Welcome to Nature NB's Biodiversity Portal
The goal of Nature NB's Biodiversity Portal is to engage people in conservation and increase our knowledge of the state of biodiversity in New Brunswick. Biodiversity in the province requires constant surveying and updating. This portal will depend on volunteers to provide updates from the natural areas recognized for their unique levels of biodiversity and the presence of rare species. The information collected by clubs and individuals will help alert decision makers to the special nature and significance of these areas and provide support for informed and responsible stewardship.
New Brunswick Biodiversity Project Looks to Involve Citizens in Conservation
Most of us have a PIN or two, but New Brunswick has 61 PNAs, 26 IBAs and 900 ESAs. Together these make up almost a thousand selected areas of particular importance to the natural heritage of the province.
Designated protected natural areas (PNAs), important birding areas (IBAs) and environmentally significant areas (ESAs) offer a degree of protection to native plants and animals as well as to the natural features of the landscape. They are an important part of efforts to conserve and protect the biodiversity of New Brunswick.
As species disappear at an alarming rate around the world, it becomes increasingly important to understand the pressures human activity puts on the environment and how our decisions and behaviors can impact the natural world. Biodiversity has emerged as a topic of global importance as we come to understand how all of life is interconnected.
A new biodiversity stewardship project launched by NatureNB (funded through the NB Wildlife Trust Fund and the NB Environmental Trust Fund) aims to engage New Brunswickers in conservation and bring our knowledge about the current state of biodiversity into focus. The project gives interested citizens of the province the opportunity to monitor natural area of their choosing (PNA, IBA, or ESA). Volunteers in the program record the flora or fauna as well as document human pressures affecting the selected area or areas.
Anyone can participate. All you have to do is register online through http://www.naturenb.ca or call the Nature NB office (506-459-4209). Once registered your next step is to select a natural area you wish to monitor. Natural areas can be chosen via Nature NB's interactive tool.
Nature NB is a non-profit, charitable organization whose mission is to celebrate, conserve and protect New Brunswick's natural heritage, through education, networking and collaboration. Founded in 1972 as the New Brunswick Federation of Naturalists, the organization is presently comprised of multiple naturalist clubs and hundreds of members across the province. In working towards our goals of encouraging a better understanding of the natural environment and awakening concern for our province's natural heritage, we frequently form partnerships with other organizations (eg NB Trails Council in 2009).
The success of this initiative is very dependent on naturalists volunteering their time to collect information on these important areas. As a participant you can have the personal satisfaction that your observations will help protect these environmentally significant areas.
For more information please contact
Danielle Smith, B.Sc., M.ScF. Candidate
Biodiversity Coordinator/ Coordinateur de Diversité Biologique
biodiversitynb@naturenb.ca
(506) 459-4209
