Our Story

The Eastern Habitat Joint Venture (EHJV) formed in 1989 to conserve important habitat for birds and other wildlife in Canada’s eastern provinces—Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. It is one of 25 Joint Ventures in Canada and the United States, and dozens of Regional Partnerships in Mexico.

Based on the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) and North American Bird Conservation Initiative(NABCI) models, the EHJV is North America’s largest Joint Venture with one third of Canada’s land mass and 30 per cent of the country’s wetlands (48 million hectares), and 65 per cent of the Canadian population residing within its boundaries.

The EHJV is a partnership of the federal government (Environment and Climate Change Canada), the six eastern provincial governments and four environmental non-governmental organizations. Each province works under the leadership of a Provincial Steering Committee that guides conservation planning and implementation. See the Partners section for more information.

Environment and Climate Change Canada funds the EHJV Coordinator (Kristina Hick) and other funding is provided through federal and provincial governments in Canada, federal and state governments in the United States and Industry and non-governmental partners in both countries.