UTRCA Conservation Lands Recognized by Ontario and Canada (media release, April 28, 2021)
April 28, 2021 – The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) is pleased to announce that the Authority-owned sections of Ellice Swamp and Dorchester Swamp are being recognized as Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas in Canada (CPCAD).
Through a rigorous evaluation process, it was determined that these UTRCA conservation lands meet the criteria for lands that count towards Canada’s Biodiversity Goals and Targets, and the Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi 2020 Target commitment.
Ellice Swamp Tract (located north of Stratford) and Dorchester Swamp (located south of Dorchester and east of London) now count towards the 10.7% of Ontario and 12.5% of Canada that is protected, as of the end of 2020. The target is to protect 17% of Canada’s lands and fresh water by 2023.
Management of Ellice Swamp and Dorchester Swamp is guided by community based plans that the UTRCA developed for these areas, with community members and science experts.
The UTRCA is one of only eight conservation authorities to achieve this recognition so far. The Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks intends to apply the knowledge gained through this exercise to ensure more conservation authority-owned lands are recognized for their high standard of biodiversity conservation in the future.
Cathy Quinlan, UTRCA Terrestrial Biologist, said “The City of London and the UTRCA also submitted the London Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs) for assessment and reporting as protected areas, to be submitted to the CPCAD.”
Rob Davis of Ontario Parks noted that the London ESAs were the first municipal protected areas reported in Ontario and among the first across all of Canada.
Contact: Steve Sauder, Marketing Specialist, or Cathy Quinlan, Terrestrial Biologist
More Information:
- UN Biodiversity Targets – https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/
- https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/home