Indicators:

• Number of taxonomically classified specimens in Canadian collections that are available for scientific use, and the proportion of those specimens with digital records

• Completion of a national assessment of biodiversity science required to address policy needs

• The number of peer-reviewed reports written by 2020 which contribute to addressing key biodiversity science needs

• Number of biodiversity monitoring programs contributing information to a national or provincial web portal

About the Target

Information from multiple perspectives, including Indigenous Knowledge, improves our understanding of biodiversity and ecosystems, their processes, vulnerabilities, and trends. Accurate, timely, and accessible information is essential to enable Canada to effectively conserve biodiversity, mitigate the impacts of biodiversity loss and effectively value ecosystem services in decision-making.

Ongoing research and improved monitoring capacity are vital to deepening our understanding of biodiversity. Equally important are approaches to better translate existing information into effective conservation action. Advances in a range of fields – from remote sensing to geographic information systems and bioinformatics – offer unprecedented potential for developing and sharing data and information and set the stage for a new wave of knowledge innovation in partnership with Indigenous governments, universities and community scientists.

Canada Target 14 is linked with the following global Aichi target under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020:

• Aichi Target 19 - By 2020, knowledge, the science base and technologies relating to biodiversity, its values, functioning, status and trends, and the consequences of its loss, are improved, widely shared and transferred, and applied.

2020 Final Assessment

Using a global citation database[i] and looking at scientific articles related to “biodiversity and Canada”, there are almost 50% more articles published from 2016 to 2020 versus from 2011 to 2015. The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) shows over 112 million records related to biodiversity in Canada drawn from over 2000 databases.  At the end of 2020, major Canadian museum collections contained more than 29 million taxonomically classified specimens from Canadian locations that are available for scientific use, an increase of approximately 3 million since 2017. Almost half (49%) of these specimens now have digitized information available, an increase from 31% in 2017. [ii] A workshop report of information needs for biodiversity conservation in Canada was published in 2021.[iii]

The target has been partially met given that the science base has expanded substantially, and more and more data is accessible digitally. However, many data sets are not yet accessible, and it is unclear if the information is better integrated or easier to incorporate into decision-making. Authors of the workshop report identified 50 priority information needs for biodiversity conservation policy and practice in Canada. They also emphasized the need to: improve collaboration with holders of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge; better translate existing scientific information into decision-making, while considering social and political factors; work with data scientists and social scientists; and, coordinate across scales, jurisdictions, and sectors.

[i] Clarivate (2022) Web of Science https://support.clarivate.com/ScientificandAcademicResearch

[ii] Canadian Museum of Nature. Collection Services and Information Management (2021).

[iii] Rachel T. Buxton et al (2021) Key information needs to move from knowledge to action for biodiversity conservation in Canada, Biological Conservation, Volume 256

Contributing Actions

Biodiversity monitoring and research programs are continuing to amass data and make it available to researchers and the public. Canadensys for example is a network of researchers, collectors, curators, information technologists, students, and educators that shares data on the occurrence and identity of plant, animal, and fungi, and other species in Canada. Other portals such as eBird, iNaturalist, NatureCounts, and WildTrax have been substantially enhanced and expanded to support an increased number of projects related to citizen science. Collectively, they engage tens of thousands of participants each year to contribute biodiversity data observations. Substantial advances have also been made in developing data dissemination and decision support tools to ensure that biodiversity data are available to support decision-making. In particular, NatureCounts now provides access to the vast majority of distribution and abundance data for birds in Canada, while NatureServe Explorer has been developed to share data on species of conservation concern housed by the Conservation Data Centres in Canada. These platforms include a variety of map-based and graphical tools to support decision-making for conservation, including for environmental impact assessment. Many of these data are also shared with the GBIF.

The Boreal Avian Modelling Project is an ongoing research initiative created to develop the best predictive bird-habitat models possible from existing data, with the goal of meeting immediate conservation needs and informing future research and monitoring efforts.

In 2020, NatureServe Canada initiated the Ecosystem-based automated range maps (EBAR) initiative and is developing publicly accessible range maps for different sets of species of importance. EBAR maps support priority programs such as environmental impact assessments, species at risk status assessments and recovery action plans, and the identification of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs).

Canada participates in the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS) which is a set of searchable databases on livestock breed diversity. The system allows for analysis on national, regional and global levels, and includes the status of breeds regarding their risk of extinction. 

The Wild Species reports assess the status and document the distribution of wildlife in Canada, including animals, plants, and fungi. The 2015 report included information on about 30,000 species, while the 2020 report, released in fall 2022, includes details for over 50,000 species, more than half of all wild species believed to occur in Canada.   

The 2021 workshop report of a preliminary national assessment of information needs for biodiversity conservation in Canada was based on obtaining insight from biodiversity conservation experts in Canada through a three-step process: online survey, in-person workshop and email discussion. The identified 50 priority information needs for biodiversity conservation policy and practice in Canada were categorized under six themes.

1. Review and evaluate existing conservation policy and actions

   A comprehensive review of policies, programs, incentives, disincentives, beneficial management practices, tools, and their ability to support or impede biodiversity conservation efforts was identified as a key information need.

2. Understand mechanisms to build and mobilize public support and facilitate transformative change

   There is a need to determine how to translate public interest in biodiversity into meaningful changes in behaviour, action, and stewardship.

3. Conduct targeted research for planning and management

   There are several information needs related to decision support, including how to conserve both wildlife and ecosystem services, understanding adaptive capacity and projected response of species and ecosystems to climate change, carbon storage, conserved area connectivity and future uncertainty and variability.

4. Monitor the status and trends of biodiversity

   There is a need to understand the optimal allocation of resources, between monitoring, inventory, and research, versus conservation action. Additional effort is necessary to complete and harmonize inventories for key habitats – notably wetlands – across multiple spatial scales and jurisdictions.

5. Understand major threats to biodiversity and how they might be addressed via transformative change

   There is a need for better understanding the relative impacts of pollutants and agricultural expansion and the cumulative effects of multiple threats affecting biodiversity in rapidly changing real-world conservation settings.

6. Improve mobilization and accessibility of information

   Standards for data management and dissemination are urgently needed to cope with the rapidly increasing flow of environmental data generated by new monitoring technologies.