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Maritime provinces leaders in conservation farming
Charlottetown, P.E.I., October 12, 2005—The province of New Brunswick’s recently announced Biodiversity Enhancement Program to improve water quality and increase biodiversity on New Brunswick farms, and similar provincial programs slated for the provinces of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, are solid evidence that Maritime agricultural producers are among Canada’s leaders in conservation farming.
“We have been talking to governments across the country about providing assistance to farmers who manage natural lands that benefit the public through wildlife production, clean water and clean air,” says Dr. Mark Gloutney, DUC’s Atlantic Region Manager. “We are pleased that the Maritime Provinces and producers are demonstrating national leadership in recognizing that resources spent on private lands through their provincial agriculture programs have far reaching public benefits.”
Maritime farmers can now access funding through provincial agriculture programs to restore wetlands or carry out other biodiversity enhancements. These provincial programs are the same programs delivering BMPs through Canada’s Agricultural Policy Framework (APF). From a national perspective, the New Brunswick announcement is well-timed. A recently announced national framework and symposium on Ecological Goods and Services (EG&S) will benefit greatly from the recently developed partnerships between the provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC).
“Canada’s agricultural ministers clearly understand that the development of an EG&S framework will prove very beneficial to Canada,” said Dr. Henry Murkin, DUC’s Director of Conservation Programs. “Policy makers and leaders from the conservation and agriculture communities need to take the EG&S concept and develop a framework to ensure agricultural sustainability in our nation for producers, governments and conservation organizations.”
DUC strongly supports the concept of landowners being fairly compensated for the EG&S they provide for all Canadians. EG&S are the benefits society derive from healthy ecosystems, such as the purification of air and water and wildlife habitat. Recognizing the important contribution that private landowners make to the public through good land management and the retention of natural lands is important if Canadians want to continue to enjoy clean air and water, wildlife, and a scenic countryside.
With DUC’s input and participation, the three Maritime Provinces are already moving along that EG&S path by developing programs that identify wetland restoration as a beneficial management practice (BMP).
“Understanding the science underlying EG&S benefits is just as important as understanding the mechanisms through which programs can eventually be delivered” says Murkin. “We need to better understand the relationship between land management practices and the ecological services those practices provide.”
For more information:
Tom Duffy
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Ph: (902) 569-4544
E-mail: t_duffy@ducks.ca
