An overview of federal instruments for the protection of the marine environment in Canada

Marine conservation is an issue that is receiving increasing attention and interest, both internationally and in Canada. And nowhere is the need for conservation measures more evident than in the Arctic, where climate change is rapidly transforming the Arctic Ocean, bringing changes to ecosystems that are not yet fully known. At the same time, an increasingly ice-free ocean allows for enhanced access, and new developments and transportation routes-and therefore increased risk of impacts on an already stressed environment. Anticipating and managing these transformations, while conserving the resilience of Arctic ecosystems, will require significant new conservation measures, including spatially explicit zones where the potential negative impacts of development are carefully managed.