tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/species-at-risk-54958/articlesspecies at risk – The Conversation2022-07-25T18:21:48Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1850842022-07-25T18:21:48Z2022-07-25T18:21:48ZDecember global biodiversity summit at risk of failure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475228/original/file-20220720-14-lg2hr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C8%2C5330%2C3567&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A section of the Amazon rainforest stands next to soy fields in Belterra, Para state, Brazil, in November 2019. Efforts to save the world's disappearing species have largely failed so far.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Leo Correa)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/december-global-biodiversity-summit-at-risk-of-failure" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Rarely does a week go by without a new scientific study addressing the deteriorating condition of life on Earth. Globally, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01448-4">more than 70 per cent of land and sea having already been significantly altered by humans, one million species are threatened with extinction</a>. An alarming number of ecosystems are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15539">already exhibiting evidence of collapse</a>, including mangrove forests, wet tropical forests and the Great Barrier Reef. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax3100">Such trends have been accelerating and intensifying since the 1970s</a> and are projected to continue or worsen if countries around the world do not work together to halt and reverse the decline of nature. There is <a href="https://ipbes.net/global-assessment">abundant evidence</a> for the profound connection between biodiversity and human well-being. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419">The loss of biodiversity and its detrimental effects on ecosystems</a> is affecting the quality of human life <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11148">as much as any other global stressor</a>. </p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2017.00175">biodiversity has always struggled for attention</a>. Both the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) were established 30 years ago at the Rio Earth Summit. But in spite of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2202">fundamental connection between the climate change and biodiversity crises</a>, the UNFCCC and issue of climate change have received far more political attention and <a href="https://www.paulsoninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/FINANCING-NATURE_Full-Report_Final-with-endorsements_101420.pdf">funding</a> than the CBD and global biodiversity. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, there are high expectations for the 196 governments party to the CBD to reach a new agreement on “ambitious and transformative” action to protect biodiversity before December. The so-called <a href="https://www.cbd.int/article/draft-1-global-biodiversity-framework">Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework</a> is a nature counterpart to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, and will include commitments designed to halt the decline of nature on a global scale. </p>
<h2>What’s at stake for the COP15 in December?</h2>
<p>Biodiversity was supposed to be centre stage in 2020, with China in the role as the president of the CBD and a global conference scheduled in Kunming in October, where the parties would adopt the new framework. Three in-person negotiating meetings were planned in its run-up. </p>
<p>But as the parties convened in Rome in February 2020, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jaccas.2020.03.012">COVID-19 was sweeping through Italy</a>. Although exchanges continued online, true negotiations became impossible and the draft framework advanced very slowly. It was two years before the next in-person meeting. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-global-biodiversity-goals-must-take-these-key-lessons-into-account-151315">New global biodiversity goals must take these key lessons into account</a>
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<p>Small delegations reconvened in March 2022 in Geneva, at which point it became clear that consensus was elusive and required more discussions. The latest gathering in Nairobi in June was meant to be the final negotiations before the COP. Instead this yielded what most have characterized as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01805-w">very limited progress, if not failure</a>. </p>
<p>Few differences were resolved, and the text for most of the goals and targets were stuffed with new language. Much of the text remains “bracketed,” that is, not agreed to by all parties. </p>
<p>Most points of contention should have been resolved by this stage. Instead, we find ourselves facing the real possibility of a weak outcome, reflecting business-as-usual or worse, and no global resolve to address the ongoing over-exploitation and overuse of the Earth’s support systems. </p>
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<img alt="A screenshot of text from the draft CBD framework." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475891/original/file-20220725-16-1q4nv6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475891/original/file-20220725-16-1q4nv6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475891/original/file-20220725-16-1q4nv6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475891/original/file-20220725-16-1q4nv6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475891/original/file-20220725-16-1q4nv6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475891/original/file-20220725-16-1q4nv6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475891/original/file-20220725-16-1q4nv6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Much of the current draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework contains ‘bracketed’ text, which means the text has not been agreed to by all the parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Convention on Biological Diversity)</span></span>
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<p>Although many governments showed commitment to meaningful negotiation and compromise for the sake of our planet, others did not. A fifth negotiating session has been scheduled before the COP, which was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01723-x">moved to Montréal, home to the CBD’s secretariat</a>. China will stay on as COP president.</p>
<h2>The current state of the framework</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.cbd.int/doc/c/079d/0d26/91af171843b6d4e9bee25086/wg2020-04-l-02-annex-en.pdf">draft framework</a> illustrates the inherently complex and sometimes conflicting nature of biodiversity. Yet it also reflects the economic and political pressures on some governments to maintain the status quo. The CBD not only focuses on the conservation of biodiversity, but also its sustainable use and the fair and equitable sharing of its benefits. These three objectives are not always mutually compatible. </p>
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<img alt="Bright red ground cover grows on rocky land with golden meadows and snow-capped mountains in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475230/original/file-20220720-24-rgfy30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475230/original/file-20220720-24-rgfy30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475230/original/file-20220720-24-rgfy30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475230/original/file-20220720-24-rgfy30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475230/original/file-20220720-24-rgfy30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475230/original/file-20220720-24-rgfy30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475230/original/file-20220720-24-rgfy30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Only three per cent of the world’s land remains ecologically intact, including the Canadian tundra.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(MikoFox/flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.cbd.int/article/first-draft-global-biodiversity-framework-one-pagers">draft framework contains four goals and and 22 targets</a>. These are meant to be implemented in an integrated way, but public attention has focused the most on the target to protect at least 30 per cent of world’s land, freshwater and marine ecosystems by 2030, called 30x30. This <a href="https://www.hacfornatureandpeople.org/">commitment is supported by more than 100 countries</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-marine-protected-areas-help-safeguard-the-ocean-152516">How marine protected areas help safeguard the ocean</a>
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<p>The other targets include those focused on limiting land and sea change, species over-exploitation, alien invasive species and pollution sources, achieving equitable governance and benefit-sharing, and eliminating harmful subsidies. All 22 targets must be strong, ambitious and fully integrated. If, for example, the parties adopt a strong 30x30 commitment but the rest is anodyne, then 30x30 will be an empty promise and exacerbate the biodiversity crisis.</p>
<h2>The wording details matter</h2>
<p>While the draft framework includes the required components, the specific wording included in each goal and target is what ultimately determines the levels of commitment, ambition and actions taken. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/revolutionary-change-needed-to-stop-unprecedented-global-extinction-crisis-116166">'Revolutionary change' needed to stop unprecedented global extinction crisis</a>
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<p>Today, there is little agreement on the details, with much work needed by December. Because the CBD requires consensus, resolving differences and the removal of bracketed text requires the participation by ministers and other high-ranking government officials, who have thus far been absent. </p>
