2005 September Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Time to take stock of biodiversity in Canada

3.53 Environment Canada should lead an assessment of the progress on the five goals of the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. This assessment should conclude what has been achieved, what remains to be achieved, what are the lessons learned, and how further progress will be made. Any plan for achieving further progress on the strategy should include the following:

• Clearly defined outcomes
• Indicators for measuring progress toward the outcomes
• Timeframes
• Clear roles and responsibilities
• Resource requirements
• Mechanisms for assessing and reporting on results and making required adjustments in managing toward the outcomes

Departments could use their reports on plans and priorities, performance reports, and sustainable development strategies to set out and report on their contributions to advancing implementation of the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. (3.51-3.52)

Agreed. The Canadian Biodiversity Strategy (CBS), adopted by all jurisdictions in 1996, continues to be widely supported by federal, provincial, and territorial governments as a guiding framework. Many provinces now have, or are developing, biodiversity strategies modeled on the CBS. From 1996–2000 the federal government produced a number of reports that set out federal implementation plans in key areas such as forestry, wildlife, agriculture, and protected areas. More recently, the federal approach has been to build biodiversity as an integral component into sector-based and cross-sectoral policy and planning frameworks such as the Oceans Action Plan, National Forest Strategy, the Agricultural Policy Framework, and the newly approved Invasive Alien Species Strategy. Significant steps have also been taken to address species at risk through new federal legislation and to conserve areas of ecological importance through considerable enhancement to protected area networks and through support for habitat stewardship.

Given that many biodiversity issues require a co-ordinated effort, Environment Canada has attached priority to developing a shared agenda with federal, provincial, and territorial partners, as well as seeking the engagement of the private sector, the conservation community, and aboriginal organizations. In 2000, federal, provincial, and territorial governments agreed to collaborate on a number of cross-cutting implementation priorities. An Invasive Alien Species Strategy for Canada and Canada's Stewardship Agenda are two products of that collaboration. More recently, in June 2005, federal, provincial, and territorial deputy ministers of wildlife, forestry, and fisheries and aquaculture, agreed to collaborate on the development of an outcomes-based implementation framework for the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy to enable more focussed implementation and evaluation of progress. The development of the framework will be a joint federal-provincial-territorial effort co-ordinated by Environment Canada. This work will be preceded by both a high-level review of progress, as well as a more technical review and consultation process to inform and provide a scientifically credible underpinning for biodiversity outcomes. The implementation framework will include measurable outcomes, timelines, indicators, and a mechanism for monitoring and reporting. The target date for completion of the framework is fall 2006. This framework will provide the basis for future reporting to Canadians on how successful Canada has been in conserving biodiversity and its associated economic and social benefits.