No firm commitment from Yukon gov't over federal land conservation targets

While Yukon's environment minister says the territory is making inroads into land conservation, he has not committed to targets set by the federal government.

The federal government has pledged to conserve 25 per cent of national lands by 2025. This is a stepping stone toward a more ambitious target of 30 per cent by 2030.

Asked whether the Yukon will formally adopt these targets, Clarke didn't provide a definitive answer. 

"We anticipate we will reach 25 per cent set aside, even prior to 2025," Clarke said. "Watch it, though, a politician is making early predictions, but it seems that that is the direction that we are going."

Clarke said the Yukon government will "seek additional opportunities" to meet the 2030 goal. However, he didn't specify how, exactly, it would do that.

In an email Thursday, a spokesperson with cabinet communications said: "While the Government of Yukon has not formally adopted its own area-based protected area targets, we are making meaningful contributions to Canada's efforts to meet its national-level targets."

Clarke was part of a roundtable meeting hosted in Whitehorse on Wednesday. Environment ministers from across the country discussed climate change adaptation efforts, along with ways to reduce plastic waste. 

Steven Guilbeault, Canada's minister of Environment and Climate Change, was part of the meeting. A day earlier, his office released a statement, which calls on the provinces and territories to "rally behind" land conservation targets. 

'A no-brainer' 

Chris Rider, executive director of CPAWS Yukon, said there's no reason why the Yukon government shouldn't formally adopt Canada's conservation targets. 

"It just feels like such a no-brainer," he said.

A recent report released by CPAWS also calls on the Yukon government to start new land use planning processes as soon as possible, and on a concurrent basis.

The report states 19.1 per cent of land in Yukon is protected.

The report also points to untapped potential, adding there are opportunities for the Yukon to conserve, in total, upward of 42 per cent of land, representing roughly 110,000 square kilometres.

The report points to several other land use plans at various stages of completion. That includes the Dawson land use plan, which, when finalized and implemented, could see at least 15,000 square kilometres of new protected land. There's also the Yukon North Slope, an 18,000 square-kilometre region wedged between the Old Crow Flats and the Beaufort Sea, that's part of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. 

Rider said land use planning is of central importance to meeting targets.

"If we don't take active steps to ensure that the values that we all love are protected here, then we end up potentially sleepwalking our way into a disaster that could have easily been avoided," he said. 

"Unlike southern Canada where they're fighting to hold and reverse biodiversity loss, we are actually in the position where we have the opportunity to take action before it's too late, to ensure we don't lose healthy nature within the Yukon."