Building A Protected Area System

Protected areas are selected and designed based on ecological, geological and cultural heritage features. Areas with the best examples of a feature or condition are rated provincially significant. Areas with next best examples may be considered regionally or locally significant. Specific targets have been set for representing terrestrial ecosystems, geological features and aspects of Ontario’s cultural heritage. Selecting a site is guided in part by policy commitments based on park class. The selection of park and conservation reserve sites is based on specific criteria, including representation of the best examples of the natural and cultural heritage of the province. A similar framework for representing Ontario’s aquatic ecosystems has yet to be developed.

In terms of biodiversity conservation, protected areas have two main roles. They should sample or represent the biodiversity of natural regions, and they should separate this biodiversity from processes that threaten its persistence.
The first major role is representation. Ecological representation involves systematically identifying and protecting that the full range of natural diversity. Protected area systems should include representative examples of the known biodiversity within ecologically defined regions. Examples of biodiversity that are not adequately included within protected areas are known as gaps in representation.

The second major role is persistence. Protected areas should be selected, designed, and managed to promote the long-term survival of the species and other elements of biodiversity they contain by maintaining natural processes and viable populations, and by excluding threats.

MNR applies five design criteria to help identify and select protected areas that fulfil these roles in conserving biodiversity. These same criteria are also used as the basis for life science inventories in protected areas.

The five design criteria have been used since the 1970’s for a variety of research and planning process and their application is quite flexible to reflect changes in available information and technologies.

Ontario’s provincial parks and conservation reserves are regulated protected areas that have resulted from land use planning and other decision making processes. While some regulated wilderness areas exist outside of provincial parks and conservation reserves, most are encompassed by those types of protected areas. Representation is also a key concept applied when considering the value of areas of natural and scientific interest (ANSIs) and the need for protection through policy decisions.

For more information on system planning, see the State of Ontario’s Protected Areas Report (SOPAR).

For information on how protected areas are selected and designed, please visit our How Protected Areas are Selected and Designed page.

For information on Crown land planning in Ontario, visit the Crown Land Planning section of our website.

For information on Land Acquisitions please visit the Crown Land Management section of our website.

For more information on Ecological Land Classification, see:

• The Ecological Land Classification Primer
• The Ecosystems of Ontario, Part 1.