<p>A recent G7 environment ministers’ communiqué <a href="https://www.env.go.jp/content/000039438.pdf">pledged to tackle the “triple global crisis” of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution</a>, but these promises require actions at the highest levels to match the pace and scale of the biodiversity crisis. </p>
<h2>What happens now?</h2>
<p>Major sticking points remain, such as how much high-income countries will provide to low-income countries to carry out the framework and <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2542-5196%2822%2900044-4">how the benefits from biodiversity can be shared equitably</a>. <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d777de8109c315fd22faf3a/t/620d33b868c7486475f06303/1645032379783/Financing_Our_Survival_Brief_FINAL.pdf">Eliminating harmful subsidies that promote over-exploitation and biodiversity loss</a> would make more funding available, but pressure from commercial and political interests make that challenging. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-have-a-deal-can-we-now-talk-about-some-not-so-harmful-fisheries-subsidies-185567">We have a deal. Can we now talk about some not-so-harmful fisheries subsidies?</a>
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<p>Targets addressing wildlife use and trade must also aim to <a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/084c/e8fd/84ca7fe0e19e69967bb9fb73/unep-sa-sbstta-sbi-02-en.pdf">reduce the risk of pathogen spillover from animals to humans</a>, but commercial interests are working to water those down. A framework that doesn’t address preventing the next zoonotic pandemic would ring hollow. </p>
<p>If the framework that emerges from the Montréal COP in December is weak, future generations will suffer the most. The time for speeches without action is over. It is time for governments to come together, at the highest level, and go where the science leads us, as if our future depends on it — because it does. </p>
<p><em>Susan Lieberman, vice-president of global policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society, co-authored this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185084/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justina C. Ray is President and Senior Scientist of Wildlife Conservation Society Canada (<a href="http://www.wcscanada.org">www.wcscanada.org</a>) and Adjunct Professor at Trent University. Funding sources to WCS Canada can be viewed through annual reports, available at <a href="https://www.wcscanada.org/About-Us/Annual-Reports.aspx">https://www.wcscanada.org/About-Us/Annual-Reports.aspx</a>.</span></em></p>The so-called post-2020 global biodiversity framework is a nature counterpart to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, and will aim to curb the decline of nature by 2050.Justina C. Ray, Adjunct professor, Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1629832021-06-24T19:47:15Z2021-06-24T19:47:15ZEnvironmental laws in Canada fall short of addressing the ongoing biodiversity crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408042/original/file-20210623-21-1km8fna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=128%2C83%2C4870%2C2946&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Whooping cranes were hunted extensively through the early 1900s, and by 1941, only 22 remained. They breed in Wood Buffalo National Park, in Alberta. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Caribou, whooping crane, Gibson’s big sand tiger beetle and dwarf western trillium are among the estimated 80,000 known species (not including viruses and bacteria) in Canada. Of these, scientists have enough information on almost 30,000 species to know that about <a href="https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/reports/Wild%20Species%202015.pdf">20 per cent are imperilled to some degree</a>.</p>
<p>When Canada developed its first national <a href="https://biodivcanada.chm-cbd.net/documents/canadian-biodiversity-strategy">Biodiversity Strategy</a> in 1995, it did so under the assumption that a strong foundation of laws and policies was already in place. Twenty-five years later, however, prevailing biodiversity trends indicate otherwise. </p>
<p>For example, prairie grasslands have lost at least <a href="https://biodivcanada.chm-cbd.net/ecosystem-status-trends-2010/grasslands">70 per cent of their historical extent</a>, and grassland birds <a href="http://nabci.net/wp-content/uploads/39-004-Canada-State-of-Birds_EN_WEB-1.pdf">have declined by 57 per cent since 1970</a>. Only <a href="https://www.oceana.ca/sites/default/files/canadas_marine_fisheries_low-res_final.pdf">24 per cent of 125 Canadian marine fish and invertebrate stocks are currently considered healthy, with 18 in critical state</a>. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2020-0075">new research</a> demonstrates how the management of biodiversity in Canada is undertaken through a bewildering array of laws, regulations and other tools administered by different federal, provincial and territorial departments. Collectively, these provide fragmented and inadequate protection to species and ecosystems. </p>
<p>More must be done immediately to overcome the inherent weaknesses of a federal system that prioritizes regional natural resource development over national goals to protect biodiversity. </p>
<h2>Canada’s biodiversity legal protection system</h2>
<p>With rich biodiversity across its huge landmass and coastal marine areas, Canada has a major role to play in addressing global biodiversity loss. Canada was the first industrialized country to sign the United Nation’s <a href="https://www.cbd.int/">Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)</a> in 1992. The CBD seeks to compel the development of national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Canada has been an active player in negotiations to renew and strengthen the treaty ever since.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/arctic-ocean-climate-change-is-flooding-the-remote-north-with-light-and-new-species-150157">Arctic Ocean: climate change is flooding the remote north with light – and new species</a>
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<p>Yet, in our research, we identified 201 laws in Canada with some bearing on biodiversity protection, and the vast majority provide few direct safeguards for species and ecosystems. </p>
<p>Many of these laws govern the extraction of natural resources, and focus on mitigating negative effects rather than avoiding them in the first place, or manage the harvest of wildlife or fish populations. A variety of other statutes, ranging from pollution control to climate change, may incidentally benefit biodiversity. </p>
<p>Of those laws with biodiversity protection as the paramount purpose, most are devoted to protected areas and species at risk, containing provisions that vary in strength and are unevenly distributed across the country. No Canadian jurisdiction has any statute in force specifically devoted to biodiversity conservation.</p>
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<img alt="A man standing at a podium in front of the Nova Scotia flag" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408039/original/file-20210623-21-16ohucz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408039/original/file-20210623-21-16ohucz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408039/original/file-20210623-21-16ohucz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408039/original/file-20210623-21-16ohucz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408039/original/file-20210623-21-16ohucz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408039/original/file-20210623-21-16ohucz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408039/original/file-20210623-21-16ohucz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin introduced the province’s Biodiversity Act in early March 2021, with the goal of stemming biodiversity loss. More than half of it was removed before it was passed in mid-April.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
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<p>Nova Scotia did, however, pass a <a href="https://nslegislature.ca/legc/bills/63rd_3rd/1st_read/b004.htm">Biodiversity Act</a> in early April. It’s the first legislation in Canada ostensibly devoted to the protection of biodiversity in the full meaning of the word, but it faced so much opposition that the act was stripped of its prohibitions and enforcement measures. </p>
<p>The act remains a purely enabling statute that merely grants the provincial environment ministry the power to take certain actions, like setting up a “biodiversity management zone.” This means the ministry has no authority to forbid or issue permits for activities that cause harm to species or ecosystems, as was originally envisioned.</p>
<h2>Taking responsibility</h2>
<p>A big challenge to biodiversity protection is the fragmented division of responsibilities. In Canada, provinces and territories exert control over natural resources. The laws that encourage the development of those resources operate under the assumption that public land can meet the needs of multiple users, and adverse effects from its development can be successfully minimized. </p>
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<img alt="Arial photograph of lakes, wetlands and rivers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408034/original/file-20210623-23-5xk5ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408034/original/file-20210623-23-5xk5ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408034/original/file-20210623-23-5xk5ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408034/original/file-20210623-23-5xk5ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408034/original/file-20210623-23-5xk5ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408034/original/file-20210623-23-5xk5ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408034/original/file-20210623-23-5xk5ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Wood Buffalo National Park contains the world’s second-largest freshwater delta. The UN World Heritage Committee has been concerned about the park since 2017, as ecological benchmarks, including water flow, worsened.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Just this week, however, the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/archive/2021/whc21-44com-7B.Add-en.pdf">United Nations World Heritage Committee reported</a> that <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nt/woodbuffalo">Wood Buffalo National Park</a>, the largest in Canada, “likely meets the criteria for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger.” This is largely due to the <a href="https://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/news/unesco-says-industry-poor-governance-likely-endanger-wood-buffalo-national-park">cumulative effects of industrial developments outside the park</a> stemming from unco-ordinated and piecemeal decisions by Alberta and British Columbia governments. </p>
