Ontario's Natural Heritage Areas - Ministry of Natural Resources

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Sites and the IUCN. Once selected, a site is added to the World Heritage List (UNESCO, 2005a). Management Objectives and/or Guidelines Under the auspices of the World Heritage Convention, conservation is an ongoing process with a mission to: • Protect cultural and natural heritage by encouraging the signing of the World Heritage Convention by countries. • Encourage the nomination of sites to the World Heritage List within countries national territory. • Encourage the establishment by countries of management plans and the reporting of the state of conservation. • Provide technical assistance and professional training to countries to safeguard World Heritage Sites. • Provide emergency assistance to sites in immediate danger. • Support World Heritage Site conservation public awareness-building activities. • Encourage local population participation in cultural and natural heritage preservation. • Encourage the conservation of cultural and natural heritage through international cooperation (UNESCO, 2005b:3). The World Heritage Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and makes the final decision on whether a site is accepted for inclusion on the World Heritage List. Equally, the Committee examines reports produced on a regular basis on the state of conservation of listed sites, and can ask a signatory country to the World Heritage Convention to take action when a site is not being properly managed or risk having it deleted from the World Heritage List (UNESCO, 2005b). Historically, countries have taken their responsibility for World Heritage Sites seriously. Where necessary, the World Heritage Committee is alerted by individuals, NGOs, or other groups to possible dangers to a site. If the alert is justified, and the problem serious enough, the site is placed on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger (UNESCO, 2007d). This list is designed to call attention to Ontario’s Natural Heritage Areas 108 natural or human-made conditions that threaten the characteristics that qualified the site for the World Heritage List. Endangered sites on this list are entitled to particular attention and emergency action. Detailed selection criteria for this list are available in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO, 2005a). As of August 2007, 30 properties were included on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger (UNESCO, 2007a). The Degree of Protection for World Heritage Sites and the Corresponding IUCN Protected Area Management Strategy: A Preliminary Assessment World Heritage Site designations are protected under the auspices of a range of legal mechanisms by sponsoring jurisdictions. For example, the Rideau Canal is ‘fully protected’ through the Historic Sites and Monument Act, and may qualify as an IUCN Category III protected area. A significant proportion of upland and shoreline areas are privately owned, and Parks Canada employs collaborative management agreements with stakeholders to protect natural asset values along this historic waterway (Mitchell et al., 2002; Swinnerton and Buggey, 2004). Collectively, these various protection mechanisms could qualify the Rideau Canal World Heritage Site as an IUCN Category V protected area. Key Contact(s) The World Heritage Centre UNESCO 7, place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris 07 SP France Telephone: 33-1-45 68 15 71 Fax: 33-1-45 68 55 70 Website: http://whc.unesco.org Information: wh-info@unesco.org Canadian Commission for UNESCO 350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5V8 Telephone: 613-566-4414 or 1-800-263-5588 Fax: 613-566-4405 Website: www.unesco.ca/en/activity/culture/ heritagesites.aspx Parks Canada 25 Eddy Street Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0M5 Phone: 819-994-2691 Fax: 819-997-0835 Website: www.pc.gc.ca/progs/spm-whs/index_E.asp Information: information@pc.gc.ca
4.5 Important Bird Areas Introduction The first Important Bird Area (IBA) program was initiated by BirdLife International in Europe in 1985 and a directory of European Important Bird Areas was published in 1989. Since then, Important Bird Area programs have been established in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. The Canadian program was launched in 1996 by Canadian BirdLife International partners – Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada (IBA Canada, 2004). An Important Bird Area is a site of international Table 4-4. Important Bird Areas in Ontario. importance for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity (BirdLife International, 2006). A site may contain essential habitat for one or more species of breeding or non-breeding birds or include threatened species, endemic species, species representative of a biome, or exceptional concentrations of birds (IBA Canada, 2004). The program is inclusive and identifies important sites for all groups of birds. It integrates aquatic and terrestrial habitat conservation by protecting seabird, shorebird, land bird, and Important Bird Area Area (ha) Important Bird Area Area (ha) Akimiski Strait 91,000 Niskibi Cape 167,300 Albany River Estuary 94,000 Norfolk Forest Complex 4,900 Amherst Island 11,000 North Point 4,200 Aylmer WMA 210 Nottawasaga Island 10 Beamer Conservation Area 32 Owen Channel 3,100 Big Piskwanish Point 4,000 Pelee Island Archipelago 2,400 Cabot Head 14,400 Pelee Island Natural Areas 7,700 Cape Henrietta Maria 92,800 Pen Islands 38,000 Carden Plain 20,200 Pigeon Island 10 Chantry Island 40 Pittock Reservoir 900 Clear Creek 400 Point Abino 300 Dundas Valley and Dundas Marsh 2,000 Point Pelee 4,000 East Point 15,000 Port Colborne 50 Eastern Lake St. Clair 92,400 Port Franks Forested Dunes 6,200 Ekwan to Lakitusaki Shores 82,400 Presqu’ile Provincial Park 940 Greater Rondeau Area 8,700 Prince Edward Point 37,100 Hamilton Harbour Waterbird Colonies 1,050 Severn River Coastline 62,500 Hannah Bay 20,000 Shagamu River and Area 93,600 Holiday Beach/Big Creek CA 900 Skunk’s Misery Complex 1,000 Lac Deschênes 2,700 Southwest Elgin Forest Complex 2,500 Lake Huron, Quarry Bay 1,500 Spring Bay 14,000 Lake of the Woods Sand Spit Archipelago 1,200 Springwater Conservation Area 200 Leslie Street Spit 700 St. Mary’s River Complex 35,800 Limestone Islands 100 Sutton River Coastline 64,500 Little Otter Creek Complex 700 The Cousins 5 Long Point Peninsula and Marshes 24,100 The Watchers 18 Longridge Point and Associated Coastline 2,000 Thedford Flats 1,000 Lower Detroit River 15,500 Three Sisters Islands 10 Luther Marsh 6,000 Tiny Marsh 1,000 Manitoulin Island North Shore 78,800 Twelve Mile Creek Headwaters 1,400 Matchedash Bay 1,200 West End of Lake Ontario 130,000 Moose River Estuary 6,600 Wildwood Gull Roost 1,100 Napanee Limestone Plain 200,000 Winisk River Estuary 72,100 Netitishi Point 3,600 Wolfe Island 23,000 Niagara River Corridor 2,800 Wye Marsh 1,100 Source: BSC (2007). 109 Ontario’s Natural Heritage Areas
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Page 67 and 68: Image by P.A. Gray • Natural Area
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Ontario's Natural Heritage Areas - Ministry of Natural Resources

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