an Arctic melt out, climate change has to be slowed by conserving Canadian land. The trees, the prairies, the lakes, and the mountains all count towards capturing carbon emitted into the atmosphere by humans.

However, we are still far short of that Canadian commitment. Only about 12% of terrestrial ecosystems are currently protected. (Weber, 2019) Much more work can be done by NGOs and by government at the local, provincial, and national level.

As for what to do, I would say support your national and provincial parks. You can learn about conservation and sensitive ecosystems near where you live. You can volunteer with cleanups and campaigns to create new protected areas. And lastly, you can get out and enjoy nature!

FYI: My personal favourite park is Lake Superior Provincial Park. I would highly recommend a visit.

You can find a list of protected areas and national parks at <https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/conservation/protected-areas.html>

PS. I fully believe that polar bears and baby moose are more than cute enough to warrant protecting Canadian nature. But since that’s old news, I discussed the climate change angle. You can help the polar bears at <www.wwf.ca>

References

Bob Weber. April 23, 2019. “Protecting Nature Also Fights Climate Change, says federal environment minister.” The Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2019/04/23/protecting-nature-also-fights-climate-change-says-federal-environment-minister.html

Canada’s Marine Protected and Conserved Areas. 2019. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/conservation/areas-zones/index-eng.html

Climate Change. 2019. Conservation International.

https://www.conservation.org/priorities/climate-change

Fighting Climate Change with Conservation. 2019. Nature Conservancy Canada.

http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/who-we-are/publications/magazine/winter-2019/fighting-climate-change-with-conservation.html

James Wilt. August 25, 2017. “Canada Has Three Years to Increase Protected Areas by 60% and, um, It’s Not Going to Be Easy.” THe Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/canada-has-three-years-increase-protected-areas-60-and-um-it-s-not-going-be-easy/

Shyla Raghav. June 2, 2017. “5 Questions You’ve Wanted to Ask About the Paris Agreement.” Conservation International. https://www.conservation.org/blog/5-questions-youve-wanted-to-ask-about-the-paris-agreement

Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area. August 1, 2019. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/mpa-zpm/tuvaijuittuq/index-eng.html