Who are we?
What do we stand for?
What will we do new and different?
What have we done so far?
The Endangered Ecosystems Alliance was launched just over one year ago, in the fall of 2018, with an ambitious goal to scale up the protection of all native ecosystems in Canada - from coniferous to deciduous forests, from grasslands to wetlands, from freshwater to marine ecosystems - to reach a target of 50% protection of lands and waters across Canada by 2030. At the same time we aim to set an example to help transform the approach of much of the environmental movement to move beyond primarily engaging environmental activist constituencies to focus much more on “non-traditional allies” to broaden the movement.
And there is no better time to do this. Right now the greatest opportunity to protect nature in Canada’s history is underway, as public awareness about the global ecological crisis has reached new heights and the international community is headed towards negotiating an expanded protected areas target for the planet at the UN Biodiversity Conference in October of 2020. Nations will likely negotiate a global target of 30% protection of Earth’s land and marine ecosystems by 2030.
A more ambitious, ecosystem-based approach is what we are aiming for. We are pushing for 50% protection by 2030, based on the latest science, and for targets to be set in all native ecosystem types so that protected areas are not all relegated to treeless, economically marginal landscapes in the Arctic, subarctic, glaciers, and deserts – much as these are native ecosystems that fully deserve protection of course, but just not at the expense of all the biologically richer and more diverse temperate forests, grasslands, wetlands, etc. where most endangered species live and where the greatest biodiversity loss from industrial logging, agricultural expansion, and urban development are occurring.
In addition, as the global environmental movement rallies to counteract climate change, increasing momentum is growing for “nature-based solutions” – the protection of native ecosystems to draw down vast amounts of atmospheric carbon to allow simultaneous greenhouse gas emissions reductions efforts to reach our international goal to limit the global temperature from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The organization’s staff, Canadian conservationists Ken Wu and Celina Starnes, have decades of vital experience, insight, and know how on Canadian environmental policy, environmental activism, and non-profit organizing. Ken Wu has spent 28 years working to protect endangered ecosystems through a large variety of environmental groups, including over 10 years as the executive director and campaign director of the Wilderness Committee’s Victoria branch and 8 years most recently as the executive director and co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance. Celina Starnes, our operations and outreach director, has worked for 15 years in various capacities as a manager and executive director with various environmental organizations, as well as a facilitator and consultant for non-profit campaigns and organizational development.
In addition, the organization has a first rate, experienced board of directors and advisors, including ancient forest activist TJ Watt, environmental lawyer Kerrie Blaise, renowned conservation biologist Dr. Reed Noss, and internationally acclaimed digital landscape artist Kelly Richardson.
What niche does the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance fill in the environmental movement? We will do 3 main things:
1. Focus much of our efforts on engaging non-traditional allies, such as businesses, unions, diverse faith groups, scientists, outdoor recreation groups, and multi-cultural outreach. This approach will include but go far beyond organizing the 5% of Canadians who are already hard-core committed environmentalists, and is a needed game-changer to expand the breadth and strength of the conservation movement to win our biggest battles and to significantly transform society.
2. Offer tangible support (ie. we are setting up a conservation fund) for communities to establish protected areas on public lands (or Crown and First Nations unceded lands), including First Nations who have an interest in establishing Indigenous Protected Areas, ranchers, woodlot licensees, and potentially purchasing select private lands for protection. For public lands, this fund will support protected areas planning and stewardship by First Nations, buy-out certain resource permits, and help finance the start-up of conservation-based economies in key local communities. Currently the conservation movement has only established such a fund for the Great Bear Rainforest and Clayoquot Sound regions of BC - we need a similar (but different at the same time) fund to protect endangered ecosystems across Canada.
3. Support local and regional campaigns for new protected areas spearheaded by local environmental champions.
Through all this we aim to scale up the total level of “ecosystem literacy” – the awareness of Canada’s diverse ecosystems and the plants, wildlife, geography, conservation status, policies and politics relevant to them, among millions of Canadians.
What have we done so far in our first year?
- We’ve reached out to hundreds of thousands of Canadians via social media posts and built a national social media network of 25,000 Facebook and 1300 Instagram followers so far who get regular updates and action alerts on the ecology and politics of endangered ecosystems across Canada.
-We’ve garnered major news media coverage, as well as writing various opinion pieces for major newspapers, reaching millions of Canadians. See a list and links of media coverage here.
- We’ve undertaken a dozen slideshows, presentations, nature walks and hikes in BC and Ontario so far as part of our national tour, with Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and more of BC coming early next year, and the rest of Canada throughout 2020.
- We’ve mobilized thousands of Canadians via social media and action alerts to push various provincial governments and federal government to protect endangered ecosystems across Canada, to protect old-growth forests in BC, the Bighorn Country in Alberta, and the South Okanagan Similkameen National Park Reserve proposal, backing local conservation groups and activists with a major public mobilization.
-With regards to BC’s old-growth forests we have helped to push the BC government to launch a public review panel that potentially could lead to significant protection of BC’s old-growth forest ecosystems in 2020 – if we keep pushing. The province has also launched a process to protect the province’s largest trees, a policy also currently under development and expansion.
-With regards to the South Okanagan Similkameen National Park Reserve proposal, our assistance helped to successfully secure momentum for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year between the federal government, the BC government, and the Sy’ilx First Nations earlier this year to see the park formally established in the not distant future.
- We’ve explored on-the-ground and documented with photos and videos a wide swath of Canada’s diverse native ecosystems, including grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, and wetlands, using the stellar images to build campaigns and educate Canadians about these ecosystems.
- During our expeditions, we located perhaps the most beautiful old-growth forest on Earth (no exaggeration), an endangered ancient bigleaf maple and Sitka spruce forest in the San Juan Valley near Port Renfrew which we dubbed the “Mossome Grove” (a contraction of “Mossy” and “Awesome” Grove) – and we have recently located and explored some other internationally significant, unbelievably beautiful endangered groves – which will be announced shortly.
We are still a small organization with just one full time and one part-time staff.
So far in 2019 we’ve raised about $50,000. We aim to ultimately raise $250,000 each year to be sustainable so that we can hire a powerful team of the best conservation activists in the country and pay for numerous project expenses. With your support, we will become a serious game-changer in 2020 that will make a fundamental difference for the future of Canada’s native ecosystems.
Can you help us? Donate here!
(and please consider making it a monthly or recurring donation - they are most helpful!!)
For the Wild,
Ken Wu and Celina Starnes
Endangered Ecosystems Alliance