Hit us with your best shot: KBA Canada launches 2nd Annual Photo Contest

Coinciding with the start of the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP16), the KBA Canada program has today launched its second annual photo contest.

Aimed at photographers of all levels living in Canada, the contest aims to showcase the natural beauty and ecological importance of Canada’s Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and the flora and fauna that call them home.

KBAs are sites that contribute to the persistence of biodiversity nationally and globally. Found across land, freshwater, and marine environments, KBAs support the survival of rare and threatened species and ecosystems, according to globally recognized criteria. The KBA Canada program has identified over 170 KBAs across Canada to date, with several hundred more sites in the process of being proposed.

Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne, Key Biodiversity Areas Director, WCS Canada said: “Key Biodiversity Areas contain remarkable concentrations of species and ecosystems that are at risk, not just in Canada, but around the world. This photography contest is an opportunity to highlight not just our country’s natural beauty, but its important role in implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed at the last CBD COP in Montreal. We had a fantastic response to our first photo contest last year and look forward to reviewing this year’s entries.”

This year’s contest categories include:

• Fauna: From birds to bugs, snakes to seas slugs and everything in between, capture the incredible animal life found within Canada's KBAs.
• Flora and Fungi: Whether beautiful flowering orchids, underappreciated grasses and sedges, or the intricate beauty of a moss or lichen, show us your best photographs of the plants and fungi within KBAs.
• Landscapes and Ecosystems: Highlight the breathtaking landscapes, habitats, and scenic views that define Canada's KBAs.
• People and Conservation: Photographs in this category should focus on people enjoying KBAs or showcase the projects and actions that contribute to the preservation of these vital areas.

Last year’s winners (images attached, please credit the photographer if used):

• Fauna: Kris Cu - Master of the Marsh (American Bittern at the Fraser River Estuary KBA)
• Flora: John Reynolds - Solar-powered Moss (moss capturing water and sunlight at the ƛ̓ÉXƏTƏM Candidate KBA)
• Landscapes and Scenery: Katelyn Luff - Cypress Hills Overlook (Cypress Hills Candidate KBA)
• People and Conservation: Amy Tucker - A close look at the Cardinal Divide (Bioblitz at the Whitehorse Wildlands KBA)

Photos submitted to the contest should be taken from KBAs (or Candidate KBAs) or should feature species or ecosystems that are having KBAs identified for them. To find out what places across Canada are KBAs or Candidate KBAs, visit the Map Viewer on our website. To find out which species or ecosystems are being considered for KBAs, click on Candidate KBAs in the Map Viewer, explore the Species Search on our website, or by checking the list here.

Submissions close on November 30th, 2024 and winners will be announced on December 17th, 2024. More information about the contest rules and eligibility criteria can be found on our website.

Notes to Editors

• If using last year's winning images, please credit the photographer.
• For more information about the photo contest, or the KBA initiative, please contact Peter Soroye, Key Biodiversity Areas Assessment and Outreach Coordinator on psoroye@wcs.org

About KBA Canada

The KBA Canada initiative was launched in 2019 to help Canada meet protected area targets and other targets agreed to in the Convention on Biological Diversity. Canada has one of the world’s first comprehensive national programs to identify KBAs and was the first country to adapt the Global KBA Standard to a national context. The KBA Canada initiative is jointly coordinated by Birds Canada, NatureServe Canada, and WCS Canada, and involves and large coalition of non-governmental organizations, governments, Indigenous partners, academic institutions, experts and knowledge-holders that are engaged in the work of identifying, delineating and reviewing KBAs. To date, almost 1,000 sites have been identified as potential KBAs across Canada. Find out more at KBACanada.org.