Summary of paper.

Protect Canada's Biodiversity

Wilderness Committee Educational Report Vol.14 - No.04, Spring 1995

Biodiversity Facts

  • Canada was the first industrialized country to sign and ratify the UN Biodiversity Convention.
  • Since Canada signed the Biodiversity Convention in 1992, it is estimated that human activities have caused the extinction of between 40,000 and 80,000 species world-wide.
  • In the time it takes you to read this newspaper (about 20 minutes), Earth lost another species, forever. That’s 27,000 species a year!
  • In the current rate of species extinction continues, 15 to 20 percent of all species will be extinct within the next 30 years.
  • Over 99 percent of modern species extinctions are caused by humans. Destruction of habitat is the main cause of species decline in Canada.
  • Every hour, Canada loses 240 acres of wilderness.
  • Only one percent of Canada's tall grass prairie remains. Less than 10 percent of the Carolinian forest of southern Ontario survives. Less than 1 percent of British Columbia's oldgrowth Douglas Fir ecosystem is left. The vast majority of Canada's wetland ecosystems has also vanished - 80 percent of wetlands of the Fraser River delta in British Columbia, 71 percent in the Prairies, 68 percent in southern Ontario and 65 percent of the Atlantic coastal marshes.
  • Three-quarters of Canada is at significant risk of biodiversity loss.
  • Just over 5 percent of Canada's lands are strictly protected in parks or other protected areas. Only one marine park has been created within Canada's 6.5 million square kilometres of marine territory. Our national goal, affirmed by Parliament, is to set aside 12 percent of Canada as protected space. Some scientists estimate that this will protect only half of Canada's species.
  • Canada is home to an estimated 250,000 species of plants, animals, micro- organisms and fungi. Of these, about one-quarter have been scientifically described.
  • An estimated 8,000 species in Canada are currently at risk. Currently, only about 250 of them are listed as endangered, threatened or vulnerable.
  • An estimated 5,000 of 16,000 fungi growing in Canada have yet to be discovered, named or classified by scientists. In Canada, about 44 percent of the estimated 3,200 species of shrimp, krill and lobsters and 91 percent of the estimated 22,000 species of bacteria are not yet described.
  • 1,009 of Canada's 3,269 native vascular flowering and cone-bearing) plants are rare.
  • At the turn of the century, about 250 varieties of apples were grown in Canada. Only about 25 varieties are grown commercially today. Many of the other 225 are either extinct or endangered.
  • About 98 percent of dairy herds in Canada are Holstein cows, of which 75 percent are sired by only 12 bulls.
  • Of the approximately 220 different breeds of cattle, sheep, pigs and horses in Canada, 30 percent are rare or in severe decline.

    • Major Threats to Biodiversity

    Do we have the right to condemn another species to death? Over 99 percent of modern species extinctions are caused by humans. Common threats to biodiversity are:

    Over-population/over-consumption

    Since 1950, human beings have increased by 3 billion—250,000 per day. That's 14 billion people by the year 2015. Our planet's living ecosystems may collapse with this many humans. Although Canada's population is rising more slowly than the global average, the growth, coupled with high consumption levels and the push for greater economic prosperity, places pressure on Canada's wild ecosystems and threatens biodiversity. Canadians consume more energy per capita than any other people on Earth. Over-consumption in prosperous countries, including Canada, threatens biodiversity globally.

    Habitat Loss

    Roughly 80 percent of species decline in Canada is caused by habitat loss. Modern agriculture and industrial forestry are the chief culprits, but urban expansion and flooding of huge tracts of land by hydro-electric mega-projects also destroy habitat. We have already eliminated 71 percent of wetlands. Wetlands are the prime habitat of one-third of the species at risk of extinction in Canada.

    Conservation biologists tell us that maintaining natural biodiversity requires two things: preserving large areas of wilderness and ensuring that the wilderness areas we protect do not become fragmented and isolated islands within seas of transformed landscapes. Protecting only 12 percent of Canada's land base in parks will not protect Canada's biodiversity over the long run. The parks we establish must be large, essentially undeveloped and inter-connected by natural corridors. Land use practives on the rest of the land base must maintain, not destroy, biodiversity to provide a 100 percent solution.

