Prince William says wife Kate is 'doing well'
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
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
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
Canadian Blood Services issued an apology on Friday to the LGBTQ2S+ community for what it now admits was a harmful and discriminatory blood donation policy that prevented sexually active men who have sex with men and some trans people from donating blood and plasma.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says that she is hopeful an announcement could be made soon amid multiple reports that a WNBA team is coming to Toronto in 2026.
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
Police in Newfoundland say patrol officers were assaulted Thursday by a "very irate male" wielding a block of cheese.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.