Opinion: Parents will be watching COP15 closely

This week, Montreal takes centre stage as the host of COP15 or NatureCOP. As the world gathers to agree upon new international objectives to protect and restore nature, parents are watching closely. Our children’s futures are being negotiated. Biodiversity is the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. We are not separate from it. The path of accelerated biodiversity decline, which we’re on right now, means the decline and collapse of humanity. This is happening more quickly than we care to think about, and our kids are already being affected.

Parents, grandparents and all who care for children are, therefore, calling on leaders at all levels of government to be courageous to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. All governments — municipal, provincial, and federal — must seize this opportunity to show true leadership.

Protecting and restoring large, intact ecosystems is an important strategy for tackling the impacts of the climate crisis and will reap additional benefit in the form of natural carbon storage. Nature-based climate solutions could reduce Canada’s carbon emissions by as much as 78 megatonnes a year in 2030, which is more than 10 per cent of Canada’s total emissions.

Canada is known for its vast natural landscapes and large variety of megafauna and does not lack opportunities to protect biodiversity. However, Canada has failed to meet its 2020 goal of 17 per cent of land and 10 per cent of ocean protected by 2020, and up to one in five species is at risk of disappearing from Canada. Despite its failure, Canada has now committed to protecting 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030.

Action is needed more than words. Despite our failure thus far to meet our targets, environmental groups say that it is still possible. In fact, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has a roadmap that shows that if Canada supports and implements all existing protection projects, it can meet the 30 per cent objective.

Quebec was the only province in Canada to meet the 2020 goals, but much more can be done to protect biodiversity and species-at-risk within the province, especially near urban centres. Ecosystems near cities are rich with biodiversity and shield us from further impacts of the climate crisis, including flooding and heatwaves. In light of NatureCOP, Montreal has unveiled a plan to increase protection on its territory and connect existing green spaces.

Species near urban centres are continually under threat, but now is the time to act to promote conservation in Quebec’s south. The Monarch Fields near the Dorval airport — an important urban green space that could help safeguard this endangered species — were recently razed for maintenance. Not far from Montreal, a Port of Montreal facility may have significant impacts on the critical habitat of the copper redhorse, a threatened species that exists only in Quebec. In Longueuil, increased suburban development is threatening the habitat of the Western chorus frog, a species at risk. Protecting these species in perpetuity will require collaboration among all levels of government.

Conservation of nature and biodiversity, of course, must be done in collaboration with Indigenous peoples, in full respect of their rights, and by prioritizing Indigenous-led conservation initiatives and funding them. Here in Quebec, the Magpie River, which has been under threat of hydro-electric development for decades, is a great place to start, along with caribou habitat in the Pipmuakan.

NatureCOP is our chance to show the world that Montreal, Quebec and Canada can be leaders in biodiversity protection while supporting developing nations to meet their targets as well.

When Collectif COP15 takes to the streets of Montreal to march for biodiversity this Saturday Dec. 10, our families will be joining them. It’s essential we push governments to seize this opportunity to protect all living things, as the future of our children and grandchildren is inextricably intertwined with nature.

Jennifer Smith is writing on behalf of For Our Kids Montreal. Gabrielle Spénard-Bernier is writing on behalf of Mères au front.

1. Saving nature is the goal at COP15 in Montreal. Will Quebec step up?

2. Montreal unveils plan to protect pollinators amid 'critical loss of biodiversity'

3. 'It's unconscionable': Groups shocked to discover razed Monarch Fields