    Clearcut in Clayoquot Sound

    Matleset - Block 152, Clearcut in Clayoquot Sound, 1995 Photo credit: Adrian Dorst

    Unrestricted Clearcut Logging

    Clearcut logging is carried out on more than 90 percent of the forest landscapes in Canada. In the wet, steep-sloped temperate rainforests of B.C., lush forest ecosystems with long-lived trees have continuously evolved without major disturbance for thousands of years. In these ecosystems, clearcutting accelerates soil erosion, degrades salmon spawning habitat and leads to the loss of biodiversity. Because the uneven-aged wild rainforests are so old and full of complex habitats, the even-aged plantation forests that replace them (planned to be logged every 80 years) cannot house the same biodiversity. Clearcutting should be banned in Canada's temperate rainforest and replaced by eco-forestry methods, including selection logging, which preserve biodiversity. Logging practices throughout Canada must be overhauled to ensure that ecosystem, species and genetic diversity is maintained.

    Modern Agricultural Practices

    Modern agricultural practices have led to dramatic losses in biodiversity both in the wild and in domestic heritage breeds and seeds (see article p. 7). Agricultural expansion has been the main force in eliminating wild prairie, aspen parkland and prairie wetlands. The heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides threatens many species--in local soils and habitats and in connected ecosystems.

    Trawling and Overfishing

    Trawling and overfishing are threats to marine diversity and ecosystems in Canada. On both coasts, too many boats with too great a capacity to catch fish, are competing for too few fish. Fisheries management decisions have allowed fishing "to the edge" of stocks, leaving no room for error or changes in environmental conditions. (See "Hotspots")

    Introduction of Exotic Species

    An insidious form of biodiversity depletion occurs through the accidental or intentional introduction of exotic or non-native plant and animal species. Twenty percent of the higher plant species in Canada are exotics. Some exotics displace native species and dramatically alter whole ecosystems. The Purple Loosestrife, a popular garden perennial from Europe, is among the worst. Its lack of predators, dense growth and adaptability means native plants and animals are virtually excluded from areas where it spreads. It has invaded wetlands across all of Canada, with extensive infestations occurring in southern Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. Release of imported insects that eat this plant is being tried to stem this invasion. Several other exotic plants, including Eurasion- water Milfoil, an escapee from a home fish tank, and exotic animals such as the Zebra Mussel, discharged with ballast water from a foreign vessel into the Great Lakes, are also severely degrading native wetlands and freshwater ecosystems.

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    Trawlers in Georgia Straight Photo credit: IMAGE WEST

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    Purple Loosestrife Photo credit: JOHN MITCHELL

    Climate Change

    Since the mid-1800s, about 320 billion tonnes of carbon have been pumped into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of the world's forests, increasing the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by about 25 percent. It is estimated that a doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere will increase the Earth's temperature by about 3 degrees celcius by the end of the next century--perhaps twice as much in the north. Plants, animals and ecosystems will experience major changes more rapidly than they are able to adapt.

    Wetlands are likely to shrink due to warmer, drier climatic conditions. Sea levels may rise by as much as half a metre over the next century, flooding coastal areas. Species not able to cope with the changes will become extinct. Significantly decreasing our use of fossil fuels and conserving our forests "carbon sinks" are essential if rapid global warming is to be slowed.

    Toxic Pollution

    Since WWII there has been a proliferation of human-made chemicals for use in every aspect of modern life. Many are toxic to life. Some, like the now-banned DDT, do not easily degrade and persist in soils, waters and may be magnified up in the food chain. Pollutants are transported by winds, waters and animals, so that even remote places like the Arctic are being affected. Some have been linked to cancer, birth defects, human health problems, decrease in fertility and the death of wildlife.

    * Pesticides - About 500 types of pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides) in over 5,000 commercial products are registered for use in Canada. They are used extensively in agriculture, forestry and urban weed- control, and their use has climbed by 300 percent since 1960 in Canada.

    * Contamination by sewage and industrial wastes - Effluents discharged to rivers, lakes and marine environments are loaded with heavy metals, toxic chemicals and suspended organic solids. Levels of dioxins, furans, PCBs and other persistent chlorinated organics are high in a number of marine habitats, especially near pulp mills.

    * Acid Rain - Over 150,000 Canadian lakes are suffering from acid rain damage and more than 14,000 are considered "dead", affecting not just the lake life but fish-eating birds and animals in the surrounding ecosystems.