Sudbury task force finds protecting 30% of lands, water by 2030 beneficial, feasible

The City of Greater Sudbury is well on its way to protecting 30 percent of its lands and waters by 2030 as part of a national initiative to reverse the decline in biodiversity and fight climate change.  

The mayor's 30 x 30 task force was tasked with finding out if this was something that is feasible and beneficial for the city and it came back with an update during Tuesday's council meeting.

"Thirty percent of the land and water in Sudbury is 109,000 hectares," Franco Mariotti, the task force chairperson, said.

"What we’ve recognized as existing is already over a third, 40,000 hectares, that’s just existing. There’s no debate about those, they’re already protected."

Mayor Paul Lefebvre said Greater Sudbury has been recognized as a global leader in ecological restoration.

"Our community enjoys access to vast greenspaces and 330 lakes," Lefebvre said.

"This initiative provides a unique opportunity to contribute to the federal government’s 30x30 pledge and to continue to demonstrate how our natural environment mitigates climate change impacts and enhances our quality of life."

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The city’s commitment can only include protecting lands that are publicly-owned and managed, such as city-owned parks, open spaces or Crown land, in coordination with the province.

"At the heart of those lands that will be protected is to maintain a sustainable habitat for all creatures that live there, but it doesn’t mean that we are kept out, we will have access to all of those places," Mariotti said.

A motion was voted unanimously in favor of the group working towards this goal by applying to have some lakes, as well as all lands that are already recognized as parks and public green space, considered for inclusion in the federal database.

Junction Creek in Greater Sudbury. May 1, 2024 (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV Northern Ontario)

Over the coming months, the mayor’s 30x30 task force will prepare a preliminary list of recommended existing sites that are suitable first candidates.

They will also prepare a community engagement plan to consult on these sites and broader 30x30 goals."You're not just doing this as a silo, you’re reaching out to other community partners, you’re including Indigenous Peoples, the public, business owners and community groups," Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti said.

"So it's not saying 'We’re disregarding the developers, we don’t want development.' We all know development needs to occur, but we're also being cognitive of the fact that our community needs to grow in the right way and we need to preserve what we have."