Where is the rest of the plan?

Manitoba has a climate plan. Where is the pathway for protecting nature?

The Manitoba government has released its long awaited Path to Net Zero Plan, outlining ways to tackle emissions and build a more climate resilient future.

But something essential is missing.

In 2023, the Manitoba government committed to developing an action plan to protect 30 per cent of Manitoba’s lands and waters by 2030. The Path to Net Zero Plan recognizes the importance of nature in addressing climate change, calling for measures that restore, conserve, and enhance natural ecosystems. That recognition is welcome.

But the promised action plan explaining how Manitoba will actually achieve 30×30 is absent.

This is highly troubling, as meeting the net zero emissions target in Manitoba will not be possible without protecting the natural lands and waters that absorb carbon and keep it away from the atmosphere.

To make matters worse, when forests, wetlands and peatlands are disturbed they release stored carbon back into the atmosphere, and consequently add fuel to the fire of climate change.

We have been told that the province no longer intends to develop the promised 30×30 action plan. That leaves more than 28,000 Manitobans who have formally called on the province to produce a 30×30 action plan to wonder what happened to the commitment that they and all Manitobans were given. A target is not a plan. This grand omission doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that the job will get done.

Consider what this would look like if you were building a house.

You hire a contractor and ask for a blueprint, a timeline, and a breakdown of the projected costs. Instead, the contractor simply gives you a few details about a couple of rooms. When you ask where the promised plan is, you are told not to worry as the finished house will be ready on time and you’ll like it.

But without a blueprint, a timeline or a clear sense of the costs, how could you possibly know the project is on track, you will like the results, or if it will be completed?

That is essentially where Manitoba finds itself today. The Path to Net Zero contains a couple of worthwhile investments in protecting nature, but it does not show how Manitoba will get from just 11.1 per cent protected today to 30 per cent of the province by 2030. There are no clear milestones, timelines, or funding commitments showing how the pieces fit together. With only a few years remaining, Manitobans deserve to know what the plan is, and whether we are on track.

Protecting nature is not a luxury. It is a smart, long-term investment. Healthy ecosystems safeguard drinking water, reduce climate risks, support tourism and recreation, and sustain cultural and local livelihoods across Manitoba. Our forests, wetlands, peatlands, grasslands, lakes and rivers are not simply places to be protected; they are part of the province’s economic infrastructure. They help prevent flooding, support fisheries and wildlife, and underpin industries and businesses that depend on healthy landscapes and waters.

Manitobans are blessed with one of the best backyards in the world. From the shores of Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay to the boreal forests, prairie grasslands, wetlands and countless lakes and rivers that stretch across the province, nature gives us places to explore, rejuvenate and reconnect. These are the places where we paddle, hike, fish, hunt, camp and spend time with family and friends. They are part of who we are and what makes Manitoba home.

We have inherited this extraordinary natural legacy, but it is not ours to take for granted. Protecting the places we love is an investment in the quality of life we enjoy today and a responsibility to those who come after us.

The scale of the challenge is clear. Achieving 30×30 requires a plan backed by investment that matches the scale of the task. Yet the past three provincial budgets have not provided the resources needed to move at the pace 30×30 demands. Chronic underinvestment has limited Manitoba’s capacity to develop partnerships with Indigenous Nations and local communities, undertake the necessary planning, and designate new protected areas.

Manitobans have spoken and they are clear. They want our lands and waters protected. The government itself has committed to protecting 30 percent by 2030. It has set the destination.

Now it needs to show Manitobans how it intends to get there, with clear priorities, timelines and the funding necessary to deliver. Manitoba was promised an action plan for nature. With 2030 fast approaching, we need the pathway to get there now.

Ron Thiessen is executive director of the Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society (CPAWS) — Manitoba chapter.