ENHANCE RESILIENCE

This strategic direction includes ways to maintain, restore and recover ecosystem function and protect species diversity.

Diverse ecosystems are more resilient to change. A healthy ecosystem can better withstand and recover from disturbance and stresses such as flooding, drought, extreme heat, invasive species and pollution. This helps maintain ecosystem services, like the regulation of air and water quality and protection from hazards and extreme events and also supports human health and well-being.

To boost the resilience of species and ecosystems, we’ll need to:

Incorporate biodiversity into land use planning.
Preserve existing intact wilderness areas, including the expansion of priority protected and conserved areas.
Restore degraded and damaged ecosystems and make sure that these ecosystems are connected.
Conserve and recover species and the genetic diversity of species.
Sustainably manage the working landscape for both resource and biodiversity values.

TARGETS

ACTIONS

By 2025, priority restoration areas are identified and by 2030 efforts are underway to restore biodiversity to at least 30 per cent of priority areas.

Increase availability of appropriate native species for restoration projects that are adapted to their growing environment now and in the future.
Identify, prioritize, and undertake ecological restoration of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, in urban, rural and wilderness areas.

By 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are conserved through well-connected networks of protected areas and conservation lands.

Support and use diverse and novel approaches (e.g., Key Biodiversity Areas, Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures, and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas) to increase area-based protection and conservation of biodiversity on Crown and private land, such as land trusts, institutional and corporate lands.
Identify and conserve ecological corridors and landscape connectivity in urban, rural and wilderness areas.
Identify, protect and develop management plans for climate refugia in Ontario.

By 2030, the conservation of species and ecosystems in Ontario is improved.

Report on the status of species and ecosystems to prioritize conservation activities.
Assess species and ecosystems vulnerabilities to threats (e.g., climate change, invasive species) and create and implement policies and management plans to reduce vulnerabilities.
Develop and implement a genetic resource management strategy for wild species (e.g., a native seed strategy).
Promote multi-species approaches to the recovery of species at risk.

Why is resilient biodiversity important?

A high level of biodiversity makes species and ecosystems stronger and more stable. For example, an ecosystem with a high amount of diversity can adapt better to a wide variety of conditions, like climate change, disease, and extreme weather.

The ability of an ecosystem or species to bounce back from a disturbance like a flood, insect infestation, or forest fire and return to a balanced state is what makes it resilient. A healthier and more diverse ecosystem tends to be more resilient, meaning it will cope with change and recover more quickly.

Human health and biodiversity

Our understanding of the links between health and biodiversity is increasing.

Biodiversity promotes good health by providing clean air and water and creating opportunities for outdoor recreation and exercise.
Biodiversity acts as a buffer to protect humans, animals and plants from disease. Biodiversity loss can trigger zoonotic diseases, like avian flu, that harm human health, and our communities and economy.
Children who spend time in nature are happier and healthier and less likely to be diagnosed with attention disorders or depression.
Studies show that people who can observe nature have faster recovery times from illness.
Researchers have found links between the increased availability of green spaces in urban settings and lower rates of violence and aggression.

The One Health approach recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment and works across sectors and around the world to improve human health, prevent the outbreak of zoonotic disease, improve food safety and security, and protect biodiversity. Many of the actions included in this strategy will protect and promote human health, while also conserving biodiversity.

Rights of nature

There is a growing movement within the conservation community to protect biodiversity by granting it rights. Assigning rights to nature, or Mother Earth, would help to protect it legally, the same way that humans are protected by human rights laws.

Recognizing nature as an entity that needs to be protected could help shift our legal and financial systems from operating on the belief that nature is a resource for humans to own and exploit, to a more balanced and respectful approach that ensures sustainable use of natural resources, and would hold governments and corporations accountable for harming biodiversity.

Some efforts have been successful to grant legal rights to mountains, trees, rivers, or regions. In 2021, the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit and Quebec’s Minganie Regional County Municipality declared the Mutuhekau Shipu river a legal person. The river now has nine rights including: the right to live, exist, and flow, maintain biodiversity, be free from pollution, and to sue.

Many groups have argued that environmental degradation also impacts human rights, including the right to life, health, and water with court cases being heard in Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Nations. The United Nations Human Rights Council has declared that access to a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is a human right and the United Nations General Assembly declared that “everyone on the planet has a right to a healthy environment” and encouraged its member countries to include the right to a healthy environment in national constitutions, regional treaties, and laws.

Whether or not the rights of nature are formally recognized in Ontario in the future, it’s still a concept that is valuable to help frame our conservation decisions. As explained in the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Nature, “every human being is responsible for respecting and living in harmony with Mother Earth”.

Let us know what you think!
We’d love to hear from you.

or send us an email at info@ontariobiodiversitycouncil.ca