Across the country, local and regional land trusts protect hundreds of thousands of hectares of the most endangered landscapes, particularly in southern Canada where nature loss is most acute. Establishing a Canada Conservation Endowment Fund program will provide the necessary infrastructure and funding for land trusts to support a growing sector, diversity, capacity, job creation and retention, land stewardship, and expansion of Canada’s private land conservation programs. Federal funding to expand protected areas is critical to nature conservation, and to uphold the designation of “permanent” protection, perpetual stewardship is imperative.
A Canada Conservation Investment Fund will help ensure the long-term care of Canada’s network of privately conserved areas. The structure of the Fund could be modelled on the successful Canada Cultural Investment Fund.
Recommended Investment:
$150 million over ten years for an endowment fund that will create a long-term funding stream to strengthen the capacity of local and regional land trusts to care for natural spaces in perpetuity. [ECCC]