Belonging in Nature: Exploring Barriers, Impacts and Pathways to Nature for All across Canada

Today, Greenpeace Canada releases Belonging in Nature: Barriers, Impacts and Pathways to Nature for All across Canada, a landmark report revealing Canada’s conservation failures and connections to systemic exclusion. The report’s findings, research and data were compiled in partnership with consultants from Indigenous and Black-led organizations, disability justice advocates and grassroots groups, including Carolynne Crawley, Demiesha Dennis, Judith Kasiama and Karen Lai. 

Findings and research in this report highlight how Canada’s current colonial conservation model is failing both nature and historically marginalized communities. Belonging-first approaches for nature policy are examined, demonstrating how systems built on exclusion and exploitation can be reimagined to address long-standing equity challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized communities, newcomers, low-income households and people living with disabilities. 

Ultimately, the report’s analysis underscores the urgency of meeting this moment by addressing inequities in access to nature and moving beyond exclusionary conservation frameworks toward an understanding of land, people and oceans as interdependent. In this vision, belonging is essential to the well-being and collective thriving of all. 

Currently, only 13.8% of land and freshwater and 15.5% of oceans are protected, with Canada falling nearly 11% short of its 2025 land protection goals. Under the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD), which includes specific targets to protect 25% of Canada’s lands, waters and oceans by 2025, the report, Belonging in Nature, bridges the gap between Canada’s failed nature protection targets and the equity gaps shaped by race, income, ability that persist in negatively impacting historically marginalized communities.

Failure to adequately protect the environment is a systematic failure that ripples negative effects on the health, culture and climate outcomes for Indigenous communities, Black, disabled and racialized people all across Canada, whose livelihoods, safety and ability to thrive depend on nature protection.

Examining the impacts on health, culture and climate, the Belonging in Nature report proposes the following belonging-first solutions that will close equity gaps in nature and ensure it is protected, accessible and healing for all:

Land Back and Indigenous governance: Centering “Land Back” as the foundational frame for nature protection and honouring Indigenous worldviews.

Implementation of Bill C-73: Legislating nature for all through the Nature Accountability Act to ensure belonging becomes a lived reality rather than a privilege.

Scaling community-led and co-designed solutions: Supporting and piloting initiatives driven by the communities most impacted by nature inequity.

Closing data gaps preventing belonging in nature: Collecting disaggregated data on identity and policy impact to maintain progress and transparency

The executive summary is available here.

,Read More  Greenpeace Canada