Alberta’s Nature Summit: Implications for a made-in-Alberta Nature Strategy

October 18, 2024

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• Biodiversity
• Climate Change
• Protected Areas
• Wildlife

As part of their public engagement on a made-in-Alberta Nature Strategy, Alberta hosted a one-day Nature Summit, inviting representatives from a variety of sectors. Along with environmental organizations like AWA, there was participation from First Nations, agriculture and municipalities, and industry. All of us gathered in Calgary to discuss how an Alberta Nature Strategy should be.

Since Canada announced their 2030 Nature Strategy in July, Alberta has argued against the document, insisting it to be unconstitutional and declaring that Alberta will develop its own strategy to protect and recover biodiversity. Now, months after the national strategy was released, Alberta has made the first steps towards a provincial strategy.

The Summit was one part of a larger engagement. It hosted three panels, two table discussions, and a Minister session. During both the discussions and panels, some common themes emerged: the importance of nature for our economy and our health, a need for responsible development, an acknowledgement that nature is often undervalued. Where the disagreements began was in how responsible development was defined – whether to allow all developments or to prioritize nature – and in who should be making these decisions. Still, there appeared to be broad, although not unanimous, agreement for proactive actions and stewardship incentives, before the cost of losing our natural systems became too great.

The Ministers, however, did not agree. The Minister session, consisting of the honorable Rebecca Schulz (Environment and Protected Areas), Todd Loewan (Forestry and Parks) and RJ Sigurdson (Agriculture and Irrigation) stood out in their insistence on resisting federal oversight. Based on unsupported and often inaccurate information, the Ministers spoke to the need for industrial use of lands and the growing role of technology in managing the consequences. While they also acknowledged the importance of nature and the abundance we are lucky to have in Alberta, the Ministers all refused to commit to any tangible targets or protections, and their insistence on supporting industry, despite the growing costs, contrasted with the words of many in the room.

There is clearly a divide, not just between rural and urban populations or between environmental interests and industry, but also between government decisions and the beliefs of many Albertans. We will have to wait for the release of Alberta’s Nature Strategy to see whether the perspectives expressed in this engagement are incorporated, and whether Alberta will take meaningful action towards restoring biodiversity.

For more information, contact Ruiping Luo (rluo@abwild.ca; 403-283-2025)