<p>To add to this challenge, environment ministries responsible for biodiversity protection have little financial bargaining power at the cabinet table relative to revenue-generating ministries responsible for the natural resource development. Yet the bulk of responsibility for co-ordinating action on biodiversity rests with these small and under-funded agencies. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/energy-development-wins-when-its-pitted-against-endangered-species-117961">Energy development wins when it's pitted against endangered species</a>
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<p>Making biodiversity conservation a priority or guiding principle in the bones of decision making, as the CBD envisions, is nowhere in sight. Similarly, efforts recognizing the need to break out of policy silos and address the <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/scientists-call-for-solving-climate-and-biodiversity-crises-together/">combined crisis of biodiversity loss and climate change in a synergistic way</a> are nowhere to be found outside of occasional pieces of government rhetoric. </p>
<h2>A call to action</h2>
<p>Our research provides an important look at why it is urgent that Canadian jurisdictions work together to confront the striking mismatch between stated national goals and the ability or willingness to achieve them. For example, <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/canada-joins-the-high-ambition-coalition-for-nature-and-people-847311784.html">Canada’s commitments to protect 30 per cent of its land and oceans by 2030</a> is an important expression of federal leadership that will rely in large part on provinces and territories to implement. </p>
<p>The principal drivers of biodiversity loss within Canada — land conversion, overfishing, climate change, pollution and invasive alien species — mirror those around the world. Right now, the 196 countries that are parties to the CBD are working together on virtual platforms to complete the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/conferences/post2020">Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework</a>, which will set new targets to achieve by 2030, as the nature counterpart to the 2015 Paris Agreement for climate change. </p>
<p>Once this is in place by the end of 2021, attention should immediately turn to domestic implementation. Canada must replace the aged and incomplete Canadian Biodiversity Strategy so that jurisdictions can co-operate to actively reduce pressures on biodiversity outside of protected areas. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sticker-shock-conservation-costs-and-policy-complications-104086">Sticker shock: Conservation costs and policy complications</a>
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<p>The development of a new Canadian strategy and associated action plan could play a key role in defining how to achieve transformative change to address biodiversity loss. It should include actions like mainstreaming biodiversity considerations into policy making across jurisdictions, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-the-economics-of-biodiversity-the-dasgupta-review">proper valuation of nature as an asset</a> while halting harmful financial subsidies, and leading co-operative implementation across Canada, with an important emphasis on <a href="https://www.ilinationhood.ca/blog/uscanadarecognition">Indigenous-led conservation</a>. </p>
<p>Together, these steps would provide an opportunity to identify the regulatory, legislative, enforcement, financing and accountability measures required to address the ongoing loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in this second largest country of the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162983/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justina Ray is President and Senior Scientist of Wildlife Conservation Society Canada (<a href="http://www.wcscanada.org">www.wcscanada.org</a>) and Adjunct Professor at Trent University. Funding sources to WCS Canada can be viewed through annual reports, available at <a href="https://www.wcscanada.org/About-Us/Annual-Reports.aspx">https://www.wcscanada.org/About-Us/Annual-Reports.aspx</a>. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Olive receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for her work on the Transformative Politics of the Wild. Outside of the University of Toronto, she is a Board Member of CPAWS-Saskatchewan. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jaime Grimm is a research assistant at Wildlife Conservation Society Canada.</span></em></p>A bewildering array of laws and regulations cover species and ecosystems in Canada, making their protection inadequate.Justina C. Ray, Adjunct professor, Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of TorontoAndrea Olive, Associate Professor of Political Science and Geography, University of TorontoJaime Grimm, PhD Student, Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1494002020-12-08T21:08:11Z2020-12-08T21:08:11ZCaribou captive breeding program may come too late to prevent extinction in national parks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373696/original/file-20201208-15-17bjeud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C16%2C988%2C749&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Tonquin and Brazeau caribou herds in Jasper National Park are now so small that they cannot recover on their own.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Parks Canada)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In October, more than two years after the <a href="https://app.cyberimpact.com/newsletter-view-online?ct=tPzA-FS8hzEzdyjH4dDJ5S21A3ywTF9MPnU2sJsLf-npZW-OsmlvDk4kn3E4SzNbhip4a4LxETCSWWp66Sba3Q%7E%7E">last caribou in the Maligne Valley of Jasper National Park died or disappeared</a>, Parks Canada announced a tentative plan for a caribou captive breeding program. Subject to an expert review that will likely take place in January, females from other herds will be rounded up and penned in a facility near the town of Jasper. </p>
<p>Stan Boutin, a biologist from the University of Alberta, sees these <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/canada/alberta/article-parks-canada-plans-first-captive-breeding-program-for-caribou-in/">desperate measures as necessary</a> — and these are desperate times for caribou herds. </p>
<p>There are now only three herds in Jasper National Park. None of them are faring well. The 45 animals in the Tonquin herd are down by a third since 2010, the Brazeau herd is left with just 15 animals, and neither has enough females to grow the population. The last stronghold is the À la Pêche herd, with 150 caribou that move precariously in and out of the north end of the park.</p>
<h2>Decades of planning</h2>
<p>Parks Canada has been looking for ways to save the caribou in its mountain parks for decades. In 2002, it floated a plan to close the Maligne Road that takes vehicles up to the base of the caribou’s alpine winter range, so that it would be harder for wolves to access the dwindling herd.</p>
<p>But officials dropped the idea four days after the plan was made public and the business community complained. The caribou recovery plan never made it to the public consultation phase. The business community high-fived. Park biologists licked their wounds. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372266/original/file-20201201-12-1qm6397.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caribou ranges for Jasper National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jasper/nature/conservation/eep-sar/caribou-jasper/cariboureport-programmecaribou">(Parks Canada)</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Scientists were hugely concerned that a large animal like caribou could disappear from a national park in Canada as the herd in Banff did in 2009. Writing in <em>Conservation Biology</em>, several noted that Banff National Park’s last southern mountain woodland caribou died the same day a coalition of conservation groups announced the Banff Spring’s snail was the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01343.x">only species out of 449 listed under the Canadian Species at Risk Acts to benefit form the fully legally mandated conservation process</a>.”</p>
<p>Federal legislation compels the government to protect species at risk, and in 2011, it launched a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/news/archive/2011/11/government-canada-announces-woodland-caribou-captive-breeding-partnering-arrangement-between-parks-canada-bc-government-calgary-zoo.html">captive breeding program for southern mountain caribou with Parks Canada, the B.C. government and the Calgary Zoo</a>. It was supposed to be a new beginning and the cornerstone of the caribou conservation strategy, <a href="https://www.fitzhugh.ca/caribou-reintroduction-plans-put-on-hold/">but the agreement fell apart in 2015</a>.</p>
