FAQ for data contributors

1. Why should our organization contribute data to Mission Restoration?

Restoration plays an essential role in addressing both the biodiversity and climate crises. By restoring degraded lands and waters, we can protect wildlife habitat, improve ecosystem health and build more resilient communities.

By working together and sharing information, we can demonstrate how local and regional efforts add up to significant national impact.

Canada has also committed to restoration targets through international agreements, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which calls for 30 per cent of degraded lands and waters to be under restoration by 2030. To reach these targets, collective action is key.

Restoration is also a critical pathway toward reconciliation. It provides an opportunity to heal the relationship between people and the land while acknowledging the leadership and knowledge systems of First Nations, Inuit and Métis as central to Canada’s conservation future.

Mission Restoration will provide insights into how restoration actions are adding up throughout Canada, along with the benefits that restoration brings to nature, communities and climate.

By sharing your data, you are helping Mission Restoration to:

• Track and count current restoration initiatives (through an aggregated view of national restoration efforts);
• Build a collective and galvanize more organizations to undertake new and complex restoration projects;
• Inspire investments and support Canada’s international commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF);
• Raise awareness of the importance of restoration; and
• Build a knowledge-exchange network for members to share a common understanding of the benefits of restoration and the science behind it. It will also be a place for a shared understanding of the support needed to advance restoration.

2. Who can submit restoration data to this platform?

We welcome data from a diverse range of restoration practitioners across Canada. This includes First Nations, Inuit and Métis land- and rights-holders, as well as government agencies. We also encourage submissions from non-profit organizations, community-led conservation groups and private-sector partners engaged in large-scale ecosystem restoration (more than five hectares). Our goal is to ensure all eligible restoration efforts are visible and counted as part of our national story.

3. What counts as restoration?

Restoration is the process of assisting in the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed (Society for Ecological Restoration). It encompasses a wide continuum of practices — from reducing environmental impacts to full ecological recovery — depending on local conditions and societal choice (UNEP, 2021).

In Mission Restoration, this process becomes a project. It is also an act of reconciliation — not only with the lands and waters but with the people who steward them. By connecting practitioners across regions and knowledge systems, the program seeks to restore the reciprocal bonds between land- and rights-holders and the natural world, ensuring that restoration efforts are visible, credible and contribute to collective national outcomes.

4. Which ecosystem restoration activities qualify toward Mission Restoration?

Mission Restoration is focused on large-scale, complex ecosystem restoration (more than five hectares) across land, freshwater and coastal ecosystems.

While restoration activities can vary widely based on ecosystem and local context, they generally include reforestation with native species, large-scale wetland and riparian restoration, or the removal of significant barriers to fish passage (such as dam removals or culvert remediations). For guidance on eligible activities, please refer to the IUCN Restoration Intervention Typology for Terrestrial Ecosystems.

For projects in coastal or maritime environments, we ensure that actions are aligned with the , ensuring that these projects are held to the same standards as terrestrial ones.

In addition to the ecosystem restoration activities above, projects must move beyond simple environmental maintenance and aim to significantly enhance ecosystem function and create a long-term recovery trajectory for biodiversity and ecological integrity (Society for Ecological Restoration). We prioritize initiatives that:

• Improve ecosystem function: Activities that restore vital natural processes, such as flood mitigation, carbon sequestration or water filtration.
• Recover native biodiversity: Efforts that prioritize the return of native species and the reestablishment of natural habitats.
• Balance benefits for people and nature: Restoration that treats the recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem services equally.

If you are unsure whether your project is eligible, please contact us at [email protected].

5. Are there projects that will not be counted toward Mission Restoration?

Mission Restoration is designed to accelerate and track, voluntary restoration efforts. The following project types do not qualify:

• Legally required mitigation: Any project required by Canadian or provincial legislation as a condition of approval for planned environmental damage (e.g., habitat mitigation approved under an environmental assessment process).
• Offsets and habitat banking: Projects created specifically to offset impacts at another location, such as habitat banking approved under the Fisheries Act.
• Individual small-scale projects (less than five Hectares): We focus on large-scale, complex restoration. However, if your organization manages multiple restoration sites that collectively total five or more hectares, these projects are eligible and we encourage you to submit the combined data.
  • If, after combining all sites, your restoration project is still less than five hectares, we encourage you to log these actions through our re:grow platform.

