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Air Quality
- Communities Exposed to Health Risks
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- Ground Level Ozone in B.C.
Health and Environment
- Mercury Concentration
- Pesticide Use
- UV Index
Surface Water Quality
- Surface Water Quality in B.C.
- Stream Crossing Density
- Water Quality Index
Ground Water
- Observation Wells Showing Declining Water Levels
- Heavily Used Aquifers
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Surface Water Use
- Licensed Streams with Water Allocation Restrictions
- Stream Allocation Restrictions in B.C.
- Per Capita Municipal Water Use
- Effect of Metering on Domestic Water Use
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Toxic Contaminants
- On-Site Toxic Substances Releases
- On-Site Toxic Substances Releases in Canada
- Toxic Substance Release Sites in B.C.
- Absorbable Organic Halide (AOX) Discharge in Pulp and Paper Effluent
Chemicals in Wildlife
- Contaminants in Great Blue Heron Eggs
- PCBs and Dioxins and Furans in Harbour Seals
- Dioxins and Furans in Dungeness Crabs Near Pulp Mills
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions in B.C.
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1990 - 1999
- Vehicle Sales in B.C.
Climate Change
- Change in Air Temperature
- Fraser River Annual Flow
- Fraser River Temperature
Mitigation of Impact
- B.C. Wastewater Treatment
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Economy
- Energy Consumption
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Protected Areas
- Protected Area Status
- Protected Ecosystems
- Protected Areas by Size
- Protected Areas Across Canada
- Protected Forests
Species at Risk
- Threatened or Endangered Species
- Threatened or Endangered Species by Ecoprovince
- Threats to Species at Risk
- Across Canada Comparison
Habitat
- Road Density
- Lost Habitat Types
- Species at Risk and Habitat Dependency
- Protected Areas Across Canada
- Large Areas of Habitat
- Protected Estuaries
Fish
- Steelhead Stocks
- Sturgeon in Fraser, Columbia and Nechako Rivers
- Bull Trout Trends by Watershed
Wildlife
- Species Range
- Status of Caribou
- Status of Columbia Sharp-Tailed Grouse
- Status of Grizzly Bear

Government
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Environmental Trends 2002

Protected Areas

How Does British Columbia Compare with Other Provinces?

Across Canada Comparison of Protected Areas

across Canada comparison of protected areas

SOURCE: Numbers for British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland/Labrador and the Northwest Territories are current for 2001 and are provided by the jurisdictions. The remaining numbers are from World Wildlife Fund Canada, July 2000. NOTES: Numbers stated for PEI and New Brunswick are considered current to 2001. No numbers are available for Nunavut. The value for Canada is slightly underestimated, as it does not include up to date information from Quebec or Nunavut. Areas included in this analysis must be exempted from any type of resource extraction or human manipulation that would cause long-term or large-scale impacts to natural character; exempted activities include logging, mining, the development of hydroelectric dams and oil or gas extraction. These protected areas are managed for the conservation of natural diversity and maintenance of ecosystem integrity as defined by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) categories I, II, and III. Protected areas include national parks, ecological reserves, class A and C provincial parks, recreation areas and protected areas established under the Environment and Land Use Act. They do not include wildlife management areas, migratory bird sanctuaries and regional parks.

How does British Columbia compare?

In February 2002, the percentage of the provincial land base in protected areas was 12.5%, tied with Alberta for the highest in Canada.
In 2001, approximately 7.3% of Canada’s land base was protected, up from 3.0% in 1989.
Between 1989 and 2001, Manitoba had the greatest increase in the percentage of protected areas (from 0.5% to 8.4%) followed by British Columbia (from 5.3% to 12.5%).
From 1989 to July 2000, almost 39 million hectares were added to Canada’s protected areas network. Over 1,000 new parks and reserves were designated, more than doubling the land area protected from coast to coast.
In 2000, Canada ranked 33rd, globally, for percentage of land base in protected areas.

For detailed information, including graph data, see In-Depth report [pdf].

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