Nearly 200 countries recently came together in Armenia for the 2026 United Nations Biodiversity Conference to review progress toward halting and reversing biodiversity loss. Many of these governments will soon convene again in Turkey to discuss efforts to tackle climate change at COP31.

In 2022, parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework aimed at reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and put nature on a path to recovery by 2050. An early review of the first 36 national plans found that none had created a plan that fully met two targets: to restore 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems, and to conserve 30 per cent of lands and waters, by 2030.

By the end of 2025, Canada had conserved only 14 per cent of its land and fresh water and 15 per cent of its oceans. In 2025, the federal environment commissioner found that the government was not on track to meet its interim target of 25 per cent by 2025, a target it went on to miss. A companion audit reached the same conclusion for oceans.

As a party to the biodiversity convention, Canada has a responsibility to conserve its wilderness, irrecoverable carbon, intact forests and lakes.

However, the Canadian government is also pursuing infrastructure and resource development, with plans to fast-track approvals for major projects and build “at speeds not seen in generations.” It has also made significant cuts to public science and faced criticism over cuts to public engagement and consultation, as well as access to information.

We recently published a study on how environmental research informs policy and practice through knowledge co-production. We interviewed 84 senior environmental professionals working at the science–policy interface across Canada, including federal, provincial and territorial governments and environmental non-profit organizations. We asked how environment-related evidence informs decisions and what enables or hinders knowledge........

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