Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Representatives from nearly 200 countries are to begin the real work Wednesday at a crucial meeting on global biodiversity -- hard talks on hard targets for saving enough of the world's ecosystems to keep the planet functioning.
"We need governments to develop ambitious national action plans that protect and preserve our natural gifts and put our planet on a path to healing," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said as the meetings got underway.
Observers say they're optimistic the 196 countries at the COP15 meeting in Montreal can agree that nearly a third of Earth's lands and waters should come under some form protection by 2030.
"There is huge support for it," said Stephen Woodley of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a high-profile group of governments and civil society organizations advising conference delegates.
"I believe there is really significant support for 30 per cent in quality areas."
The 30-per-cent goal is the result of years of scientific study and consensus.
"Scientists have studied this for years and years, and we know with a great deal of evidence that 30 per cent is the lower limit," said Aerin Jacob of the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
Momentum toward that goal has been building for years. It's been endorsed by the G7 industrialized countries and is supported by 112 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, including Canada.
Other major goals include helping to fund the promotion of biodiversity in developing countries.
"We need developed countries to provide meaningful financial support for the countries of the Global South as custodians of the world's natural wealth following centuries of exploitation and loss," said Guterres.
Estimates of how much money is required range widely, from about $200 billion a year to more than $700 billion.
"Much remains to be done. The text on conservation targets being debated by delegates has more brackets in it than agreed wording.
"We've made some progress," said Woodley. "It's tough sledding."
Some of the disputed text concerns Indigenous people.
"There is a significant group who want to ensure that protecting 30 per cent of the Earth is not negative on Indigenous people or community-owned lands," Woodley said. "It certainly has been in the past, in some cases."
Others want to ensure that areas being conserved actually contribute to saving species, promoting ecosystem function, protecting against floods or wildfires or storing carbon.
"Those are all value judgments," said Jacob.
"I would argue we need to protect ourselves against all those things. We can't pick and choose."
Other issues to be settled include what constitutes protection. It doesn't need to be a park. It could be what is known as "other effective area-based conservation measures," known in COP-speak as OECMs.
The Vancouver watershed, managed to ensure water quality, is an OECM. So is Manitoba's wildlife-rich Canadian Forces Base Shiloh.
Private groups or land trusts will protect some lands. Others will be conserved by Indigenous management, an approach on which Canada is increasingly relying.
Woodley's group recognizes seven different types of conservation areas, some allowing limited resource extraction, with four different governance models.
In developed countries where natural areas are scarce and small, efforts will focus on restoration.
"There are so many solutions," Jacob said. "It's about making sure those things can survive and thrive."
And much will depend on how any plan is implemented. Discussions on finance are to begin later this week.
"An agreement without any action won't help us protect the life of the planet," said Jacob.
But both she and Woodley agree some kind of deal on conservation targets is likely to happen.
"We absolutely have to do this," Jacob said.
"It's not a question of no agreement. It's more a question of what the agreement will look like."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2020.
-- By Bob Weber in Edmonton
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
A judge has ordered a Quebec man to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of two children killed when a bus rammed into a Montreal-area daycare last year.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Former Humboldt Broncos goaltender and bus crash survivor Jacob Wassermann has qualified Canada for a rowing event for the 2024 Paralympic games in Paris.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Canadians will be missing out on a sweet new partnership between McDonald's and Krispy Kreme, which will see doughnuts available at McDonald's locations across the U.S. by the end of 2026.
A Calgary police officer has been charged after allegedly assaulting a handcuffed man two years ago.
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.