<p>Science-based conservation programs in the mountain parks have long been pitted against tourism. Jasper’s resource conservation manager was fired in 2015 without cause, though <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/open-letter-from-former-parks-canada-employees-1.3242812">many suspect</a> that it was because he had pushed for the release of an <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/jasper-national-park-ski-hill-expansion-threatens-caribou-report-says-1.3162938">overdue report</a> on how a Jasper ski hill expansion would affect the threatened Tonquin caribou herd. His departure coincided with a <a href="https://www.fitzhugh.ca/federal-court-reviews-maligne-lake-development-proposal/">plan to build overnight tourist accommodations in the Maligne Valley</a>.</p>
<h2>Decades of decline</h2>
<p>It’s not just caribou in Jasper, Banff and other mountain national parks that have suffered. In the 1970s, Parks Canada dithered on stopping the serious decline of the woodland caribou in Pukaskwa National Park on the shores of Lake Superior. </p>
<p>There were only about 24 caribou then, and the population collapsed to just <a href="https://doi.org/10.2980/21-(3-4)-3700">five individuals in 2009 and then disappeared entirely</a>. Caribou might never have had a strong foothold in Pukaskwa, but the approach of doing nothing while watching the population’s extirpation wasn’t a plan either. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person holding an antenna in the air near a lake with a backdrop of snow peaked mountains." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=133%2C115%2C3732%2C2469&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367329/original/file-20201103-23-1v5agps.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Parks Canada biologist holds an antenna aloft to track caribou in the Tonquin Valley of Jasper National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ed Struzik)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>It’s not that Parks Canada is doing nothing about endangered species and wildlife recovery. <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff/info/gestion-management/bison">Bison were reintroduced successfully into Banff recently</a>, but bison can adapt to almost any ecosystem. To its credit, Parks Canada also proceeded with the difficult challenge of removing exotic trout from many of the mountain park lakes by poisoning them, which could have been a public relations nightmare.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/historical-photo-of-mountain-of-bison-skulls-documents-animals-on-the-brink-of-extinction-148780">Historical photo of mountain of bison skulls documents animals on the brink of extinction</a>
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<p>Caribou are different. Like polar bears, they are climate-challenged animals. They need alpine space, buggy bogs and forested fens in order to escape predators, flee from wildfire and find the food they need to survive. </p>
<p>They’re having hard time doing that outside of national parks, where the peatlands in oil and gas developments, logging and coal mining sites are being <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.12.014">carved up and eaten by roads, seismic lines and oilsands operations</a>. </p>
<p>In 1992, naturalist Ben Gadd <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/473929409/">predicted caribou would disappear from Jasper</a> if Parks Canada didn’t set aside two large exclusion zones to protect them. He and other members of the Jasper Environmental Association had the ear of park biologists back then, but not the support of Ottawa. </p>
<p>Senior officials have consistently bent to the will of those in the business community to expand ski hills and build roads and monuments, including the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mother-canada-never-forgotten-tony-trigiani-green-cove-1.4815146">monstrous Mother Canada Monument</a> in Cape Breton National Park, even when it violated the spirit of the National Parks Act. </p>
<p>Ministers rarely come to the rescue because few stay in the job for long. Since 1971, there have been 30 ministers in charge of Parks Canada. Just two lasted more than three years, and 16 held the job for less than or little more than a year.</p>
<h2>Not enough caribou</h2>
<p>In 2018, Catherine McKenna, the longest serving environment minister, realized Parks Canada had lost its way when she said it was <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/catherine-mckenna-wants-to-hit-reset-button-on-parks-canada-and-shift-focus-to-conservation">time to send the agency back on a conservation course</a>. With McKenna now serving as infrastructure minister, judges and environmental groups are trying to hold Parks Canada and the federal government accountable. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-press-the-reset-button-on-canadas-national-parks-96628">It's time to press the reset button on Canada's national parks</a>
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<p>The caribou recovery program in Jasper is sorely needed, but it is likely too little, too late. There are just not enough caribou around to grow the herds. </p>
<p>It also suggests that it’s easier for the Canadian government to pen and rear caribou in captivity than it is to deal with the issues threatening them in the wild. <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/agence-agency/mandat-mandate">And that’s a sad commentary on an agency whose “first priority” is to protect the “natural and cultural heritage of our special places and ensure that they remain healthy and whole.”</a> </p>
<p>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had nothing to say about ecological integrity in national parks when he handed <a href="https://pm.gc.ca/en/mandate-letters/2019/12/13/minister-environment-and-climate-change-mandate-letter">Jonathan Wilkinson his mandate in overseeing Environment Canada and the Parks Canada agency</a>. What’s needed is a national board of advisers with a compelling legal mandate that can hold Parks Canada’s feet to the fire and shield it from political interference. Business as usual will not be successful in this era of climate change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edward Struzik does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Canada needs a national board of advisers to hold Parks Canada’s feet to the fire and shield it from political interference.Edward Struzik, Fellow, Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1326732020-03-02T19:03:42Z2020-03-02T19:03:42ZFrom crocodiles to krill, a warming world raises the ‘costs’ paid by developing embryos<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317925/original/file-20200301-166528-1r4a03y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C952%2C718&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apart from mammals and birds, most animals develop as eggs exposed to the vagaries of the outside world. This development is energetically “costly”. Going from a tiny egg to a fully functioning organism can deplete up to 60% of the energy reserves provided by a parent.</p>
<p>In cold-blooded animals such as marine invertebrates (including sea stars and corals), fish and reptiles, and even insects, embryonic development is very sensitive to changes in the temperature of the environment.</p>
<p>Thus, in a warming world, many cold-blooded species face a new challenge: developing successfully despite rising temperatures. </p>
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<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-eggs-have-a-yolk-111605">Curious Kids: why do eggs have a yolk?</a>
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<hr>
<p>For our research, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1114-9">published today in Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>, we mined existing literature for data on how temperature impacts the metabolic and development rates of 71 different species, ranging from tropical crocodiles to Antarctic krill. </p>
<p>We found over time, species tend to fine-tune their physiology so that the temperature of the place they inhabit is the temperature needed to minimise the “costs” of their embryonic development. </p>
<p>Temperature increases associated with global warming could substantially impact many of these species.</p>
<h2>The perfect weather to grow an embryo</h2>
<p>The energy costs of embryonic development are determined by two key rates. The “metabolic” rate refers to the rate at which energy is used by the embryo, and the “development” rate determines how long it takes the embryo to fully develop, and become an independent organism. </p>
<p>Both of these rates are heavily impacted by environmental temperature. Any change in temperature affecting them is therefore costly to an embryo’s development. </p>
<p>Generally, a 10°C increase in temperature will cause an embryo’s development and metabolic rate <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ele.13213">to more than triple</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317926/original/file-20200301-166503-7r63z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317926/original/file-20200301-166503-7r63z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317926/original/file-20200301-166503-7r63z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317926/original/file-20200301-166503-7r63z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317926/original/file-20200301-166503-7r63z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317926/original/file-20200301-166503-7r63z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317926/original/file-20200301-166503-7r63z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317926/original/file-20200301-166503-7r63z2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This photo shows a developing sea urchin, from egg (top left) to larva, to a metamorphosed (matured into adult form) individual.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dustin Marshall</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These effects partially cancel each other out. Higher temperatures <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1114-9">increase the rate at which energy is used (metabolic), but shorten the developmental time</a>.</p>
<p>But do they balance out effectively?</p>
<h2>What are the costs?</h2>
