Protecting our natural environment is essential for healthy ecosystems, climate resilience, and supporting opportunities for residents to connect to nature. The region’s forests, wetlands, and riparian areas help mitigate the impacts of climate change and natural hazards, while providing clean air, fresh water, and wildlife habitat. By planning for climate-resilient communities in harmony with nature, we can support a healthy and sustainable region.
Metro Vancouver’s role
Metro 2050, the Regional Growth Strategy, outlines strategies to balance growth, while protecting our vital natural resources. Metro Vancouver and its regional partners are working towards implementation by promoting compact, transit-oriented development and preserving critical lands that support biodiversity. These efforts also help protect communities from the impacts of climate change and natural hazards.
Key Metro 2050 targets include:
- Protecting half of the region’s land base for nature
- Increasinge tree canopy cover to 40% within the Urban Containment Boundary by 2050
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% below 2010 levels by the year 2030
- Achieving and to achieve a carbon neutral region by 2050
Urban forests
Urban forests include trees within the public and private lands of a city, including those in parks, around buildings, along streets, and in yards. Urban trees grow in tough conditions and face increasing threats from climate change, including droughts, storms, and pests. Healthy urban forests help cool cities, manage rainwater, store carbon, and support wildlife. Choosing the right trees and caring for them is critical to maintaining these benefits in a changing climate.
Metro Vancouver supports regional urban forestry efforts by providing data and resources, convening practitioners, and advocating for innovative approaches that improve the health and resilience of urban forests.
Invasive species management
Invasive species are plants and animals that have been introduced to an area without the predators and pathogens from their native habitats that would help keep them in check. They can threaten property and recreational values, infrastructure, agriculture, public health, safety, and the ecological health and diversity of our natural environment.
Metro Vancouver partners with member jurisdictions and other organizations to create resources that support practitioners and communities to manage invasive species in the region.
Sensitive ecosystems map
This map displays ecologically significant and relatively unmodified sensitive ecosystems such as wetlands, older forests, and woodlands as well as human modified ecosystems with high ecological value, such as old fields and young forests.
Ecological health
Ecological health is about the connection between healthy ecosystems, the ecosystem services they provide such as clean air, water, and food — and our overall well-being. The Ecological Health Framework sets out corporate goals and strategies for Metro Vancouver to support ecological resilience, protect natural areas, and nurture nature.
Planning for natural hazards
Metro Vancouver supports member jurisdictions and other partners with data, research, and policy approaches for planning resilient communities.