Our goal is to measure restoration that goes above and beyond regulatory requirements to contribute to Canada’s national biodiversity and climate targets.

If you are not sure if your project counts towards Mission Restoration, please contact us at [email protected] and we will confirm whether your project can be included.

6. How is Indigenous data sovereignty maintained?

WWF-Canada’s data-sharing agreement follows the First Nations Principles of OCAP® (ownership, control, access and possession) as set out by the First Nations Information Governance Centre. Any data submitted by First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities will remain theirs. They have the right to revoke their consent at any time by giving WWF-Canada notice as outlined in the Information Sharing Agreement. Please reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions.

7. What will WWF-Canada do with the data it obtains?

WWF-Canada will compile the data and share aggregated results with Mission Restoration collaborators first.  The aggregated data will then be shared with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to support Canada’s national Target 2 of the Global Biodiversity Framework.  Finally, the information will be used by WWF-Canada in of the amount and types of restoration being done, and the aggregated data will be included in publications on WWF-Canada’s channels, including on the Mission Restoration webpage.

8. How will you ensure the location of our project is not revealed?

All the data submitted will only be reported in an aggregated form in any public-facing reports and communications. The details you provide won’t be shared with external parties.

9. Can I save my progress and return to it later?

• You will have the option to save and continue, allowing you to save your progress and return to it later if you don’t have all the necessary information on hand.
• To use this option, you must enter your organization’s details first. A unique code will be sent to the email address provided, which will allow you to pick up where you left off.
• No data will be submitted unless you click the submit button.
• Our team does not have access to any unsubmitted or incomplete data. If the form is left unfinished, the data will not be retrievable. Take your time and ensure all information is accurate before proceeding.

10. What should I do if I make a mistake on the form?

Please refrain from resubmitting your data if there is a mistake. Contact [email protected] with the information that you would like to update.

11. Where will the data be stored? Is it secure?

For now, Data will be stored on a secure . Contributors will be notified being made.

12. How did we determine which metrics to include in the Mission Restoration form?

We identified common metrics that could be shared across projects and then expanded the list using national and international monitoring frameworks.

WWF-Canada is now refining this list to focus on the most relevant metrics for Canada’s restoration efforts. The metrics align with global goals, including Target 2 under the Global Biodiversity Framework, the Freshwater Challenge and the Bonn Challenge.
Compiling metrics for Mission Restoration is an iterative process that will continue to evolve based on the data we receive. We recognize that different practitioners collect different types of data. With input from government agencies and technical experts, we will continue to adjust the types of data requested to ensure they address a range of ecological, social and policy dimensions across Canada, while being sensitive to the local capacity challenges around monitoring and reporting. This will ensure that any future data analysis remains applicable in a Canadian context, allowing for more effective tracking of restoration progress and impact over time.

Below are the resources used by experts at WWF-Canada to compile Mission Restoration’s metrics and indicators:

• Metrics from the Global Biodiversity Framework’s Monitoring Framework
  
• Restoration Barometer: A Guide for Governments
  
• Society for Ecological Restoration: Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration
• Hold Big Business to Task on Ecosystem Restoration

13. Is there any financial support available for organizations to submit their data?

We are currently not able to offer any financial support for organizations submitting data.

14. Which years can I submit restoration data for?

Mission Restoration is accepting restoration data from 2020 to 2030.

15. Is Mission Restoration connected with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)?

Mission Restoration is a WWF-Canada initiative that supports ECCC by collecting data from restoration projects across Canada. All data submitted to Mission Restoration will be compiled and submitted by WWF-Canada to ECCC in an aggregated form.

16. Is there an Information Sharing Agreement?

Yes, there is an Information Sharing Agreement that will need to be signed by all organizations contributing data. This is an automated process that is part of the data submission form. You can read the Information Sharing Agreement here. If you have any questions about it, please reach out to [email protected].

17. How does WWF-Canada ensure that the data collected does not double-count restoration projects already accounted for by the government?

To reduce the risk of double-counting, WWF-Canada collects specific information about each project, including the name(s) of the project(s), funder(s) or funding program(s) supporting it. This allows us to cross-check the data with the funders that Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is tracking for national progress.

By comparing this information, we can identify and account for cases where multiple organizations may be reporting the same project.