<p>For any species, there is one temperature that achieves the perfect energetic balance between relatively rapid development and low metabolism. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1114-9">This optimal temperature,</a> also called the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2016-02-22/goldilocks-zones-habitable-zone-astrobiology-exoplanets/6907836">“Goldilocks”</a> temperature, is neither too hot, nor too cold.</p>
<p>When the temperature is too cold for a certain species, development takes a long time. When it’s too hot, development time decreases while the metabolic rate continues to rise. An imbalance on either side can negatively impact a natural population’s resilience and ability to replenish. </p>
<p>As an embryo’s developmental costs increase past the optimum, mothers must invest more resources into each offspring to offset these costs. </p>
<p>When offspring become more costly to make, mothers make fewer, larger offspring. These offspring start life with fewer energy reserves, reducing their chances of successfully reproducing as adults themselves.</p>
<p>Thus, when it comes to embryonic development, higher-than ideal temperatures pack a nasty punch for natural populations. </p>
<p>Since the temperature dependencies of metabolic rate and development rate are fairly similar, the slight differences between them <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ele.13213">had gone unnoticed until recently</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-cold-blooded-animals-dont-need-to-wrap-up-to-keep-warm-29618">Why cold-blooded animals don’t need to wrap up to keep warm</a>
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<h2>Embryos at risk</h2>
<p>For each species in our study, we found a narrow band of temperatures that minimised developmental cost. Temperatures that were too high or too low caused massive blow-outs in the energy budget of developing embryos.</p>
<p>This means temperature increases associated with global warming are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1114-9">likely to have bigger impacts than previously predicted</a>.</p>
<p>Predictions of how future temperature changes will affect organisms are often based on estimates of how temperature affects embryo survival. These measures suggest <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1114-9">small temperature increases (1°C-2°C) do not reduce embryo survival by much</a>.</p>
<p>But our study found the developmental costs are about twice as high, and we had underestimated the impacts of subtle temperature changes on embryo development.</p>
<h2>In the warming animal kingdom, there are winners and losers</h2>
<p>Some good news is our research suggests not all species are facing rising costs with rising temperatures, at least initially. </p>
<p>We’ve created a mathematical <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1114-9">framework called the Developmental Cost Theory</a>, which predicts some species will actually experience slightly lower developmental costs with minor increases in temperature.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/flipping-the-genetic-switch-that-makes-many-animals-look-alike-as-embryos-55631">Flipping the genetic ‘switch’ that makes many animals look alike as embryos</a>
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<p>In particular, aquatic species (fish and invertebrates) in cool temperate waters seem likely to experience lower costs in the near future. In contrast, certain tropical aquatic species (including coral reef organisms) are already experiencing temperatures that exceed their optimum. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1114-9">This is likely to get worse.</a></p>
<p>It’s important to note that for all species, increasing environmental temperature will eventually come with costs. </p>
<p>Even if a slight temperature increase reduces costs for one species, too much of an increase will still have a negative impact. This is true for all the organisms we studied.</p>
<p>A key question now is: how quickly can species evolve to adapt to our warming climate?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132673/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dustin Marshall receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>When offspring become more “costly” to make, mothers make fewer of them. And these offspring start life with fewer energy reserves.Dustin Marshall, Professor, Marine Evolutionary Ecology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1248342019-11-27T12:23:48Z2019-11-27T12:23:48ZWildlife are exposed to more pollution than previously thought<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303823/original/file-20191126-112539-v6ql5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=64%2C118%2C3529%2C2274&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Air, water, land and wildlife are tainted with thousands of chemicals that we cannot see, smell or touch — and may not be considered a threat to wildlife. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sometimes, pollution is blatantly obvious: the iridescent slick of an oil spill, goopy algae washing up on a beach or black smoke belching from a smokestack. But, more often than not, pollution is more inconspicuous. </p>
<p>Our air, water, land and wildlife are tainted with thousands of chemicals that we cannot see, smell or touch. It may not come as a surprise then, that this unnoticed pollution isn’t considered the important threat to wildlife that it should be. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1400253">planet has entered the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals</a>, according to scientists, and Canada is not immune. More than half of Canada’s <a href="http://nabci.net/wp-content/uploads/39-004-Canada-State-of-Birds_EN_WEB-1.pdf">grassland birds and aerial insectivores have been lost in only 50 years</a>, and between 1970 and 2014, the more than 500 mammal populations monitored in Canada <a href="http://assets.wwf.ca/downloads/WEB_WWF_REPORT_v3.pdf">shrank by an average of 43 per cent</a>. </p>
<p>But the assessments that evaluate species to determine those that are at risk of extinction are <a href="https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2019-0025">underestimating the importance of pollution</a>. The good news is that my colleagues and I think we have come up with a potential solution to this problem. </p>
<h2>So many chemicals, so much pollution</h2>
<p>Globally, tens of thousands of chemicals exist in commerce today. The <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/global-chemicals-outlook-ii-legacies-innovative-solutions">global chemical industry exceeded US$5 trillion in 2017, and is projected to double by 2030</a>. These chemicals are used in all facets of our daily lives, from pharmaceuticals and fertilizers to pesticides and flame retardants.</p>
<p>Here in Canada, about <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/national-pollutant-release-inventory/tools-resources-data/fact-sheet.html">five million tonnes of pollutants are produced each year by more than 7,000 industrial facilities</a>. More than 150 billion litres of sewage is discharged yearly into Canadian waters.</p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/energy-development-wins-when-its-pitted-against-endangered-species-117961">Energy development wins when it's pitted against endangered species</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Close to <a href="https://apps2.neb-one.gc.ca/pipeline-incidents/">700 pipeline spills</a> over the past decade have led to the release of natural gas, crude oil and other substances into the air, soil and water. More than 23,000 federal contaminated sites — such as abandoned mines, airports and military bases — are known or suspected to be <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/federal-contaminated-sites.html">contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals and other pollutants</a>. </p>
<h2>In a nutshell: The current process</h2>
<p>Expert opinion is an essential and invaluable part of <a href="http://cosewic.ca/index.php/en-ca/">the assessment process to list wildlife species at risk for extinction in Canada</a>. </p>
<p>This process relies on scientists to estimate the proportion of a species’ population that may potentially be affected by a pollution source — this is called scope. A small team of scientists with expertise on the species considers scope along with the potential severity of the impact to determine the threat from pollution, along with ten other potential threats.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303827/original/file-20191126-112499-r3ww9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303827/original/file-20191126-112499-r3ww9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303827/original/file-20191126-112499-r3ww9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303827/original/file-20191126-112499-r3ww9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303827/original/file-20191126-112499-r3ww9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303827/original/file-20191126-112499-r3ww9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303827/original/file-20191126-112499-r3ww9i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The phantom orchid is endemic to the Pacific Northwest. There are eight known populations in Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalanthera_austiniae#/media/File:Phantom_Orchid_Gowlland-Tod2.jpg">(Wikimedia/sramey)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, the breadth of expertise of the team assessing a particular species <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/threat-classification-scheme">may not necessarily cover all categories of threats</a>, and based on our experience, ecotoxicologists — the scientists who study the fate and effects of environmental contaminants — are often underrepresented on these committees. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I suspected the committees might be underestimating pollution as a threat to species, and so we set out to find out if this was the case — or not.</p>
<h2>What did we do and what did we find out?</h2>
