Why Protect 30%?
Photo by Lee Beavington
The Mayne Island Conservancy has a target to protect at least 30% of SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island by 2033. As I’ve been spreading the word about this initiative, a number of people have asked why 30% is the goal we selected. I hope to help more people understand the rationale behind this important goal.
It is not possible to say with certainty how much of a landscape needs to be protected to sustain the life systems that we all depend on. But scientists and governing bodies have wrestled with this thorny question and identified 30% as a target adopted by global and national organizations, including the United Nations and the Canadian federal government. The Mayne Island Conservancy Board of Directors and Staff weighed the issue carefully in 2023 and decided to set an ambitious target for our organization to support the protection of 30% of Mayne Island by 2033, which will also be our 30th anniversary.
The Mayne Island Conservancy also adopted the definition of protection offered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The IUCN defines a “protected area” as “a clearly defined geographical space, recognized and managed through legal or other effective means, for the long-term conservation of nature, associated ecosystem services, and cultural values.” For us, protection can be as simple as signing a pledge with the Conservancy to care for your property in ways that support native species, to establishing a covenant to protect an area into the future, and right up to the Conservancy purchasing a key ecologically sensitive property with partners – such as what we did with St. John Point and Edith Point. I appreciate that the IUCN definition includes “cultural values” as it speaks to the inextricable links among humans and the natural world. At the Mayne Island Conservancy, we posit that strengthening connections between humans and nature toward deeper relationships and stewardship actions will ultimately lead to the most effective land protection—it’s something we can all be part of.
Habitat Integrity for Species Large and Small
Edward O. Wilson, who was a prominent ecologist and conservationist, wrote a 2016 Pulitzer-prize winning book called Half-Earth, which argued that we should aim to save half of earth for nature in order to curb the global loss of biodiversity. This estimate was based on a scientific relationship called the “species-area curve” which shows that as an area of protected land increases, the number of species found there increases (Figure 1). At first the curve is steep, with the number of species increasing rapidly as the area protected increases. Eventually the curve flattens, so increasing the area protected doesn’t result in as many new species found in the area. For the earth as a whole, the slope of the curve does not flatten until 50% of the planet is protected, which is predicted to protect 85% of the world’s species. So, perhaps we should be aiming higher?
Other research shows that we should be able to get more “bang for our buck” by protecting places that are the most biologically rich, focusing on sensitive habitats, and by building connections and corridors between patches of protected land. The Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem of SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island is one of the rarest ecosystem types in the world, so we are doing work that is globally important when we protect the forests and wildlife that are in our own backyards.
Intact ecosystems capture water and carbon, cycle nutrients, and provide sources of timber, fiber, food, and so much more.
The services that ecosystems provide underpin all of life on earth, not to mention our economy. For more information about what we mean by “ecosystem services” check out this Oystercatcher article: What Are Ecosystem Services? – Mayne Island Conservancy A paper published in the journal Science in 2019 by Dinerstein et al. highlights that between 25 to 75% of land or water should be under some form of protection in order to reach global goals, and they settled on a recommendation of 50% protected to ensure conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
From Global to Local
Much of the research, calculations, and negotiations are taking place at global scales. And I am heartened to see recent announcements from the federal government, who have released Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy. I have been reading up on the approach, and there’s much to celebrate in it. The federal program aims to focus on protecting large tracts of land, establishing new national parks, engaging Indigenous peoples as partners in conservation, leveraging existing networks like municipal government programs, and encouraging outreach through colleges and universities. These are important leverage points in the system, and I hope to see them all succeed. And yet, this approach may leave a significant and important gap in what becomes protected. We all want (and–I would argue–need) to have access to nature in our own backyards—not just in some faraway refuge. A focus on large, remote tracts that move the national protected-area needle leave me wondering: How can we bring attention and protection to the small tracts that are critical for our local communities and native species? I think that while national and global leaders are thinking globally, it is all the more important for us to think and act locally.
Nature: a Critical Human Need
You may have heard headlines that doctors are now prescribing time in nature as an antidote to both physical and mental ailments. I think we can all appreciate the life-affirming impact that comes from having access to nature as part of our daily lives. The joy of hiking through the forest where you hear the calls of birds carrying out their intricate social rituals; the pleasure of beholding the beautiful view from atop Mount Parke; the wonder of exploring the intertidal zone with your child or grandchild who is discovering so much with each visit—these moments make memories that stick with us and anchor us during the hustle and bustle of daily life.
We at the Conservancy believe that rare coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems on SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island are worth protecting, and we are eager to work with you and others in the community to protect as much as we can. Our goal for 30% is aligned with national and global targets, and yet perhaps we should all be striving for more. I hope you will continue to be involved and support what we are doing to reach and potentially go beyond this goal.
Here are some ways you could help:
- invite our biologist Rob Underhill for a free and informal landholder consultation to learn more about the natural features of your property
- support us through volunteering—there are a lot of ways to participate
- make a financial contribution toward our land protection efforts
- talk with us about whether fencing an area could be a good solution for your property
- devote a section of your garden to native plants
- join us at our workshops and speaker series events to learn more
We hope you’ll join us!
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