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Canada lags behind most of the world in setting aside protected land and water spaces, parks advocates say.
According to a report released today from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), Canada stands last among G7 countries in protecting land and freshwater areas.
With only 10.6% of land protected from development, Canada also ranks behind other countries with a large land mass including Brazil (29.5%), China (17.1%), Australia (17%) and the United States (13%).
"With all Canadian ecosystems in declining health and Canada's list of endangered species growing each year largely due to habitat loss, urgent action is needed to protect much more of our land and inland waters," the report states.
The report lists some areas where consultations have been done and all that's left is for a provincial government to designate the area off limits from industrial development.
One example is the South Okanagan-Similkameen region in British Columbia, which is home to 57 federally listed species at risk.
A statement from Environment Minister Catherine McKenna's office says the steering committee co-chaired by Ottawa and Alberta is an effort to push governments to meet the 2020 target.
"It is also the first effort to move from a collection of protected areas to a connected network," it said. Linking protected spaces "will play an important role in contributing to the recovery of species at risk and in mitigating the impacts of climate change."
Over the past decade, Parks Canada has seen its budget cut, in particular for scientific jobs that monitor the health of ecosystems in national parks.
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