New Organization Launched to Fill Critical Funding Gaps for Protecting Endangered Ecosystems in Canada, Including Old-Growth Forests in BC

December 17, 2021 – A new national organization, the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation (NBSF), has just been launched by several BC conservationists to help address critical funding gaps to support the creation of new protected areas in the most endangered ecosystems in Canada, including endangered old-growth forests in British Columbia. 

These gaps include providing economic support for land-embedded communities who have close connections to endangered ecosystems, such as First Nations, Métis, ranchers, and woodlot owners. The NBSF will also support efforts to acquire private lands in the most endangered ecosystems, including old-growth forests, and help fill funding shortfalls across various levels of government for expanding protected areas. 

The funds provided by the NBSF will be reserved for protecting the most endangered ecosystems in Canada, such as productive old-growth forests in diverse forest ecosystems across BC; the foothills, parkland, and grassland ecosystems of Alberta and the Prairies; the deciduous and mixed forests of the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence; the southern boreal forests; and various endangered ecosystems in the Acadian region on the East Coast. These ecosystems are primarily located in the more populous southern regions of the country, where a high concentration of urbanization, land conversion for agriculture, and intensive logging has destroyed much of the native ecosystems there.

One primary niche the Foundation aims to fill is to provide land-embedded communities with the necessary funding to support their transition towards more sustainable economic alternatives, which helps facilitate the establishment of new protected areas. This approach is known as “conservation financing”.

“Across most of Canada, conservation financing for communities has been largely absent from efforts to protect endangered ecosystems,” said Hania Peper, National Coordinator of the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation. “This is a sorely needed niche that must be filled. Doing so would empower communities with viable sustainable alternatives – the key to unlocking expanded protection for these ecosystems,” Peper explained. “I’m very excited about the launch of this new initiative and am pleased to announce that we are now accepting donations from individuals and businesses interested in supporting the expansion of protected areas for old growth in BC and other endangered ecosystems in Canada.”

Johnny Rodgers, Founding Employee of the business communication platform Slack, and his wife Jessica Tinker were among the first to donate to the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation. "Protecting irreplaceable endangered ecosystems, which will be inherited by future generations, is essential for addressing climate change, preserving biodiversity, and maintaining our spiritual health as a society,” stated Rodgers and Tinker. "Supporting the communities who depend on those ecosystems to find sustainable alternatives to industrial resource extraction is a key piece of this puzzle. We have been consistently impressed with the work of Ken, TJ, and the rest of the team and know that they will put our investment to good use. If you want to commit to meaningful regional climate action and equity, then this is your chance."

The NBSF is partnering with the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance to provide funds to qualified charitable recipients to support the expansion of protected areas across priority ecosystems. Qualified recipients can include First Nation bands, charitable organizations, and governing bodies.

Background 

To create new protected areas, land-embedded communities often need support for adopting sustainable alternatives over more conventional industries like old-growth logging and other industrial activities. With financial support for economic alternatives linked to the protection of nature in their regions, communities can have the choice to transition to new, more sustainable models, which may include tourism, recreation, clean energy, sustainable seafood, value-added second-growth forestry, non-timber forest products, sustainable agriculture, research, education, Indigenous Guardians programs, and much more.

This model has already seen success in the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii, where $60 million in funding from conservation organizations was matched by both the provincial and federal governments. A total of $120 million was raised to support sustainable economic development in Indigenous communities, helping to create jobs and restore native ecosystems through Indegnous-led stewardship programs. The arrangement allowed for the large-scale expansion of protected areas in those regions, representing a historical milestone for forest protection, stewardship, and associated support for Indigenous communities. Investments that resulted from the funding have since helped to create over 1,000 jobs, expand and develop 100 businesses, and support 14 regional monitoring and Guardian Watchmen programs in the region (Coast Funds, 2019). Today, an approach similar to this is important for supporting old-growth protection across BC and, in many cases, endangered ecosystems across Canada.

“After spending decades working to protect old-growth forests and endangered ecosystems in BC, I noticed key funding gaps that need to be filled if the protected areas system is to be expanded, like support for land-embedded communities, funding for private land acquisition where there are old-growth forests, and help for existing funding sources to address funding shortfalls for establishing new protected areas,” stated Ken Wu, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance Executive Director and Board Chair of the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation. “The same is true across Canada, whether you are talking about establishing new Indigenous Protected Areas, Heritage Rangelands or National Park Reserve designations. We hope the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation will play an important role in providing major funding for the economic and social benefit of interested communities while helping to protect Canada’s most endangered ecosystems,” Wu concluded. 

"The launch of the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation brings me real hope that the best remaining old-growth forests will be protected and that communities will have the support needed to thrive with more sustainable economic alternatives,” said TJ Watt, Co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance and Board Secretary of the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation. “We're at a critical point in history, not only for the future of old-growth but for the health of the planet as a whole. Our funding efforts could also motivate the provincial government to provide the necessary funding to make large-scale, science-based conservation possible, as time is of the essence,” Watt explained. “I'm tired of photographing clearcuts and giant stumps, and I’m confident we will make real progress through this initiative."

Beyond the critical role that protected areas play in safeguarding biodiversity and drawing down vast amounts of carbon into protected forests, grasslands, and wetlands, effectively working to counteract climate change, the approach taken on by the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation also aims to draw on the positive impacts that protected areas can have on local communities and economies. This is an example of nature-based solutions in action, which refer to solutions to the extinction crisis, climate crisis, and issues related to human health and the economy via the protection of nature. 

To learn more about the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation, visit www.NatureBasedSolutionsFoundation.org. 

Contacts

Ken Wu

Chair of the Board, Nature-Based Solutions Foundation

info@endangeredecosystemsalliance.org

Hania Peper

National Coordinator, Nature-based Solutions Foundation

info@naturebasedsolutionsfoundation.org