A spokesperson for the Nature Conservancy of Canada says the 2018 federal budget shows a commitment to conservation.
National Media Relations Director Andrew Holland says the budget committed $1.3 billion to marine protected areas, federal parks and support for conservation initiatives.
He says included in that is $500,000, over five years, for a Nature Fund.
“That would be for not-for-profit groups like the Nature Conservancy of Canada to do conservation efforts like we do now in Yarmouth, Shelburne, and Digby Counties and along the South Shore.”
Holland says the fund requires matching dollars from groups like the NCC but the budget lacks details.
He says it’s a step toward meeting Canada’s Target 1.
That’s a pledge to protect 17 per cent of its land and fresh waters and 10 per cent of its marine and coastal areas by 2020.
But Holland says time is of the essence.
“If we’re going to meet that goal, we better get at it.”
