In February 2019, we introduced our Biodiversity Action Agenda, developed from insights gathered during a four-part national conversation series on biodiversity conservation. A key theme that emerged from these discussions was the critical role of landscape connectivity.

Back in February 2019, we launched our Biodiversity Action Agenda, which captured the collective insights of a four-part national conversation series on biodiversity conservation, bringing together expert voices from across Canada. The agenda set out a bold path for protecting biodiversity outlining recommendations for strategies and plans, public engagement, policy, and political leadership. 

One of the most prevalent themes to emerge from this process was the importance of landscape connectivity for biodiversity recovery. Anthropogenic influences such as urbanization and other human activity continue to fragment habitats at an alarming rate, threatening biodiversity and the ecosystem services we rely on. From rainforests and wetlands to prairies and tundra, and even just between front yards and urban parks, Canada’s ecosystems do not exist in isolation; they depend on connections (enabled by both physical infrastructure and through protective policies) that allow species to migrate, adapt, and thrive. 

Why it matters now: 

Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the leading causes of biodiversity decline worldwide. Landscape connectivity – in this context being the degree to which the landscape facilitates movement of species – is essential for healthy functioning ecosystems. Landscape connections within, through and around urban regions facilitate wildlife movement for breeding, feeding and access to resources. Critical to achieving long term conservation, is the design of places and policies that enable (or hinder) landscape connectivity. To be effective, this requires the adoption of evidence-based policies and ecological design to facilitate safe passage for wildlife movement. 

The presence of green infrastructure is imperative to this conversation, and exists in cities in the form of, for example, wildlife corridors, bioswales, green roofs, and wildlife overpasses and underpasses, and are arguably as important as the “grey” civil engineered infrastructure that defines urban space. In addition, capital investments on the part of governments and private sectors directly influences whether land development occurs in a way that supports or undermines ecosystem connections. This is why understanding green infrastructure connections as essential to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as human wellbeing is a necessary shift for capital investments in development for positive ecological and economic outcomes. 

Yet the will to act remains a major barrier, and exists at all scales from our individual homes and communities, to our workplaces and schools, to all levels of governments. Landscape connectivity, or the lack thereof, is a challenge that does not fall cleanly under the mandate of any one agency, nor are its impacts limited to a single jurisdiction. As city populations increase and urban boundaries shift outward, urbanization continues to threaten to completely sever critical ecological systems, and further bottleneck and isolate wildlife populations. These mounting pressures underscore the urgent need for coordinated approaches to restore and maintain connected landscapes. 

What the action agenda calls for: 

Item one from the Biodiversity Action Agenda identifies landscape connectivity as essential, emphasizing the need for conservation, regeneration, and stronger links between wildlife habitat. For all levels of Canadian government, this means identifying concrete conservation targets and priorities at local, regional, and national scales. 

Initiatives must be informed by a combination of bottom-up community participation as well as national-level identification of priorities, to ensure both area-based local conservation in addition to the broader integration of connectivity across geographies overall. For instance, the Action Agenda recognizes the need for both large-scale ecosystem-based and connectivity planning initiatives in marine, aquatic and terrestrial environments, in addition to the establishment of larger networks of interconnected parks and protected areas.

Achieving these initiatives successfully, requires investment in conservation strategies that incorporate traditional ecological knowledge too. Indigenous Peoples in Canada share worldviews that the natural world is not separate from humans, but rather is a place where all living beings and spirits are connected. The Biodiversity Action Agenda seeks to uphold these principles of natural law as guidance to (re)connect all Canadians to the land and protect habitat, cultural heritage, and biological diversity. Collaboration and partnerships with Indigenous systems is therefore critical at all levels of conservation planning.

The Action Agenda is directed towards decision makers. But what about professionals? 

While the Biodiversity Action Agenda is primarily directed toward decision makers, it is important to recognize the role of professionals in implementing these strategies. In practice, there is a clear absence of straightforward technical solutions to address the complex socio-ecological challenge that is landscape connectivity. This is further complicated by the interdisciplinary nature of connectivity planning, and thus requires an approach informed by transdisciplinary collaboration. Such an approach can help overcome professional silos, bridge diverse knowledge systems, and support effective, integrated solutions for landscape connectivity. 

Addressing the challenge of landscape connectivity demands that we work across disciplines, sectors, and knowledge systems, blending scientific, technical, and Indigenous knowledge. In revisiting our Biodiversity Action Agenda, it is clear that it is only through a collaborative approach can these recommendations be realized, in which they were also informed, but also which would enable Canada to become a leading country in climate resilience and biodiversity recovery. 

To learn more about landscape connectivity: Our partner, the Ecological Design Lab (EDL) at Toronto Metropolitan University, is actively working towards addressing these exact aforementioned shortcomings through their Safe Passage Project. Through the Safe Passage project, the EDL fosters the Safe Passage Partnership – a large research network investigating the challenges and opportunities around institutional silos, to enhance collaborations between professions, the relevant agencies, levels of government, and organizations concerning landscape connectivity practices. This project was recently recognized by the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, awarding the project with the 2025 PlanOn Award for Innovation.

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