In 1992 Canada’s provincial, federal and territorial governments agreed to help protect biodiversity at the both the species and ecosystem levels by signing on to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and supporting development of the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy.

The strategy, completed in 1994, has five goals:

1. to conserve biodiversity and sustainably use biological resources;
2. to enhance both our understanding of ecosystems and our resource management capability;
3. to promote an understanding of the need to conserve biodiversity and sustainably use biological resources;
4. to provide incentives and legislation that support the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of biological resources; and
5. to work with other countries to conserve biodiversity, use biological resources sustainably and share equitably the benefits that arise from the utilization of genetic resources.

The Canadian Biodiversity Strategy has been integrated into many provincial planning processes in Newfoundland and Labrador, such as development of a provincial sustainable forest management strategy, and protected areas planning. The Endangered Species and Biodiversity Section of the Wildlife Division implements the strategy within Newfoundland and Labrador.