News Contamination Environment Sustainability Water Issues
Federal government will provide $340M to support Indigenous-led nature conservation

Ottawa – The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change will provide up to $340 million in new funding over five years to support Indigenous leadership in nature conservation, as part of the 2021 budget commitment of $2.3 billion over five years in nature conservation.

From this funding, up to $173 million will fund new and existing Indigenous Guardians initiatives and the development of Indigenous Guardians Networks for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Indigenous Guardians initiatives support Indigenous peoples in protecting and conserving the environment, developing and maintaining sustainable economies, and continuing the profound connections between Indigenous cultures and their lands.

Up to $173 million will fund new and existing Indigenous Guardians initiatives and the development of Indigenous Guardians Networks for First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

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The federal government will also work with Indigenous partners at Parks Canada–administered places to enhance current Guardian initiatives and co-create new ones.

Over $166 million will support Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, which are lands, waters, and ice where Indigenous leadership is a defining attribute in the decisions and actions that protect and conserve an area. These new investments will build on the success of recent efforts. To date, fifty-two Indigenous communities across the country have received funding to either establish Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas or undertake early planning and engagement work that could result in additional areas.

According to a news release, the government has committed to protect biodiversity and conserve 25 per cent of land and inland waters and 25 per cent of marine and coastal areas by 2025, working toward 30 per cent by 2030.