North American Wilderness & Protected Areas Agreement (NAWPA)

Purposeful international collaboration between North American land management agencies

Photo © Jamie Hagan

The Opportunity

Canada, the United States, and Mexico share a continent with vast, interconnected resources that play a critical role in conserving biodiversity and supporting human health and well-being.

 

Solution

An agreement among six of the largest North American land management agencies, which together manage 15% of the continental landmass, to foster the exchange of ideas, experiences, best practices, and innovative solutions on shared conservation opportunities at the continental scale.

At the request of government partners, the WILD Foundation initiated the NAWPA agreement in 2009. We are now proud to serve as the NAWPA Committee Facilitator. In this role, we:

 

  • Facilitate the assembly and interaction of the Committee members and/or their designated representatives.
  • Support the Committee’s priorities and overall direction of activities to advance the objectives identified in the MOU.
  • Maintain records of meetings, decisions, and product materials.

Discover more about NAWPA

Visit the official website

What NAWPA has achieved

Report on North American Conservation (2016), which identifies and assesses the extent of lands that are protected and managed for conservation across North America.

 

Communicating the Value of Ecological Goods and Services Provided by Wilderness and Protected Areas.

 

 

Published manuscript in the Natural Areas Journal that identifies approaches and opportunities to enhance connectivity between conservation areas, “Continent-Scale Landscape Conservation Design for Temperate Grasslands of the Great Plains and Chihuahuan Desert.”

NAWPA committee members work in the following areas

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