The Ditidaht First Nation on Vancouver Island are working with the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation (NBSF) to establish Ditidaht Protected and Conserved Areas in their territory, including through the development of Conservancies and other legal protections.

The Nature-Based Solutions Foundation (NBSF) is working to provide and secure capacity, stewardship, culture, health and well-being, and sustainable economic development funding and support linked to the ability of Ditidaht to establish this system of Ditidaht Protected and Conserved Areas.

100% of donations through this portal will go to the Ditidaht First Nation and their IPCA development project.

Ditidaht territory includes some of Canada’s grandest tracts of monumental old-growth cedars, Sitka spruce, Douglas firs, and big-leaf maples. Canada's tallest tree, the Carmanah Giant, and Canada's largest tree overall (by timber volume), the Cheewhat Giant, are in Ditidaht territory. The Nitinat, Caycuse, and Klanawa Valleys also showcase these forest ecosystems in addition to containing significant salmon runs. The land is rich in wildlife, including Roosevelt elk, black bears, wolves, cougars, and species at risk like the marbled murrelet and northern goshawk.

Creating Indigenous Protected & Conserved Areas (IPCAs) will help protect what remains of these old-growth forests and help heal and restore degraded lands and watersheds. Old-growth forests here are vital for Ditidaht culture, store more carbon per hectare than the Amazon rainforest, are rich in biodiversity, and provide important buffers against climate change impacts like extreme wildfires and floods. 

Beyond these ecological benefits, IPCAs offer the opportunity for cultural revitalization and economic resilience. Ditidaht aim to improve their community's health by stewarding and protecting their connection to these lands through IPCAs. They are working towards a sustainable and diversified economy, including potential ecotourism developments (e.g. cabins, trails, mountain biking facilities, and a hotel), a stewardship program that includes new First Nations land guardians and fisheries restoration initiatives, and cultural reconnection initiatives for youth.  

Fundamentally, this project helps restore Ditidaht rights and title over co-managing and stewarding their territory. The planning and implementation of IPCAs represents an opportunity for Ditidaht Nation, the Province of BC, and the federal government to give effect to Indigenous rights to free, prior, and informed consent as described in UNDRIP Article 19. Strengthened by the project’s community consultations, studies, and educational programs, Ditidaht Nation’s IPCA vision and mandate will demonstrate that Ditidaht First Nation are centrally involved in matters concerning their territory and the protection of their culturally and ecologically significant lands.