Biodiversity Boreal Climate change Conservation planning Freshwater Indigenous partnerships Natural resource development Peatlands

The National Peatland Strategy: Implementation Opportunities for the Yukon

Goodday, V., Tanguay, L., Radatus-Smith, N. & Harris, L

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To facilitate uptake of the National Peatland Strategy, opportunities for implementation at the federal level and in each province and territory have been identified. This document outlines opportunities for the Yukon.

Key points

• Canada’s peatlands are of global importance, storing over 150 billion tonnes of carbon.
• Canada's provinces and territories have the primary responsibility for properly stewarding these climate-critical ecosystems.
• Top opportunities for the Government of Yukon to achieve better outcomes for peatlands, and the communities and ecosystems that rely on them, include:
  • Better classifying and mapping peatlands and all wetlands in the Yukon and scaling-up research and monitoring of peatland values and services.
  • Strengthening Wetland Policy implementation, compliance, and enforcement mechanisms and improving representation of peatlands under the policy by lowering the Wetland of Special Importance carbon criterion for and ensuring ecological and management thresholds appropriately reflect peatland values.
  • Including peatlands in water resources plans and regulations, requiring buffer zones for peatlands in forestry contexts, and considering peatlands in regional land-use planning.

The full strategy is available in both English and French.

Recommended citation

Goodday, V., Tanguay, L., Radatus-Smith, N. & Harris, L (2025). The National Peatland Strategy: Implementation Opportunities for the Yukon. Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]. https://doi.org/10.19121/2025.Report.52386.p15.en