General
CLC holds the license to the Canadian and Trust Standards and Practices.
The CLC is custodian of the Canadian Land Trust Standards and Practices (S&Ps) and funding currently available to the CLC is for the purpose of advancing discussion of a land trust accreditation or similar program based on the S&Ps. This effort aligns with the CLC’s strategic objective to promote the durability and sustainability of privately conserved lands.
As noted in the introduction of the S&Ps adopted with the support of land trusts, the CLC believes that “implementing the Canadian Land Trust Standards and Practices helps land trusts uphold public trust and build strong and effective land conservation programs. Securing the confidence and support of donors and landowners is key to sustaining land trusts over the long term. This is as true for individual organizations as it is for the land trust community as a whole”.
The CLC believes that the establishment of a land trust accreditation or similar program can be a key tool to support private land conservation organizations in improving capacity and capabilities which, in turn, supports the durability and sustainability of privately conserved lands as well as donor and funder confidence. The CLC also recognizes the direction many other sectors have taken by developing programs to measure implementation of their own standards and practices in response to public expectations for organizations to demonstrate corporate and social responsibility.
The CLC holds the license with the U.S. Land Trust Alliance that permits adapting the language of the 2017 version of the U.S. Standards and Practices to the Canadian context. As custodian of the Canadian Land Trust Standards and Practices, CLC seeks to advance the implementation of the Standards and Practices by working with the private land conservation community and others.
The CLC will collaborate with the provincial land trust alliances to ensure that its activities do not duplicate those of the alliances. The CLC recognizes that the alliances have conducted workshops, developed tools and undertaken other activities to assist and support land trusts in meeting the land trust standards and practices.
No, the CLC does not have a membership program. The CLC is comprised of its current seven member Board of Directors and a small staff.
The CLC will not hold land nor will it seek to be a national alliance for land trusts. The CLC will seek to establish partnerships with land trusts, the provincial land trust alliances, funders, government agencies and others.
The CLTA no longer exists. The previous CLTA Board took the decisions needed to evolve to a different entity, the CLC, with different objectives.
The CLC does not seek to be a national alliance for land trusts. The CLC will collaborate and build partnerships with private funders, governments and land trusts and their alliances. For example, the CLC Board includes representatives of organizations which fund private land conservation.
The CLC evolved from the previous Canadian Land Trust Alliance (CLTA), transitioning from an organization seeking to be a national land trust alliance to one focused on private land conservation and the health and sustainability of privately conserved lands. The transition included an expansion of the Board of Directors.
The CLTA was legally renamed to the Centre for Land Conservation in May 2019 and is a non-profit, registered charitable organization.
We support land conservation through research, policy, and the maintenance of the Canadian Land Trust Standards and Practices to meet regional, national, and international biodiversity targets.