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On June 13, the federal government unveiled Canada's Nature Strategy 2030, in conjunction with Bill C-73, the Responsibility for Nature Act. Together, the Strategy and the Act are two tools designed to help Canada meet its international commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Like the Global Framework, the goal of the recently unveiled Strategy and Bill is to halt and even reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, while aspiring to a vision where humans live in harmony with nature by 2050.
The announced Strategy promises to "mobilize the transformative change needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss [...] [and to] rethink the systems that have led us to this crisis [...]", but does it give itself the means to achieve this?
Canada's Nature Strategy 2030: a roadmap to achieve the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework
Canada's Nature Strategy 2030 aims to translate the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into actions by which Canada would meet the targets set by the international community at the 15th Conference of the Parties on Biodiversity (COP15) in 2022. In this way, the Strategy acts as a roadmap for implementing the Global Framework at the Canadian level. The document outlining the Strategy contains a section for each of the 23 targets of the Global Framework, outlining the current state of progress of the target concerned, the challenges and issues encountered, as well as the opportunities that the Canadian government is committed to seizing and those that it could potentially explore.
While the Strategy is certainly a step in the right direction, there is still room for improvement.
The document contains a section for each of the 23 targets of the Global Framework, depicting the current state of progress, the challenges and issues encountered, but also the opportunities that the government is committed to seizing.
While the Strategy is certainly a step in the right direction, points for improvement are observable. For example:
Some of the Strategy's measures are not measurable, which makes it difficult to track their progress to 2030. As a result, it's difficult to assess their performance and make adjustments where necessary;
A remarkable emphasis is placed on conserving the 30% of land and water that corresponds to the famous "30x30" target. Although measurable, conservation efforts alone are not enough: it is absolutely essential that equivalent progress be made on the other targets, and that we respectfully coexist with the remaining 70%. In other words, the targets must be considered holistically, as an interdependent whole;
Although the Strategy mentions the need for transformative change, this type of change does not seem to be reflected in all the actions planned by the Strategy. Several measures are relegated to the background, presented as optional measures that the government "could explore", leaving the door open to a lesser degree of ambition. And yet, by signing the Montreal Call to Action at COP15, Canada committed itself to tackling the underlying and profound causes of biodiversity loss;
Extraterritorial impacts are not taken into account, as the Strategy focuses on action within Canada's borders. For example, the impact of imports and exports, and their underlying value chain, is not considered.
The unveiling of this Strategy comes four months before COP 16, the deadline by which member states must have submitted their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). At present, less than ten countries have submitted their respective NBSAPs. It is therefore appropriate to recognize Canada's temporal leadership, despite its unexplored transformative potential.
The Nature Responsibility Act: a tool for implementation
The Nature Accountability Act, introduced at the same time as the Nature Strategy, is intended to ensure that current and future governments are obliged to implement the 2030 Strategy, in line with Canada's commitment at COP15. The Act would therefore act as a further measure to strengthen implementation and monitoring, as well as accountability and transparency.
After Chile, Canada is the second country to propose legislation to ensure that the Global Framework is implemented on its territory. While it is a mechanism that demonstrates a willingness to hold Canada accountable, the bill in its current form nevertheless represents a relatively vague text that could allow the government to shirk its obligations. One way of making the bill more effective would be to include measurable objectives and precise timetables.
Measurable objectives and precise deadlines would help the bill to be effective.
Although the bill states that national reports assessing efforts to implement the Strategy must be submitted to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by dates set by the Secretariat, nothing prevents the Canadian government from incorporating more specific timelines into its legislation, as is the case in Canada's Carbon Neutrality Accountability Act.
The Global Framework represents the consensus reached by nearly 200 states, i.e. the minimum to be respected, on the basis of which Canada could demonstrate greater ambition.
It's worth remembering that the Global Framework represents the consensus reached by almost 200 states, i.e. the minimum to be respected, from which each state can demonstrate its avant-garde and ambition. The mission of the Global Framework to 2030 is only an intermediate step towards the vision of 2050.
An approach that includes all levels of government and stakeholders at the heart of the strategy
Both the Strategy and the Nature Responsibility Act emphasize the need for a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach, involving all levels of government and stakeholders in Canadian society. On several occasions, the Strategy affirms that it is essential to work in partnership with these different players, arguing that federal leadership would not be sufficient to achieve national implementation of the Global Framework.
The Strategy affirms that it is essential to work in partnership with the various players. Federal leadership would not be sufficient to successfully implement the Global Framework.
The Strategy's six pillars include :
A whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach, enabling all players to participate in the search for, development and implementation of coherent solutions;
Strengthening action on the ground, particularly by local governments, while taking account of regional specificities;
An integrated, holistic approach that values multiple ecosystem benefits (social, health, cultural, economic, etc.);
Recognition, inclusion and promotion of the rights and knowledge of indigenous communities.
Cities: key players in halting the decline of biodiversity, but with limited resources
The Strategy developed by the federal government calls for the harmonization of policies at different levels of government, in order to limit the number of policies that can hinder biodiversity protection. At a time when a growing number of municipalities, provinces and territories are adopting policies and action plans to combat climate change, the Strategy also calls for the integration of biodiversity so that climate-related efforts do not exacerbate the biodiversity crisis. Integrating biodiversity into decision-making is part of the road to achieving Target 14 of the Global Framework.
