Canadian Protected Areas Status Report 2012 to 2015: chapter 1

Chapter 1: Extent and Growth of Canada’s Protected Areas

• Extent and growth
• Governance of Canada’s protected areas
  • Governance by government
  • Shared governance
  • Private governance
  • Governance by Indigenous peoples and local communities
• Ecological representativeness
• International Union for the Conservation of Nature management categories
• International perspective (2014)

Protected areas play a critical role in Canada’s efforts to conserve nature. They protect important parts of Canada’s ecosystems, maintain essential ecosystem services, safeguard habitat and provide opportunities for tourism, recreation, and connections with nature. This first chapter provides an overview of the status of protected areas nationally including the growth of terrestrial and marine protected areas from 2012 to 2015. Information is also provided on the distribution of protected areas by biome (terrestrial and marine), on the ecological representativeness of Canada’s protected areas, and on the distribution of protected areas by governance regime and management approach according to International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s classification. A brief overview of how Canada’s protected areas network compares internationally is also presented.

Extent and growth

At the end of 2015, 10.6% (1.05 million km²) of Canada's terrestrial area (including both land and freshwater) and 0.90% (51 thousand km²)^Footnote1 of its marine territory were recognized as protected (Figure 1). This is an increase from the previous report ( 2011), when 9.8% of Canada’s terrestrial area and 0.88% of its marine area were recognized as protected.

Since the end of 2011, approximately 72 560 km² of terrestrial area, and 650 km² of marine area have been added. This represents a growth of 7.4% in the extent of terrestrial protected areas and an increase of 1.3% in the extent of marine protected areas over this four-year period (Figure 2).

At the end of 2015, there were over 7 100 terrestrial protected areas in Canada, up from 4 660 terrestrial protected areas at the end of 2011, and 740 marine protected areas, up from 723 in 2011. This reflects a total of 2 446 new terrestrial protected areas and 17 marine protected areas added to Canada’s protected areas network since 2011.

It is important to note that at the present time the majority of Canada’s marine protected areas are in fact the marine portions of terrestrial protected areas. Queen Maude Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary is a good example. This 62 000 km² protected area includes 6 553 km² of marine habitat. The legislation that protects the area (in this case, the Migratory Bird Convention Act) does not include powers specific to the marine environment. Canada’s current approach to accounting for marine protected areas includes those portions of terrestrial protected areas that fall in the marine environment, so the marine area is treated the same as the terrestrial area without specific consideration of activities in the marine water column.

While the overall area protected has increased since 2011, the annual growth rate of terrestrial protected areas in Canada slowed during this time to an average of 1.8% growth per year from 2012 to 2015. This is down from an average of 2.7% growth per year in the period from 2006 to 2011 and 3.2% growth per year reported between 2000 and 2005. During the 2012 to 2015 time period, the average annual growth rate for marine protected areas was 0.3%; a decrease from the average annual growth rates from 2006 to 2011 (8.8% growth per year) and from 2000 to 2005 (5.6% growth per year).

Protected areas have been established across the country and can be found in each of the provinces and territories as well as in all three oceans (Figure 4). Their distribution varies however and the southern regions of Canada have a higher concentration of small protected areas while protected areas in the north are larger and more widely dispersed (Map 1).

Governance of Canada’s protected areas

Protected areas can be governed under various regimes. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has developed a governance classification scheme which enables reporting agencies to classify their protected areas using standardized governance types. The governance type assigned to a protected area indicates who holds authority, responsibility and accountability over key management decisions affecting a given protected area. 2015 was the first year that government protected organisations in Canada classified their protected areas according to governance type. This is the first report in the series in which governance results are based on official governance classifications provided by protected areas organisations. Previous reports interpreted governance types based on information about ownership. It is important to note that, as the collection of this data is relatively new, the results may not yet be comprehensive and accuracy will continue to improve with time.

There are four broad types of governance, three of which include sub-categories.

• Governance by government (including the sub-categories: Federal or national ministry or agency; Provincial or territorial  ministry or agency);
• Shared governance;
• Private governance (including the sub-categories: Individual landowners; Non-profit organisations; For-profit organisations); and,
• Governance by Indigenous Peoples and local communities (including the sub-categories Indigenous Peoples; Community conserved areas).

