March 16-20, 2015

Chateau Lacombe, Edmonton, Alberta

Overview of Workshop

The Canadian Council on Ecological Areas (CCEA) is hosting a national workshop focused on the theme of “Towards 2020 – Barriers, Solutions, and Opportunities for Reaching Conservation Goals”.

The overall purpose of the workshop is to develop science-based guidance on how Canada can best achieve protected and conservation area-related targets it has agreed to.

Workshop elements will include:

– Development and presentation of peer-reviewed case studies to be incorporated into the Canadian Guidebook for the Application and Reporting of IUCN Protected Area Categories and Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures;

– Development of a voluntary peer-review process for the inclusion of areas in the Conservation Areas Reporting and Tracking System (CARTS);

– Discussion on what else should be reported as “Canada’s Conservation Effort” beyond Protected Areas and Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures, per Canada’s Target 16 – “By 2020, Canada has a comprehensive inventory of protected spaces that includes private conservation areas”;

– Outcomes, directions, and inspirations from the 2014 IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia;

– Achieving all aspects of Aichi Target 11/Canada’s Target 1, not just the quantitative targets;

– Barriers to progress on Aichi Target 11/Canada’s Target 1;

– Solutions and opportunities for progress on Aichi Target 11/Canada’s Target 1; and

– Measuring and reporting on all aspects of Aichi Target 11/Canada’s Target 1.

The workshop will be a unique opportunity for conservation experts to come together and develop solutions for achieving Aichi Target 11/ Canada’s Target 1 in all respects. Workshop participants will include experts from Canadian protected area and conservation agencies and from IUCN, scientists, land stewardship experts, experts in Aboriginal and community land-use planning, and national non-governmental conservation experts.