Canada

Dr. Steven Cooke is the coordinator of the Centre in Evidence-Based Conservation and Environmental Management at Carleton University (Ottawa, Ontario). The Centre will be integrated within the Faculty of Science and in partnership with the School of Public Policy and Administration and the University of Ottawa, as well as several allied agencies (i.e., Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Parks Canada).  The goals are to:

1. Develop and refine expertise related to doing systematic reviews,
2. Generate interest within Carleton and the broader community to identify partnership opportunities related to evidence-based conservation and environmental management,
3. Seek funding through the NSERC CREATE program to fund student training opportunities specific to evidence-based conservation and environmental management in a one-of-a-kind graduate program.

Carleton already has significant strength in the areas of conservation science, the environment and public policy such that this Centre will codify those relationships and provide a mechanism to be more relevant to government agencies with environmental portfolios.  The Centre is the first node of the international Collaboration for Environmental Evidence in North America thus ensuring that our centre is regionally and nationally relevant yet connected with global efforts.