Prince Philip’s 20-Year Contribution to Conservation Celebrated With a New Fund to Protect Canada’s Waters

Approximately $400,000 has already been raised, which will help support WWF-Canada’s new marine focus, centering on all three coasts and the “inland seas,” the Great Lakes.

Prince Philip has traveled some 150,000 kilometres to attend over 100 WWF-Canada events since 1980, including news conferences for each of the four areas which will first benefit from the new fund. While he has helped WWF establish more than 1,000 Canadian protected areas on land in the last decade alone, Canada has yet to venture offshore to protect any of the four WWF priority sites. “If we can’t protect these, what can we protect!” commented WWF-Canada President Monte Hummel.

Canada has the longest coastline and the largest supply of accessible freshwater of any nation in the world, yet falls far behind in establishing marine protected areas. Buoyed by the new fund, WWF-Canada plans to step up the pace with marine targets that span the country: Gwaii Haanas – which means “Islands of Beauty” in the Haida language – located off the shores of the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii in British Columbia; the pristine freshwater coastlines and islands of majestic Lake Superior that harbour vital spawning grounds for fish plus habitat for eagles; Igaliqtuuq on Baffin Island, where the Inuit propose to protect the eastern Arctic bowhead whale, the longest-lived mammal on the planet; and The Sable Gully, Canada’s “grand canyon of the sea” 200 kilometres off Nova Scotia, whose natural treasures include thousand-year-old corals.

“Prince Philip has been a champion of Canadian conservation,” said Monte Hummel. “Thanks to his help, WWF-Canada has raised $200 million to save Canadian wildlife and wild places. While Canadians have effectively doubled the amount of protected area on land, we lag far behind with respect to our marine and freshwater heritage – and water is Canada’s legacy to the world. Therefore, The Duke of Edinburgh Fund celebrates Prince Philip’s two-decade commitment to conservation in Canada, and the new commitment to safeguard our waters.”

“The legislative groundwork, scientific evidence, and local support for marine protected areas are falling into place,” commented Joshua Laughren, WWF-Canada’s Director of Marine Conservation. “But the pace of development is outstripping the pace of conservation. The pressures on our waters are building, such as oil and gas development, aquaculture, damaging fishing practices, and the loss of our coastal wetlands. The Duke of Edinburgh Fund will give us a push at this critical time to secure these four vital areas, and get marine protected.