The municipal level is particularly important. Urban planning that takes biodiversity into account is key to increasing natural spaces in urban areas.
The municipal level is particularly important, as it has major powers over land use planning. Urban planning that takes biodiversity into account is key to achieving Target 12, which aims to increase natural spaces in urban areas. By the same token, Target 12 represents an opportunity for cities to improve local conditions, notably through the proximity of ecosystem services that can have health, cultural and economic benefits for populations.
While the Strategy recalls existing programs, such as the National Urban Parks program, it does not set out new programs or additional funding to support the important role of cities in protecting biodiversity. As municipalities fall under provincial jurisdiction, we can expect the Quebec government to unveil its Nature Plan in the near future, providing support for cities which, for lack of financial resources, are struggling to take concrete action to protect local biodiversity.
We can expect the Quebec government to unveil its Nature Plan in the near future, offering support to towns and cities which, for lack of financial resources, are struggling to take concrete action in favor of local biodiversity.
Corporate biodiversity obligations: a major project on the horizon
The Strategy reiterates the federal government's commitment to identifying biodiversity-damaging investments and redirecting them towards biodiversity-friendly actions, in line with target 18 of the Global Framework, which seeks to eliminate harmful subsidies. To this end, the Strategy calls on companies to transparently disclose their harmful investments, with a view to transforming them into transformative, nature-benefiting investments. The Canadian government acknowledges, however, that its efforts in this area, notably through financial incentives, are still at a relatively embryonic stage. In other words, it's a huge unexplored area, and the Strategy announces that Canada will embark on the definition and evaluation of financial incentives in favour of biodiversity. Once again, importance is attached to harmonizing financial incentives for climate and biodiversity simultaneously, so that subsidies that are strategically beneficial for climate do not have regrettable consequences for biodiversity.
The government recognizes that its efforts to integrate businesses, particularly through financial incentives, are still at an embryonic stage.
As stipulated by target 15 a) of the Global Framework, the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy reiterates that businesses must measure their biodiversity-related dependencies, risks and opportunities, in order to better understand the pressure their operations, supply chains and investments exert on biodiversity and ecosystems. While the principle is clear, much work remains to be done to operationalize it, particularly in terms of strengthening the private sector's ability to assess and disclose their biodiversity risks, impacts and dependencies. According to the Strategy, the federal government intends to continue its ongoing work on mandatory climate-related financial disclosure for the private and financial sector, with a view to transposing this framework to biodiversity-related financial information.
The mobilization of financial resources is also addressed in the Strategy, in the section dealing with Target 19. Arguing that government financial resources will not be sufficient, the Strategy indicates that Canada will also seek to mobilize those of other non-governmental players, including the private sector. Although it is stated that Canadian funding from all sources will increase, there are no quantified targets for the time being.
A solid regulatory framework is needed to promote transparency and reduce the risks of greenwashing that can arise from voluntary initiatives by private players.
Whether in terms of disclosing impacts (actual and potential) on biodiversity or mobilizing private-sector resources, voluntary action is not enough. A solid regulatory framework is needed to promote transparency and reduce the risks of greenwashing that can arise from voluntary initiatives by private players.
Communication and mobilization: a new national framework for environmental learning
Awareness-raising appears numerous times in the text, but in a relatively broad and general way. In particular, the strategy highlights Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC) current development of a national framework for environmental learning, for which a consultation is underway until July 3, 2024. This national framework, which should be in place by 2025, aims to raise awareness and mobilize children and teenagers, as well as those close to them, in relation to various current environmental issues, including the decline in biodiversity.
Relying on raising awareness among young people, the Strategy misses the opportunity to rethink our current relationship with nature, for all generations.
The mobilization and awareness-raising of adults and decision-makers is noticeably less addressed in the Strategy. Relying mainly on raising awareness among young people, the Strategy misses the opportunity to rethink our current relationship with nature, for all generations.
The success of Strategy 2030 will depend on multi-stakeholder mobilization
In short, Canada's Nature Strategy 2030 is a roadmap by which Canada hopes to meet its commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It is a skeleton from which many partnerships and collaborations must emanate, meaning that this strategy will certainly not be sufficient if other levels of government and actors in society remain immobile.
To measure progress towards 2030, both the Strategy and the draft Nature Responsibility Act would benefit from more binding, precise, measurable and transformative objectives. Given the scale of the current biodiversity crisis, it is important to show ambition by giving ourselves the tools to reach the Global Framework targets and even exceed them, since they are the minimum that has been established at global level. The Strategy would benefit from driving transformative change at different levels of government and in society, going beyond optimizing the status quo.
The Strategy would benefit from driving transformative change at different levels of government and in society, going beyond optimizing the status quo.
Quebec missing from Canada's 2030 Strategy: Will the Nature Plan measure up?
Given that Quebec is the only Canadian province to have openly dissociated itself from the Canadian Strategy presented by the federal government, all eyes will be on Quebec's Nature Plan, which is due to be launched shortly. Having committed to the targets of the Global Framework adopted at COP15 in Montreal, it is expected that the Quebec Nature Plan will align itself with the 23 targets of the Global Framework, and at the very least be on a par with Canada's 2030 Nature Strategy.
For further information:
Laura Fequino, analyste politique
Ateliers pour la biodiversité
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