Nova Scotia’s environment minister announced on Thursday that the government has expanded the protected land area in the province, nearing its target of 15 percent by the end of the year. However, this increase has sparked concerns among environmentalists and the interim Liberal leader.
In response to a query from Iain Rankin during a session, Tim Halman explained that the recent rise from 13.8 percent to 14.55 percent was achieved through the implementation of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM). These measures encompass land unsuitable for forestry activities, such as steep slopes or buffer zones between water bodies and forestry operations.
Halman clarified that the utilization of OECMs aligns with the province’s 2023 collaborative protected areas strategy. This strategy highlighted that, at the time, OECMs constituted 1.2 percent of the protected land, with wilderness areas comprising about 70 percent, followed by national park and wildlife areas at 20 percent.
Ange Whiteway, the manager of operations for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-Nova Scotia, expressed concerns about the inclusion of wildlife clumps and buffer zones in the protected land count. Whiteway emphasized the importance of prioritizing areas of high conservation value, such as intact forest ecosystems and habitats for rare and at-risk species.
The government’s shift in emphasis towards protected land types may lead to a potential loss of federal funding. The Canada-Nova Scotia Nature Agreement, a three-year agreement set to conclude on March 31, provided funding to increase protected and conserved areas in the province. Failure to allocate the remaining funds by the deadline could jeopardize the legal designation of proposed protected areas, raising apprehensions about the future of conservation efforts in Nova Scotia.