Enlisting UNESCO sites to conserve biodiversity and Indigenous languages in Canada

Abstract

Co-occurring biological and linguistic (cultural) diversity provides opportunities to coordinate conservation of these two phenomena in a world rapidly losing both. This essay explores the potential for integrated conservation of biodiversity and cultural diversity in Canada, a nation with vast tracts of natural habitat and a strong Indigenous presence. The paper focuses on 35 localities deemed globally significant by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): Natural World Heritage Sites, Biosphere Reserves, and Global Geoparks. These sites cover less than 5% of Canada’s land area but host more than one-fourth of the Indigenous languages and the ranges of nearly 89% of the amphibian, bird, terrestrial mammal, plant, reptile, and selected freshwater species occurring in that nation. Densities of languages and species in UNESCO sites are positively correlated statistically, though specific reasons for these correlations currently remain unclear. Both forms of diversity occur in a variety of land covers/land uses, primarily natural habitat but also those modified by humans. The potential of UNESCO sites to help maintain species and Indigenous languages in Canada is enormous, and the paper closes by promoting integrated conservation strategies to capitalize on the strong association of these two very different measures of diversity.