Canada, the world’s second-largest nation, is home to an extraordinary collection of landscapes and wildlife. Spanning the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans, Canada has the world’s longest coastline and is home to more than 70,000 wild species. Identifying, mapping, and understanding the biodiversity of this vast landscape is an extraordinary challenge—and an essential one for Canada to protect its natural heritage.
NatureServe Canada is a registered charity that functions as a network of provincial and territorial Conservation Data Centres (CDCs) to develop, manage and distribute authoritative information critical to the conservation of Canada’s biodiversity. Data held by NatureServe Canada are widely used by federal and provincial agencies, private industry, researchers and conservation organizations to improve the management, use and conservation of biological resources in Canada. NatureServe Canada also represents Canadian CDCs within the broader international network of similar centres throughout the western hemisphere known as NatureServe. By operating as a network, NatureServe, NatureServe Canada and the CDCs are able to provide consistent and high-quality ecological information and services at a geographic scale beyond the jurisdiction of individual members.
Our mission is to be the authoritative source for accessible, current, and reliable information on the distribution and abundance of Canada’s biological diversity. Through these efforts, we aim to improve decision-making about natural resources and to serve the public by increasing awareness among Canadians of the nation’s rich natural heritage. The scientific information about species and ecosystems developed by NatureServe Canada and its network of Conservation Data Centres (CDCs) is used by all sectors of society—conservation groups, government agencies, corporations, academia, and the public—to make informed decisions about managing our natural resources. Member CDCs of the NatureServe Canada network employ NatureServe Natural Heritage Methodology ensuring our biological data is collected, assessed, and managed in a consistent manner across the NatureServe Canada network and permitting cross-border analyses of our data with Natureserve network members throughout the Western hemisphere.
Please visit the NatureServe Canada and NatureServe network web pages accessed through this website. Web pages that have information uniquely related to NatureServe Canada are identified by the NatureServe Canada logo.