Governance by government

Ninety five percent of Canada’s protected areas are governed by federal, provincial or territorial governments (Figure 5). Of that, the federal government administers or jointly administers 45% (approximately 469 000 km²) of Canada’s terrestrial area protected. Parks Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada are responsible for the majority of federal terrestrial protected areas. In addition, the National Capital Commission is responsible for the management of Gatineau Park, and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada is responsible for the management of the Nunavut portion of the Thelon Game Sanctuary. The provinces and territories administer or jointly administer 55% (approximately 578 500 km²) of terrestrial areas protected (see Chapter 5 for details).

The federal government administers or jointly administers over 80% (approximately 43 000 km²) of Canada’s marine area protected. This area is managed by three organizations: Parks Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The provinces and territories administer or jointly administer roughly 20% (approximately 10 000 km²).

Occasionally, responsibility for protected areas is transferred between governments. As of the end of 2015, a total of 9 095 km² of land previously managed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as community pastures (locally known as the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration, or PFRA pasture program) was in transition between the federal government and provincial governments, as decisions about the future management of these areas are being taken. This program ended in 2012. In this report, approximately 7 400 km² of community pastures in Saskatchewan are considered protected area but are categorized as “In transition” between federal and provincial governments with respect to governance. This area is included in the amount of area protected in Saskatchewan, but it is not reported as area under either federal or provincial administration. Most of the remaining 1 700 km² of community pastures, outside of Saskatchewan, is not currently reported as protected. These figures are based on information available on December 31, 2015 and are subject to change as decisions regarding these areas are taken.

Shared governance

Shared governance refers to collaboration between different levels of government or between at least one government organisation, whether federal, provincial or territorial and an Indigenous government or community, a municipality, a property owner, or a land trust, in which partners share the authority by making decisions collectively, whether through the establishment of  a governance body or other cooperative and co-management mechanisms^Footnote2. While many of Canada’s protected areas involve collaboration between organisations, only a portion of these are officially classified under shared governance by federal, provincial and territorial protected areas organisations. Over 40 000 km² of terrestrial and marine protected area across six provinces and three territories are administered through shared governance arrangements. These consist mostly of protected areas that are co-managed by federal, provincial or territorial governments and Indigenous governments or communities. Recent additions in the shared governance category include:

• Two new protected areas covering a total of 3 695 km² on the east side of Lake Winnipeg which were established, in 2012, under shared governance agreements between Manitoba and Little Grand Rapids First Nation, and between Manitoba and Pauingassi First Nation as Traditional Use Planning Areas.
• The province of Nova Scotia set aside land to establish two new Wilderness Areas in collaboration with Nova Scotia Nature Trust, in 2015, protecting an area of approximately 32 km².

Private governance

Private conservation areas make an important contribution to Canada’s system of protected areas; often protecting sensitive and significant natural habitat in otherwise developed or converted privately owned landscapes. Private conservation areas appear almost exclusively in southern Canada.

Protected areas that fall under the private governance type include areas that are governed by individual landowners and non-governmental organisations. Private conservation areas can include lands owned in fee-simple by conservation organisations (land trusts) as well as conservation easements, covenants, servitudes, leases, or other arrangements.

Three provinces currently report a total of approximately 140 km² of protected areas under private governance (Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island); further details on these provinces are reported in Chapter 5. While privately held protected areas occur in other parts of the country, some provinces classify these under shared or other governance regimes. A comprehensive national inventory of private conservation areas is currently being developed for Canada (see Chapter 2 for more information on protecting private lands).

Governance by Indigenous Peoples and local communities

This designation is used for protected areas where the management authority and responsibility are held by Indigenous Peoples and/or local communities. Indigenous Peoples of Canada have contributed to the establishment of tens of thousands of square kilometres of protected areas through modern land-claim agreements and treaty negotiation. As noted above, most of these protected areas are managed under shared governance or governance by government. The exception to this is Wehexlaxodıale, covering an area of 976 km² in Northwest Territories, which was established in 2013 through the Tłįchǫ Land Use Plan Act, and is governed by the Tłįchǫ Government.

