Open Government Portal

National Wildlife Areas conserve essential wildlife habitats. There are two National Wildlife Areas in Nunavut: Nirjutiqavvik and Polar Bear Pass. While most human activities are prohibited, permits can be issued for activities that are compatible with conservation.

Migratory Bird Sanctuaries are areas set aside by the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) of Environment Canada to protect migratory birds. The sanctuaries include a range of habitat types, such as terrestrial, wetland and marine.

National Parks and National Marine Conservation Areas form a countrywide network of areas set aside by Canada for their great natural interest. They are protected for public understanding, enjoyment and appreciation.

A protected area is a geographically defined area that is designated, regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives. Canada has a long history of establishing protected areas. The first such area, Banff National Park, was created in 1885. Although there was a conscious effort to establish policies to protect land and wildlife in the early years after Confederation, networks of protected areas have been created more systematically in more recent decades as a means to set aside areas free from resource-extraction activities.

The highest number of species at risk is in the southern areas of Canada where human activity is most extensive and intensive. As of May 2002, 30 animal and plant species had disappeared in Canada. Eleven of these species are no longer found anywhere on the Earth. For most species the greatest threat is the alteration of habitat or essential growing conditions.

Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) and Wildlife Habitat Ratings (WHR) project boundaries contains (study areas) and attributes describing each project (project level metadata), plus links to the locations of other data associated with the project (e.g. reports, WHR polygon datasets, plotfiles). SDM predicts the suitability of different environments for occupation by particular species, and the likelihood that those suitable habitats are occupied. WHR are also known as wildlife habitat interpretations and most commonly use TEM data as a means to identify specific habitats.

Canada has defined a hierarchical classification of ecosystems. At a simple level there are 20 ecozones, fifteen terrestrial and five marine. An ecozone is an area of the earth’s surface that represents a large ecological zone and has characteristic landforms and climate. Each ecozone is distinguished from others by its unique mosaic of plants, wildlife, climate, landforms, and human activities.

Protected areas are defined as legally established areas, both land and water, that are regulated and managed for conservation objectives. They include parks, wildlife and forest reserves, wilderness and other areas designated through federal, provincial, and territorial legislations. While there are over 3500 of these protected areas, there are approximately 800 areas that are larger than 1000 hectares. These areas capture over 98% of the total area protected in Canada.

This map shows both designated and nominated Heritage Rivers. The Canadian Heritage Rivers System protects the best examples of Canada’s river heritage, giving the rivers national recognition and encouraging the public to enjoy and appreciate them. The goal is to establish a system that reflects the diversity of Canada’s rivers and to ensure that they continue to flow for future generations.

Ecozones are one of several levels of ecological regions that cover all of Canada. An ecozone is a discrete system, which has resulted from the mesh and interplay of geology, landform, soil, vegetation, climate, wildlife, water and human factors. Four of the fifteen terrestrial ecozones of Canada are found in Nunavut: Northern Arctic, Arctic Cordillera, Southern Arctic, and Taiga Shield.