Canada invests $800-million in Indigenous land and water conservation projects

On day one of the COP15 biodiversity conference in Montreal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced an $800-million investment in four Indigenous conservation projects across Canada. The four Indigenous-led projects will cover nearly one million square kilometres of land and water in B.C.’s Northernshelf Bioregion, the Qikiqtani Region in Nunavut, Ontario’s Hudson Bay Lowlands, Western Hudson Bay and southwestern James Bay.

“Indigenous Peoples have been guardians of the land, waters and ice in this continent for millennia. Canada’s ambitious biodiversity goals can only be met in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis. By coupling Indigenous and western science, we can fight the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, strengthen our relationships with Indigenous communities and build a better future for everyone.”

—Steven Guilbeault

These Indigenous-led projects, to be funded over seven years beginning in 2023, are part of Canada’s goals of conserving 25% of land and waters by 2025, and 30% of each by 2030.

The Great Bear Sea, the boreal forests of the Northwest Territories, the waters of Nunavut, the wetlands of Northern Ontario – that’s what we’re working with Indigenous communities to protect. To the tune of almost a million square kilometers total. https://t.co/gWKUmfjwIt pic.twitter.com/B5TSKVNjXI

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) December 8, 2022

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