Canada Has Launched Over 50 New Projects To Rescue & Protect At-Risk Species

Ever since Canada has declared climate change as a national emergency, the government has been investing in helping to keep our country green and healthy. In their newest effort, the Government of Canada announced that they would be funding 52 new projects to help protect species at risk in Canada. In order to ensure that the projects have funding, the government has announced that they will be investing up to $7.6 million. 

In a press release from Environment and Climate Change Canada, it was announced on Wednesday that the government would be investing $7.6 million in 52 projects across Canada that will help create the protection and recovery of species that are currently endangered or at risk of going extinct. 

In Canada, approximately 544 species have been identified as being at risk under the Species at Risk Act, and the list continues to grow. 

Multiple community-nominated 'priority places' have been included in these 52 projects that take action to help protect these species. One of these projects is targetting the land between bioregion, which covers 3 million hectors of land from Georgian Bay to the Ottawa Valley. 

This group plans to help 57 species that are at risk in this area, including the little brown bat, the golden-winged warbler and the eastern wolf. 

Another project in Quebec will work to help to protect the Northern Green Mountains and will help to benefit 11 species that are at risk, including the Barn Swallow and Eastern Whippoorwill. 

There are multiple other groups that are also being funded by the government across Canada in areas including Ontario, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, and Manitoba. 

The funding by the government takes place after the UN released a report that shows that millions of species are at risk of extinction, many of which could become extinct in the next few decades. 

Since 2015, the Government of Canada is working towards doubling the amount of protected nature that they currently have in the nation, and these new projects are helping to achieve that goal. 

In the 2018 budget, the Government announced that it would be putting $1.35 billion towards the Nature Legacy initiative. This is the largest investment in the protection of conservation that has ever been made in Canadian history. 

Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, stated, "We're investing in effective and practical projects that protect and recover species at risk to ensure their survival and make sure our children and grandchildren can experience their wonder."

To view a list of funded Priority Place projects and what species they are helping to protect, you can view the Government of Canada's website here. 

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