Narwhal Week, episode 4: The key to saving the world’s biodiversity

Indigenous Peoples have long taken care of the land — in fact, they still steward 80 per cent of remaining global biodiversity.

With the world facing an extinction crisis, one solution gaining momentum is the creation of more Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs).

In the fourth installment of our weeklong collaboration with The Narwhal — an award-winning non-profit publication that provides in-depth coverage of climate issues across Canada — guest host, Fatima Syed, is joined by Narwhal B.C. reporter Stephanie Wood, and Ainslie Cruikshank, who covers biodiversity. They explain the scale of the world’s biodiversity crisis, and discuss the ways that greater Indigenous territorial autonomy may help combat the issue.

As Montreal prepares to host COP15, the United Nations conference on biodiversity, experts say Canada has a responsibility to take the lead on implementing Indigenous-led conservation practices. So will it?

Read Stephanie’s story about Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas here

Read Ainslie’s story about British Columbia’s lack of protections for at-risk species here

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