Biodiversity is fundamental to ecological integrity, human health and economic resilience, yet it faces escalating threats from climate change, invasive species and mismanaged resource extraction. As a result, Canada’s biodiversity continues to decline despite existing strategies and legal instruments. How to value biodiversity, measure it meaningfully and coordinate across governments, Indigenous partners and communities is a complex challenge that underscores the need for inclusive, evidence-based approaches that integrate scientific, cultural and economic perspectives.

This project aims to strengthen biodiversity governance in BC through five interconnected activities.

1. The team will map networks and create a BC Biodiversity Directory, connecting scientists, knowledge holders and organizations to foster collaboration.
2. The project will develop regionally specific Biodiversity Status Reports and a living technical methods document. This will be done through a participatory approach guided by Indigenous partners and end-user communities. These reports will integrate locally relevant biodiversity values with genomic-based data alongside conventional indicators and metrics.
3. The team will assemble and analyze biodiversity data in an open-access BC Biodiversity Data Repository. This will help standardize protocols and enable community-driven research projects using open-access data, including case studies on population genetics, aquatic ecosystems and soil health.
4. The project will assess policies aimed at empowering local communities to govern, comparing BC’s policy framework with national and international examples.
5. The project will develop and test a decision-making framework that integrates environmental, cultural and economic values, helping communities evaluate trade-offs between conservation and development.

This initiative will deliver practical tools and knowledge to advance inclusive biodiversity management in BC. By embedding genomics within a broader policy and community-driven approach, the project bridges science and real-world applications, empowering local communities to lead biodiversity governance and monitoring. Ultimately, this initiative lays the groundwork for inclusive and adaptive biodiversity management in BC, offering a scalable model for other regions globally.