The Nature Conservancy of Canada says recent measures taken by the provincial and federal government to address the loss of biodiversity in Newfoundland and Labrador are a positive step.
Ottawa and the province recently made a commitment to creating new protected areas in the province in hopes of boosting nature conservation efforts. This includes a protected area in Eagle River Watershed, a South Coast Fjords national marine conservation area, a national park near Burgeo, and a conservation area on the Labrador Coast.
Newfoundland and Labrador program director with the Nature Conservancy, Piers Evans, says with only seven per cent of the island’s land protected, there’s a steep hill to climb.
He says the biodiversity here is just as valuable as the biodiversity in the Amazon Rain Forest or Indonesia. He says with a number of species only found in Newfoundland and Labrador, every effort must be made to conserve nature.