Ecological representativeness

Canada’s diverse ecological makeup can be divided into 18 terrestrial ecozones (Table 2, Map 2), 12 marine ecozones^Footnote3 (Table 3, Map 2), and 1 freshwater ecozone^Footnote4. All of Canada’s ecozones are partly protected; however, the proportion of protection within each ecozone varies widely, from less than 1% in the Arctic Basin, Newfoundland-Labrador Shelves, Scotian Shelf, Hudson Bay Complex and Arctic Archipelago to over 20% in the Arctic Cordillera, Pacific Maritime and Tundra Cordillera ecozones.

Terrestrial ecozones

• At the end of 2015, the majority of Canada’s terrestrial ecozones (16 out of 18), primarily in the north and west of the country, had at least 5% of their area conserved by protected areas. While less than half of the terrestrial ecozones (seven out of 18) had over 10% of their area conserved by protected areas. These proportions are identical to those from 2011.
• As in 2011, two terrestrial ecozones (Mixedwood Plains and Atlantic Highlands) had less than 5% of their area protected in 2015 although there has been a small expansion of coverage in both.
• The area protected has increased in 72% of Canada’s terrestrial ecozones (13 out of 18) since 2011. The largest increase was in the Taiga Shield ecozone, which increased from 5.4% to 8% protected.

Marine and Great Lakes ecozones

• Marine ecozones experienced less protected area growth than terrestrial ecozones, with only one ecozone showing an increase. Gulf of Saint Lawrence increased from 1.6% in 2011 to 1.9% protected at the end of 2015.
• Out of the 12 marine ecozones, five (42%) had less than 1% of their area protected in 2015. One marine ecozone (Northern Shelf) had over 5% of its area protected.
• Over 13% of the Great Lakes ecozone was protected.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature management categories

Canada uses the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s classification of management categories for protected areas (Figure 6). These categories help to describe the type of protected area according to stated management intent. Government protected areas organizations classify their protected areas in the Conservation Areas Reporting and Tracking System into one of the following management categories:

Ia

Strict Nature Reserve

Ib

Wilderness Area

II

National Park

III

Natural Monument or Feature

IV

Habitat/Species Management Area

V

Protected Landscape/Seascape

VI

Protected Area with Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

For terrestrial protected areas:

• The vast majority (95% by area) of Canada’s terrestrial protected area falls into categories Ia to IV; categories that tend to focus on maintaining natural conditions.
• Category II areas make up 62%, the largest proportion of terrestrial protected area. The protected areas in this category are primarily comprised of large national, provincial and territorial parks and conservation areas. Public access and recreation tend to be permitted.
• The second largest proportion of terrestrial protected area, with 29%, is classified as category Ib. These include a number of large federal Migratory Bird Sanctuaries as well as provincial and territorial parks. Management of these areas is focused on maintaining natural conditions. Public access may be permitted however built infrastructure tends to be minimized.
• The remaining protected areas fall into one of the other categories or have not yet been classified.

For marine protected areas:

• Seventy percent of the marine area protected in Canada is classified in categories Ia to IV^Footnote5.
• The highest proportion of marine protected area (36% by area) is classified as Ib.
• The second most extensive category (28% by area) is Category II.
• The remaining protected areas fall into one of the other categories or have not yet been classified.

International perspective (2014)

At the end of 2014, the most recent year with global data available, 15.4% of global terrestrial and freshwater area (20.7 million km²), 8.4% of marine areas within national jurisdiction (0-200 nautical miles), and 3.4% of oceans globally were classified as protected.^Footnote6

In a comparison of 10 countries, based on 2014 data from the World Database on Protected Areas (Figure 7):

• Canada ranked 4th of 10 countries with respect to the total terrestrial area protected, behind the Russian Federation, United States and Australia.
• Canada ranked 10th out of 10 countries with respect to the percent of terrestrial area protected.
• Canada ranked 7th out of 10 countries with respect to the total marine area protected.
• Canada ranked 9th out of 10 countries with respect to percent coverage of their marine territory that is protected.

Results for Canada are shown here using international data sources only which are not as current or complete as the national data for Canada presented elsewhere in the Protected Areas Status Report. However, the information does provide a basis for comparisons among countries. Selected countries in the comparison are the G7, Australia (the population, population density and territorial extent of which are similar to Canada's), Russian Federation (a large northern country like Canada) and Sweden (which has a similar climate).