Why do we need a national wetland evaluation guide?
Wetland evaluations classify wetland types and measure specific wetland attributes. They determine the ecosystem services provided by these hard-working ecosystems and can be used to inform decision-making around land-use planning.
This project involves the production of a national wetland evaluation guide.
A Wetland Evaluation Guide will inform municipal, provincial, territorial and federal wetland policies and programs on the importance of wetland habitats as natural infrastructure for tackling climate change and halting and reversing biodiversity loss.
Wetland evaluations are necessary for building an accurate national wetland inventory database for Canada. The current wetland inventory does not cover the full geographic scope of wetlands in Canada. Also, many evaluations are inconsistent having been undertaken using different methodologies, and numerous are out of date. In short, there is no national protocol for wetland evaluation.
As a result, stakeholders do not have a comprehensive and coherent wetland inventory that informs decision-making related to wetland protection, management and restoration. A detailed wetland evaluation guide is required to help ensure that the national wetland inventory database is consistent, comprehensive and based on reliable data. This will guide municipal, provincial, territorial and federal wetland management and will better inform the economic valuations of wetlands, that articulate the cost of wetland loss and the benefits wetlands provide to Canadians in terms of natural infrastructure and biodiversity.
Environment and Climate Change Canada recently consulted with wetland practitioners from across Canada to help inform the design of a new wetland assessment protocol for future wetland inventory work. The Canadian Wetlands Roundtable is developing revised wetland evaluation guidelines to help ensure that future wetland evaluations meet this new national protocol.
The Wetland Evaluation Guide will help governments, Indigenous communities, environmental non-governmental organizations, Industry and others produce accurate wetland assessments. It will also help ensure wetland inventories meet the requirements of the Canadian National Wetland Inventory database.
January 2022-January 2024