Canada NewsWire
MAYO, YT, Aug. 22, 2019
MAYO, YT, Aug. 22, 2019 /CNW/ - Canadians love and depend on nature—from the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. Canada is home to a quarter of the world's wetlands and boreal forest, one fifth of the world's freshwater resources, and the longest coastline in the world. Protecting our natural resources is essential for Canadians today and for future generations. An important part of our conservation efforts is fostering Indigenous leadership, including support for Indigenous programs and on-the-ground stewardship initiatives. Protecting nature also helps Canada and the entire world mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Today, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, joined the Government of Yukon and First Nations partners to support the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan, which creates new protected and conserved areas to safeguard the watershed and the wildlife that call it home. These new protected areas will also help Canada double the amount of nature it is protecting in our lands and oceans. The Peel Plan is an agreement between the Government of Yukon and the First Nations of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, Vuntut Gwitchin, and Gwich'in Tribal Council and is supported through the Canada Nature Fund Target 1 Challenge.
By working together, more than 3.8 million hectares of our nature will be protected in the Yukon—an area the size of Switzerland. Management plans will also be developed through this partnership, which will include monitoring and recreational management of the area.
This project will conserve and protect habitat for wildlife, including 15 species at risk, such as the bank swallow, gypsy cuckoo bumble bee, and olive-sided flycatcher. The project will also conserve and protect habitat for the barren-ground caribou and the boreal caribou, listed as priority species in the region. Protecting our nature will not only help address the costs of biodiversity loss, it will also help mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Quotes
"Protecting nature and the wildlife that depends on it is important to Canadians. Our government is supporting this valuable work by the Government of Yukon and the First Nations of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, Vuntut Gwitchin, and Gwich'in Tribal Council to establish one of the largest protected areas in Canada. Protecting our nature will also benefit communities and mitigate the impacts of climate change. This collaboration shows how great things can happen when we all work together to protect nature.''
– Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada
View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2019/22/c3034.html