May 17, 2018

Collaborative approach to establishment of protected areas is the key to boreal conservation

Edmonton – Statement by Kevin Smith, national manager of boreal programs at Ducks Unlimited Canada, in response to the Government of Alberta’s boreal conservation announcement yesterday:

We congratulate the Government of Alberta and its partners on conserving 1.3 million hectares of boreal forest. This is an exciting step forward in boreal conservation and will help the province and Canada reach Aichi 2020 biodiversity goals and targets, including 17 per cent protection of lands.

The new protected areas include important breeding habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds and wildlife. We are pleased that the Government of Alberta is delivering on its commitment to the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Partnership (NAWMP) and its goal of restoring waterfowl populations to the average levels of the 1970s.

I’m encouraged to see the collaborative work between governments, Indigenous communities, industry, and environmental organizations to make this happen. Alberta is setting a precedent for a boreal conservation model that works and we want to see more of these partnerships across Canada.

We welcome the Government of Alberta’s support of cooperative management arrangements with Indigenous communities and plans to integrate an Indigenous Guardian Program into the wildland parks.

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Contact

Raina Mithrush
Communications Specialist, Ducks Unlimited Canada
587-341-6671

Kevin Smith
National Boreal Program Manager, Ducks Unlimited Canada
780-952-4772