British Columbia and International Protected Areas

Archived Topic Box from the 2005 Fifth Annual Benchmark Report

British Columbians enjoy a high degree of biological and ecological diversity. BC's natural diversity both in terms of species and ecosystems, have been a distinct element in the province's unique economic and environmental heritage. British Columbia's natural surroundings have provided recreational activities for the province's residents and visitors and form the foundation of our active and healthy society. The province's natural diversity has been the basis of most economic opportunities throughout the province's development, and continues to provide the foundation for numerous resource-based industries including forestry, mining, and tourism and recreation. Finding a balance between an expanding population, job growth, improving standards of living and stewardship of natural surroundings is an important, but certainly not a simple, task.

Over the past decade, BC achieved the goal of the Bruntland report which recommended that 12 percent of the provincial land base be set aside by the year 2000. In total, BC has increased protected areas from 6.1 percent in 1992 to 13.0 percent in 2003. The Canadian provincial average is 8.4 percent. Alberta – with 12.3 percent of its land base designated as protected areas – is a close second to BC.

Overall, the amount of land protected in BC is comparable to other jurisdictions in Canada and elsewhere, despite the fact the challenges it faces are greater than most other jurisdictions given the extent of its biodiversity. British Columbia has been classified into 112 distinct ecosections, including 12 distinct marine ecosystems. Ensuring that each receives some protection has been a focus of government policy, with total protection for most increasing over the past decade.

Canada's 5.2 percent of land protected is close to the World average of 6.1 percent, according to data from the World Resources Institute. In addition, Canada is home to 2.5 percent of the World's "Wetlands of International Importance," 2.8 percent of the World's "Biosphere Reserves" and 6.3 percent of the "Marine Areas Under IUCN Categories I-VI."

Notes: As reported in the table above, the World Resources Institute (WRI) includes only land areas under IUCN categories I-V in their calculation of "percent of land protected." The 2004 Benchmarking Report reported on WRI data based on IUCN categories I-VI & Other, a larger collection of areas (Canada showed 11.1% of land protected vs. 11.3% for the World). International comparisons of environmental indicators are recent innovations; data and standards of comparison continue to evolve. The BC Progress Board will continue to report international comparisons according to WRI convention. Wetlands of International Importance may not be mutually exclusive of Marine Areas under IUCN I-VI.