<p>We began by mapping all the point sources of pollution in Canada we could find from existing, publicly accessible databases. This included household sewage and urban waste water, industrial and military effluents, agricultural and forestry effluents, among others. We used the same pollution categories as COSEWIC, but we compiled a large database of geospatial information on all known pollution sources.</p>
<p>Next, we secured information on locations of almost 500 terrestrial and freshwater species — including everything from mosses and lichens to birds and mammals — from <a href="http://www.natureserve-canada.ca/">NatureServe</a>, a nonprofit organization that compiles data on species occurrence across North America. </p>
<p>We put these two sources of information — that is, pollution sources and species occurrence — together onto one map, so we could calculate the percentage of the species’ habitat that was covered by pollution. Then, we compared our calculations to those determined by expert opinion in the COSEWIC process.</p>
<p>We found two important things. </p>
<p>First, we found that, on average, more than half of every species’ habitat is polluted in some way. The species that had pollution in most, if not all, of the places they live include the prothonotary warbler, gypsy cuckoo bumblebee, copper redhorse fish, a freshwater mussel called the round hickorynut and several perennial plants, including the American columbo, green dragon and phantom orchid. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303821/original/file-20191126-112531-ffptei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303821/original/file-20191126-112531-ffptei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303821/original/file-20191126-112531-ffptei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303821/original/file-20191126-112531-ffptei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303821/original/file-20191126-112531-ffptei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303821/original/file-20191126-112531-ffptei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303821/original/file-20191126-112531-ffptei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303821/original/file-20191126-112531-ffptei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The prothonotary warbler was one of the species that had a highly polluted habitat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Judy Gallagher/flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, we found a very weak relationship between the scope of pollution for a species that we calculated and the scope of pollution scored by expert opinion in the COSEWIC process. </p>
<p>In other words, scientists scoring threats were not particularly good at identifying sources of pollution that may be having negative effects on the species at risk they are trying to protect. Scientists sometimes identified exposure to pollution as negligible even for species whose entire ranges overlapped with pollution sources. This was especially true for vascular plants and terrestrial mammals.</p>
<p>We haven’t yet assessed whether the type of pollution found within the species’ habitat was a known threat to that species. But that is a logical next step for future research.</p>
<h2>The path forward</h2>
<p>Our work represents a major first step toward a more objective and rigorous assessment of the role of pollution in the decline of species-at-risk in Canada — one that we hope will be adopted. </p>
<p>More broadly, it points to the need for a more holistic approach to protecting wildlife species and their habitats.</p>
<p>The Trudeau government has pledged to prevent wildlife species from becoming extinct by securing the necessary actions for their recovery, <a href="https://biodivcanada.chm-cbd.net/2020-biodiversity-goals-and-targets-canada#target_2">under its 2020 Biodiversity Goals and Targets for Canada</a>. Yet the high prevalence of pollution we found in the homes of many wildlife species in Canada is a reminder that the government must take a much more proactive approach to the regulation of chemicals in the environment if we are to truly protect Canada’s biodiversity.</p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124834/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diane Orihel received funding from the Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.</span></em></p>Scientists have a new approach to understanding how pollution threatens species at risk in Canada.Diane Orihel, Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Studies, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1075152019-01-08T23:33:46Z2019-01-08T23:33:46ZQuieter ships could help Canada’s endangered orcas recover<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252882/original/file-20190108-32145-zkc40y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A female resident orca whale breaches while swimming in Puget Sound in January 2014.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Elaine Thompson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the death of the young female orca calf known as J50 in the Pacific Northwest in September 2018, the population of southern resident killer whales has fallen to 74.</p>
<p>At the time, Ken Balcomb, the founder of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wash., said the world was <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/j50-missing-concerns-scientists-1.4822671">“witnessing a slow motion extinction”</a> of this population of killer whales. </p>
<p>These incredibly low numbers paint an alarming picture for the future of the endangered southern resident killer whales. Experts predict that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/2-more-killer-whales-will-likely-die-by-summer-expert-says-1.4965171">two more southern resident killer whales will die by this summer due to starvation</a>. Only 40 of the <a href="https://www.orcanetwork.org/Main/index.php?categories_file=Births%20and%20Deaths">calves born to the southern resident killer whale population have survived</a> since 1998, and 73 have gone missing or found dead. No newborn whales have survived since 2015. </p>
<p>Why are they in such dire straits? The <a href="http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles-profils/killerWhalesouth-PAC-NE-epaulardsud-eng.html">three main stressors</a> for this dwindling population are noise pollution from increased vessel traffic, ocean contaminants and declines in Chinook salmon — the whales’ main source of food. </p>
<p>Research shows that a quieter ocean may help save the southern resident killer whale population, but without regulations yet in place, it may be too little, too late. </p>
<h2>Impacts of ship noise</h2>
<p>Three groups of orcas — the transient, offshore and resident — <a href="http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles-profils/killerWhalesouth-PAC-NE-epaulardsud-eng.html">live along the Pacific coast</a>. The resident group is further classified into northern and southern populations that have some distribution overlap but do not interbreed. The southern resident population, typically found from southwestern Alaska to central California, is the <a href="https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm?sid=699">only orca population in Canada listed as “endangered.”</a></p>
<p>Underwater ocean ambient noise has increased by approximately 15 decibels in the past 50 years <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805052-1.00030-9">due to increased marine transportation and other anthropogenic (human-made) sources</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252883/original/file-20190108-32145-p8neas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252883/original/file-20190108-32145-p8neas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252883/original/file-20190108-32145-p8neas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252883/original/file-20190108-32145-p8neas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252883/original/file-20190108-32145-p8neas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252883/original/file-20190108-32145-p8neas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252883/original/file-20190108-32145-p8neas.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Commercial and recreational boats watch orcas in the Salish Sea in British Columbia in July 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)</span></span>
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<p>Noise travels approximately five times faster in water than air and has a wide range of detrimental effects on whales. With increasing numbers of vessels plying the world’s oceans, their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805052-1.00030-9">engine noise</a> is making it hard for many whale species to communicate. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sonicsea.org/">The documentary “Sonic Sea”</a> likens anthropogenic ambient noise, such as that from vessel engines and drilling for oil or gas, to being trapped in a loud, dark nightclub, unable to see or hear the people right next you. While a human can leave a noisy night club, whales cannot escape these underwater noises. </p>
<p>According to a recent study, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1657">frequency of ship noise</a> overlaps with that of orca communication. It masks noises the orcas make and can interfere with echolocation, which orcas use for navigation and to hunt prey. For the southern resident killer whale population, the limited availability of Chinook salmon combined with vessel noise adds to the challenge of finding food. </p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-kinder-morgan-pipeline-and-pacific-salmon-red-fish-black-gold-89520">The Kinder Morgan pipeline and Pacific salmon: Red fish, black gold</a>
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</em>
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<p>The Haro Strait, off the coast of Victoria, is the summer feeding habitat of the southern resident killer whale population. It is also one of the <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acv.12076">loudest areas along the Pacific coast, especially in the frequency range that orcas use for communication</a>.
