Indicators:

• Habitat area retained, managed, and restored under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan

• Extent of Canada's wetlands

About the Target

Wetlands are lands covered or permeated with water, either seasonally or year-round. They include bogs, fens, swamps, marshes, and shallow, open waters. Wetlands are among Earth's most productive ecosystems. They provide numerous ecosystem services such as purifying waters, removing pollutants, buffering floods or droughts, and carbon sequestration and storage. They also support many species (including species at risk), including significant numbers of migratory birds, fish, and amphibians. A wide diversity of plants, and many other species make their home in wetlands. Given the biodiversity they support, wetlands provide places to watch wildlife and reconnect with the natural environment.

Canada has approximately 1.29 million km2 of wetlands, accounting for 13% of its terrestrial area[i] — or close to one quarter of the world’s remaining wetlands.

Canada Target 3 is linked with the following global Aichi target under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020:

• Aichi Target 4 - By 2020, at the latest, Governments, business and stakeholders at all levels have taken steps to achieve or have implemented plans for sustainable production and consumption and have kept the impacts of use of natural resources well within safe ecological limits.

• Aichi Target 5 - By 2020, By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced.

• Aichi Target 14 - By 2020, By 2020, ecosystems that provide essential services, including services related to water, and contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being, are restored and safeguarded, taking into account the needs of women, indigenous and local communities, and the poor and vulnerable.

• Aichi Target 15 - By 2020, ecosystem resilience and the contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks has been enhanced, through conservation and restoration, including restoration of at least 15 per cent of degraded ecosystems, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to combating desertification.

[i] Based on data spanning the late 1990s to 2014. Environment and Climate Change Canada (2016) Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators: Extent of Canada's Wetlands.

2020 Final Assessment

There has been extensive progress in terms of conservation, restoration, and management activities (see Contributing Actions) such that the target has been partially met. However, a complete picture of the status and trends in the extent and health of wetlands in Canada is not yet available and wetland creation and restoration is most suitable for marshes and not bogs or fens. The conclusions of the 2010 Ecosystem Status and Trends report are still relevant - wetland loss and degradation continue in many parts of Canada.[i] Wetlands are under stress from conversion to agriculture and other development, pollution, invasive species and climate change.

Continued work on conservation, restoration and management is important but should be supplemented with planning and policy across all sectors that would reduce losses of natural wetlands and strive towards no net loss across the country. This should include an emphasis on areas of greatest historical wetland loss, such as in urban and developed areas, recognizing that wetland creation and restoration is most suitable for marshes and not bogs or fens.

[i] Federal, Provincial and Territorial Governments of Canada (2010) Canadian biodiversity: ecosystem status and trends 2010.

Contributing Actions

Significant work is carried out through the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) – an international partnership to restore, conserve and protect waterfowl populations and associated habitats through management decisions based on strong biological foundations throughout Canada, the United States of America, and Mexico. Since 1986, the NAWMP has helped reduce the rate of wetland loss and degradation by protecting and restoring wetlands, establishing conservation agreements, and influencing stewardship activities of landowners, land managers, and conservation agencies. Since its inception, over 9.4 million hectares of wetlands and associated upland habitats have been secured in Canada. This involves the protection of habitat through land title transfer or binding legal agreements with landowners (10-year minimum).

Canadian conservation-based stakeholders work together to designate and effectively manage Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), many of which are also designated as Migratory Bird Sanctuaries, National Wildlife Areas, and Provincial and National Parks. As of 2022, Canada has 37 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance with a surface area of 13,086,767 hectares.

Efforts under the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative to conserve 25% and eventually 30% of lands and oceans will include wetlands, and through the Natural Infrastructure Fund, investments will be made in communities to undertake natural infrastructure projects, such as wetland restoration, shoreline reconstruction and naturalized stormwater ponds. Natural infrastructure-related projects are also eligible for support through the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.

Through the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund initiative, the Government of Canada is investing in nature-based climate solutions, including conserving, restoring and enhancing wetlands to boost biodiversity, carbon sequestration and resilience to a changing climate. Environment and Climate Change Canada received funding to enhance the quantity and quality of coverage in the Canadian National Wetland Inventory. The purpose of this inventory is to provide baseline data to understand: (a) the current state of wetlands in Canada; (b) changes in the extent and function of wetlands; and (c) how humans are influencing these changes.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Coastal Restoration Fund is providing $75 million over 5 years (2017-2022) to support coastal habitat restoration programs at the local and community level, with the intention of mitigating marine stressors. Currently, the Fund is projected to restore 65,046 hectares of aquatic habitat and contribute to the survival or recovery of threatened and endangered species.

The Marsh Monitoring Program is a wildlife monitoring program for coastal and inland marshes. In 2020, it celebrated 25 years of a binational partnership led by Birds Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Marsh Monitoring Program is a wildlife (birds primarily and amphibians in some areas) monitoring program for coastal and inland marshes.

One example of effective wetland management can be seen at Point Pelee National Park, which includes one of the largest remaining marshes in southern Ontario and is a designated Ramsar Site. Parks Canada and partners are implementing a multi-year restoration project to improve marsh health by increasing open water and edge habitats. This work to restore one of the few large marshes left in the Great Lakes system is part of the Parks Canada’s Conservation and Restoration program that aims to conserve and restore nature through collaboration, evidence, and reconciliation. 

The Peace-Athabasca Delta Ecological Monitoring Program (PADEMP) undertakes long-term monitoring and reporting on the health of the Peace-Athabasca Delta through western science and traditional knowledge. Designated as a Ramsar site, or Wetland of International Importance, the delta is ecologically important as a nesting and staging area for migratory waterfowl from all four North American flyways. Eighty percent (80%) of the delta is within Wood Buffalo National Park, which is a World Heritage Site. The delta is a homeland for the Indigenous people of the region.