Resumen
Environmental issues and related policy instruments are becoming increasingly politicized in the Canadian context, but it is unclear whether biodiversity conservation and protected areas are similarly politicized. Here, we suggest that the political characteristics of protected areas do not lend themselves easily to politicization, but data from the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database indicate that at the federal level, and provincially in Alberta, the rate of protected areas establishment is becoming increasingly tied to electoral politics, suggesting some politicization. We situate these trends within federal electoral politics between 2006 and the present, outlining the differing approaches of the Harper Conservatives and the Trudeau Liberals and showing how both administrations instrumentalized the environment and protected areas for their own electoral benefits. We find similar trends in Alberta with the Progressive Conservative, New Democratic Party, and United Conservative Party governments. However, while there is increasing polarization in practice, there has been less polarization of the electoral rhetoric surrounding protected areas. This politicization represents a barrier to conservation in Canada as it can lead to greenwashing, poor accountability, or the creation of an anti-conservation constituency. At the same time, politicization can raise the profile of conservation in public discourse, leading to greater public interest and engagement.
| Idioma original | English |
|---|---|
| Páginas (desde-hasta) | 1146-1167 |
| Número de páginas | 22 |
| Publicación | Facets |
| Volumen | 6 |
| DOI | |
| Estado | Published - 2021 |
Nota bibliográfica
Funding Information:The Conservative government did make good on some of these platform promises. For instance, they did expand the Nahanni National Park in 2009 (CBC News 2009). Although, it is important to note that two mining companies were still allowed to operate in the area, leaving a “doughnut hole of unprotected land” in the middle of the park that potentially undermines the conservation effectiveness of this protected area (Riley 2019). In 2014, Prime Minister Harper launched the National Conservation Plan, as a pillar of the government’s Economic Action Plan, focused around conserving Canada’s lands and waters, restoring Canada’s ecosystems, and connecting Canadians to nature (Government of Canada 2014a). The plan also included $252 million over a five-year period for conservation efforts, framed as part of Canada’s obligations to the CBD. The Conservatives also funded 85 conservation projects as part of the EcoAction Community Funding Program (Government of Canada 2014b).7 However, this plan was criticized by opposition parties and NGOs for lacking detail and a clear implementation strategy (Bissett 2014). Internationally, it was the Harper Conservatives who agreed to the Aichi biodiversity targets8, including the target to protect 17% of Canadian land and inland waters, though no implementation strategy was produced before the Conservatives were voted out in 2015.
Funding Information:
6The establishment process for the Tallurutiup Imanga Protected Area is still ongoing as of August 2019, although there was a visible ramping up of activity post 2016 (Parks Canada 2019). 7The majority of projects funded by this initiative are relatively small ranging from to $10,000 to $100, 000. 8The Aichi Biodiversity Targets are a series of 20 goals agreed to in 2010 by signatories of the Convention on Biological diversity aiming to bolster global biodiversity conservation (Convention on Biological Diversity 2020).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Botchwey and Cunningham.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- General