As noise from vessels has increased in loudness and now covers a larger geographic area, killer whales have adjusted their vocal communication by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3040028">increasing the amplitude of their calls</a> to compensate for the underwater noise. But this increased vocal output could have energy costs, cause increased stress or further hinder communication. </p>
<h2>Mitigating ship noise</h2>
<p>Unlike other forms of marine contamination, noise levels in the ocean can be reduced with relatively small interventions. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.015">recent study</a> investigated ways to reduce vessel noise, and suggested adopting a “multi-pronged approach” to mitigate ocean noise. </p>
<p>The study found that when fast-moving, large vessels reduced their speed to 11.8 knots, the emitted noise dropped by three decibels. This reduction is consistent with precautionary <a href="https://okeanos-foundation.org/">“Okeanos” targets</a> supported by the International Maritime Organization to reduce shipping ocean noise by three decibels within a decade. Shipbuilding industries are already retrofitting noisy ships with quieter engines and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.015">designing even quieter ones</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fishy-problem-of-underwater-noise-pollution-91547">The fishy problem of underwater noise pollution</a>
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</p>
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<p>Scientists studying the Haro Strait have suggested using a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.015">convoy approach to manage the increasing amounts of ship traffic</a>. Incoming ships would be grouped based on their time of arrival and enter the strait together. Ship noise may increase during the convoy period, but its duration is dramatically reduced. The same study suggested designating B.C.’s Salish Sea as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) during the summer months to help the southern resident killer whale population recover. </p>
<p>Both Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have implemented regulations to mitigate the stress on the orca population. DFO is working with U.S. agencies to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-oceans/news/2018/10/government-of-canada-taking-further-action-to-protect-southern-resident-killer-whales.html">coordinate measures</a> to reduce underwater noise impacts on the southern resident killer whales. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252893/original/file-20190108-32133-1t0mi49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252893/original/file-20190108-32133-1t0mi49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252893/original/file-20190108-32133-1t0mi49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252893/original/file-20190108-32133-1t0mi49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252893/original/file-20190108-32133-1t0mi49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252893/original/file-20190108-32133-1t0mi49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252893/original/file-20190108-32133-1t0mi49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A southern resident killer whale breaches near Henry Island in Washington state.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In 2017, DFO published an <a href="http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/plans/Ap-ResidentKillerWhale-v00-2017Mar-Eng.pdf">action plan</a> to aid in the recovery of the southern resident killer whales, including reduction of underwater noise, limiting disturbance from humans, monitoring whales from a safe distance, ensuring accessible food supply and protecting critical habitat. Recovery plans are legally required for endangered species listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), but have been criticized by conservationists for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.11.018">delays in implementation</a>. </p>
<p>In 2018, the government of Canada imposed restrictions on Chinook salmon harvesting with the hope of increasing their availability for the southern resident killer whales. </p>
<p>Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee also launched a task force to create <a href="https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/OrcaTaskForce_reportandrecommendations_11.16.18.pdf">a long-term plan for the recovery and future sustainability of the southern resident killer whales</a>. The recommendations ranged from increasing Chinook salmon availability to a temporary whale-watching moratorium, but they remain a <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/orca-recovery-task-force-urges-partial-whale-watching-moratorium-study-of-dam-removal/">long way</a> from being implemented. </p>
<h2>Glimmers of hope</h2>
<p>Whale-watching boats and commercial ships are facing an increased number of regulations on how close they can get to orcas in the Salish Sea. As of July 2018, <a href="http://dfo-mpo.gc.ca/campaign-campagne/protectingwhales-protegerbaleines/srkw-eng.html">vessels must stay 200 metres away to help limit disturbance of the whales</a>. And in August, Canada’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/trans-mountain-first-nations-federal-court-1.4804734">Federal Court of Appeal rejected</a> the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which could result in a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic in the Salish Sea, to 35 vessels a month. </p>
<p>While addressing noise reductions alone is unlikely to be sufficient, it is a necessary first step. The delay in implementation of measures combined with the uncertainty of the effectiveness of implemented measures can make the prospects seem grim for this declining orca population. </p>
<p>However, it is important not to lose hope. There have been recent reports that <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/recent-photos-show-another-southern-resident-killer-whale-is-ailing">three females</a> in the southern resident killer whale population are pregnant. </p>
<p>With increased awareness, further action and a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-oceans/news/2018/05/government-of-canada-takes-action-to-protect-southern-resident-killer-whales.html">$167.4 million investment</a> towards the protection and recovery of endangered whales by the federal government, maybe it’s not too late to save the southern resident killer whales.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107515/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Noisy waters may be making it harder for southern resident killer whales to communicate with each other and find their food.Priyanka Varkey, Master's student, Dalhousie UniversityTony Robert Walker, Assistant Professor, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1040862018-11-13T23:23:22Z2018-11-13T23:23:22ZSticker shock: Conservation costs and policy complications<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244177/original/file-20181106-74783-1mvjn2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The burrowing owl was once a common sight on the prairies. Now Saskatchewan and Alberta have fewer than 1,000 breeding pairs. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this year, a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/27/orca-mother-carries-dead-baby-washington-canada">heartbreaking drama</a> played out near Vancouver Island. An endangered orca named J35 carried her dead calf for weeks in an apparent mourning ritual captivating onlookers around the world. </p>
<p>But lurking just beneath that story was another tale of devastation. The decline of southern resident orcas has been linked to a drop in the number of <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/adam-weymouth-kings-of-the-yukon/">Chinook salmon</a>.</p>
<p>We are witnessing the extinction of species and the decline in biodiversity all around us. The question for policymakers is: what can we do to stop it? </p>
<p>As a political scientist and geographer, I study wildlife conservation policy. Specifically, I am interested in how values and norms shape perceptions of land and other living things: Do Canadians care about biodiversity loss, and are they willing to pay the costs necessary to reverse biodiversity loss? </p>
<h2>Conservation complications</h2>
<p>Species decline is occurring rapidly, and the number of species on endangered lists is growing. Researchers recently developed a formula that would allow wildlife agencies to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12604">prioritize endangered species recovery plans</a> based on the size of the investment and likelihood that a species would meet its recovery goal. </p>
