Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante and Elizabeth Maruma Mrema,
U.N. Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, hold up bags of milkweed seeds in Montreal, on Wednesday, November 9, 2022. Plante made an announcement on the protection of pollinating insects ahead of a U.N. conference on biodiversity next month in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Montreal is promising more green space, less grass mowing and more bee-and-butterfly-friendly gardens as part of a multi-year plan to help pollinators and urban biodiversity.
Mayor Valérie Plante said today that the city is committing to increase the amount of protected land from eight per cent of the city’s total area to 10 per cent by 2030 and create at least five corridors to link natural areas.
The city is also planning to give insect populations a boost by reducing mowing in city parks, revising rules that limit where citizens can grow flowers and vegetables in their yards and handing out milkweed seeds for people to plant.
The announcement comes as Montreal prepares to host the UN Biodiversity Conference, known as COP 15, next month.
Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, told reporters that pollinators play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems but they’re threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, diseases and climate change.
Maruma Mrema said the conference will hopefully include the adoption of a global biodiversity framework that lays out actions to reduce negative human impacts on pollinators, including targets to reduce pollution and pesticide use.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published November 9, 2022.
