CoP15 Event: Key Biodiversity Areas

A tool for effective biodiversity conservation in Canada

This panel event brought together leaders and partners of the KBA Canada initiative to demonstrate how this collaborative project is assembling biodiversity data and knowledge to identify all Key Biodiversity Areas in Canada, and presented the progress made to date. Panelists described the organization of KBA Canada, collaborations with Indigenous partners across the country, how the project is catalyzing the assemblage and organization of biodiversity data in Canada, Canadian leadership in identifying KBAs for ecological integrity, and how Canada is sharing tools and approaches globally on KBAs. Discussion was interspersed by video from partners across the country, describing the local importance of KBAs they are working on.

The event was held in the Canada Pavilion at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, CoP15, in Montreal on December 13th, 2022, and organized but Wildlife Conservation Society Canada and NatureServe Canada. WCS Canada panelists included Justina Ray, Peter Soroye, Chloé Debyser, and Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne.