As part of Canada's national strategy for the protection of species at risk, the Government of Canada established the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk. The Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) is administered by Environment Canada and managed co-operatively with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Parks Canada. It provides funding to stewards for implementing activities that protect or conserve habitats for species at risk and other priority species beyond those that are listed under the Species at Risk Act to prevent them from becoming a conservation concern.
Under the National Conservation Plan (NCP) new funding of approximately $28 million over five years and $5.1 million ongoing annually starting in 2019-20 is being used to expand the HSP (over and above the annual funding already available through the program). The new funds are being split equally between two distinct funding streams:
- The Species at Risk Stream focuses on traditional species at risk recovery projects, funding stewards for implementing activities that protect or conserve habitats for species listed under the Species at Risk Act; and
- The Prevention Stream focuses on projects addressing other priority species beyond the protection and recovery of species at risk under the Species at Risk Act to prevent them from becoming a conservation concern.
For both streams, activities must take place on private lands, provincial Crown lands, Aboriginal lands, or in aquatic and marine areas across Canada. The program also fosters partnerships among organizations interested in the recovery of species at risk and other priority. The HSP is one of the three main federal funding programs that focus on the protection and recovery of species at risk. The two other funds are the Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk and the Interdepartmental Recovery Fund.
In 2015-2016, the HSP’s Species at Risk Stream will provide more than $8 million over three years to support over 80 new projects. The HSP’s Prevention Stream will provide almost $4 million over three years to support approximately 60 new projects.
