-
Fisheries act
-
Banff National Park establishment
Canada's first National Park and the world's third, Banff National Park was created as a wilderness recreation park and vacation spa, but its guidelines did not contain any explicit conservation function. -
Rocky Mountain Parks act
-
Boundary Waters Treaty
Created the International Joint Commission [link], which was established to prevent or resolve disputes and assist Canadian and American governments to share common water supplies, most importantly the Great Lakes, in an equitable and responsible way. The Commission's primary responsibilities are the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty [link], the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement [link], and the Air Quality Agreement [link]. -
Dominion Forest Reserves and Parks Act
-
Migratory Birds Protection Convention
Because migratory bird habitat spans more than one country, international co-operation is required to protect them. This treaty was negotiated between Canada and the United States to halt the extinction of migratory birds and to establish regulations for their cross-boundary protection. However, the original Migratory Bird Law only acted to protect birds which where deemed important or useful for humans, such as songbirds and insect-eating birds. Birds considered pests, such as hawks, owls, and -
Dominion Wildlife Service, now the Canadian Wildlife Service,
-
Ramsar Convention
Officially called The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, this convention was originally focused on wetlands conservation to save waterfowl, but has now expanded its scope to include conservation of wetlands. The RAMSAR convention, which now involves 121 countries, takes steps to preserve wetlands of international importance and to find ways to use this resource wisely and sustainably -
UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) program
The Seville convention establishes the framework for a global network of nature preserves, with a key difference when compared to most nature preserves. These reserves are intended to explore new ways of integrating conservation, development, and scientific research, to help humans live in harmony with nature. MAB reserves include an area of strict environmental protection, a "buffer" zone which synthesizes conservation and human use, and a transition zone which allows for human use which does n -
United Nations Conference of the Human Environment
An earlier version of the 1992 Rio Conference (see below), this conference declared that humans are part of the environment as well as affecting it and being affected by it. It resulted in an action plan that focused on environmental assessment and environmental management.