The Aboriginal Funds For Species At Risk

The federal Aboriginal Funds for Species at Riskplay an important role in the recovery of species at risk on Aboriginal lands. The goal is to contribute to the conservation and protection of Canada’s biodiversity by supporting species recovery planning, habitat protection, and overall conservation and capacity building initiatives by Aboriginal people in Canada. The key objective is to encourage meaningful involvement of Aboriginal people and communities in the implementation of the Species at Risk Act.

In the last four years, the Aboriginal Funds for Species at Risk supported 333 projects with total funding of $10.2 million. Across Canada over 250 species at risk have benefited from these initiatives, including:

  • the threatened plains bison,  the endangered Vancouver Island marmot and the special concern Columbia sculpin in British Columbia;
  • the threatened ferruginous hawk and endangered piping plover circumcinctus subspecies on the Prairies;
  • the threatened golden-winged warbler, endangered Eastern prairie fringed-orchid and the threatened lake sturgeon in Ontario;
  • the threatened woodland caribou, and the endangered American ginseng in Québec; and
  • the endangered Blanding's turtle and the threatened thread-leaved sundew and North Atlantic right whale in Atlantic Canada.   

For 2009-2010, funds totalling $3.3 million will be allocated to 105 projects. Over
90 First Nations, Inuit and Métis organizations or community groups (bands, tribes, councils, nations’ alliance, societies, commissions, research centres, and associations) are directly involved in the projects being funded this year.

There are two Aboriginal Funds for Species at Risk, the Aboriginal Capacity Building Fund, which is designed to support Aboriginal organizations and communities across Canada in building capacity to enable their participation in the protection and recovery of species at risk, and the Aboriginal Critical Habitat Protection Fund, which supports the recovery and protection of important habitat on Aboriginal lands. The Funds are co-managed by Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Parks Canada Agency, with the cooperation of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.  Fisheries and Oceans Canada administers funds for aquatic projects and Environment Canada administers funds for terrestrial projects.

Further information on the Aboriginal Funds for Species at Risk, the Species at Risk Act, and Canada’s Strategy for the Protection of Species at Risk, is available at: www.sararegistry.gc.ca.