<p>It seems simple — multiply the benefits of each conservation action with the feasibility of that action being taken, and divide by the cost. The outcome is “<a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-too-expensive-to-save-new-approach-to-protecting-endangered-species/">a cost efficiency value for the action</a>.” </p>
<p>But the approach is based on the premise that we cannot save all species from extinction, and that we should focus only on the ones that have a real chance of recovery. It’s neat and tidy, if a bit callous. It’s practical and economically efficient.</p>
<p>If agencies were to apply this formula, society would no longer make large investments in species with the lowest likelihood of recovery. </p>
<p>As an example, the study went on to look at the grasslands in southwestern Saskatchewan — one of the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-february-21-2017-1.3991287/canada-s-grasslands-most-endangered-least-protected-ecosystems-1.3991299">most endangered ecosystems</a> on Earth. This area, which borders the United States, houses 15 species listed under Canada’s <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/s-15.3/">Species at Risk Act</a> (SARA). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244179/original/file-20181106-74754-difi9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244179/original/file-20181106-74754-difi9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244179/original/file-20181106-74754-difi9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244179/original/file-20181106-74754-difi9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244179/original/file-20181106-74754-difi9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244179/original/file-20181106-74754-difi9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244179/original/file-20181106-74754-difi9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The greater prairie chicken was once abundant in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. It was declared extinct in Canada in 1987, due to hunting and habitat loss.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The formula’s output is grim for almost all of the birds, mammals and amphibians entered into the equation. Only two of the 15 species “have a better than 50 per cent chance of recovering when no funding is provided.” By investing in specific management strategies, the prairies might hang onto two more species. And with $125 million invested in five management strategies spread over 20 years, 13 of the 15 would likely recover. </p>
<p>The bottom line is, saving the burrowing owl from extinction is a lot of conservation dollars for a low chance of success. That money could be diverted to a species with a better chance. </p>
<p>Sorry, owl. But it is just simple math. </p>
<h2>Policy complications</h2>
<p>From a policy perspective, the problem is not the sheer cost of saving an owl. The problem is a lack of sound public policy that adequately responds to the problem of habitat loss and fragmentation — the <a href="https://assets.wwf.ca/downloads/WEB_WWF_REPORT.pdf">number one thing</a> driving species decline in Canada. </p>
<p>The federal government passed the SARA in 2002, but the policy only applies to federal lands, migratory birds and some aquatic species. While the federal government does manage <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/crown-land">a significant amount</a> of land in the three territories, not much land across the provinces falls under federal jurisdiction. In Saskatchewan, it’s less than <a href="https://www.sfmcanada.org/images/Publications/EN/SK_info_Provinces_and_territories_EN.pdf">four per cent</a>. Essentially, the SARA applies to a small fraction of Saskatchewan land. </p>
<p>The provinces have the main regulatory authority over land in this country. Only <a href="https://www.ecojustice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Failure-to-protect_Grading-Canadas-Species-at-Risk-Laws.pdf">six provinces</a> have stand-alone species-at-risk legislation. Four provinces, including Saskatchewan, have <a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/Saskatchewan%20Office/2018/02/Under%20Threat.pdf">no such policy</a>. </p>
<p>The grasslands species are in trouble not because their survival costs a lot now. They are in dire straits because no government in the past 100 years has done anything to ensure their survival.</p>
<h2>Value complications</h2>
<p>The concern is that this new formula will allow provincial governments to keep dodging their responsibility to protect habitat. If a species is “too expensive” to save, it’s OK to move on with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311843.2018.1443666">oil development (fracking)</a>, potash and uranium refining. That’s what the Saskatchewan government will say: We did the math and the numbers don’t add up in the owl’s favour, so we are going to frack here instead. </p>
<p>Cost will be the excuse. Everyday landowners and citizens will hear that message loud and clear. So will industry. </p>
<p>So will our children. </p>
<p>We should not triage species at risk according to the cost of saving them. We should ask provinces to do the dirty work of creating and foresting stewardship of private and public lands. </p>
<p>This will not be easy. It will not be cost-free. But in the long run, it will be efficient. </p>
<p>The amount we can spend is finite. We do have to make hard choices. But we do not have have to under-fund habitat protection. </p>
<p>Saskatchewan’s government did not have to sell off public lands over the past decade, but it did. The province has a neo-liberal government that doubled down on the <a href="https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/inside-saskatchewans-oil-economy">oil industry</a> and then cut conservation dollars and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3799833/crown-land-sales-deteriorating-prairie-land-saskatchewan/">sold public land</a> when oil started to go belly up. </p>
<p>It should not be the reason we give up on the burrowing owl. Or why we let salmon and orcas disappear from the West Coast. </p>
<p>One of the fathers of conservation, and a very practical one, <a href="https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/aldo-leopold/">Aldo Leopold</a> said “<a href="https://orionmagazine.org/review/aldo-leopolds-odyssey/">that the situation is hopeless should not prevent us from doing our best</a>.” </p>
<p>I sincerely hope our best is not exploiting economic formulas in hopes of finding “return on investment.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104086/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Olive receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Carving up ecosystems or opening them to development puts the survival of species at risk.Andrea Olive, Associate Professor of Political Science and Geography , University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/966282018-06-14T22:27:56Z2018-06-14T22:27:56ZIt’s time to press the reset button on Canada’s national parks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223264/original/file-20180614-32310-1c4d3jw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The wilderness in Canada's parks is shrinking due to encroaching business. Pictured here: the Glacier Skywalk in Jasper National Park is cantilevered 280 metres over the Sunwapta Valley floor.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glacier_Skywalk_-_panoramio_(1).jpg">(Jack Borno/Wikimedia)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last summer, my daughter and I hiked the <a href="http://www.hikejasper.com/Hike-Jasper-Sulpher-Skyline.html">Sulphur Skyline trail in Jasper National Park</a>. As it was mid-week, we had hoped it would not be as crowded as it can be on a weekend.</p>
<p>Nothing, however, prepared us for the caravan of people we encountered along the way. </p>
<p>There were seasoned hikers like us. But there were also people stumbling along in flip flops and city shoes, a young man with a boombox blasting from his shoulder and slower folk who eventually turned back because they could not trek up the steep mountainside.</p>
<p>We could have left behind the bear spray.</p>
<p>The only animals we saw were chipmunks being hand-fed at the summit. No park officials were there to tell the tourists that this was both illegal and unhealthy for the rodents.</p>
<p>A wilderness experience this was not.</p>
<h2>Too many people?</h2>
<p>I should have anticipated this when the Trudeau government gave every Canadian a free park pass to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the country’s confederation.</p>
<p>The last thing that most of our national parks need is more people. </p>
<p>When Trudeau made the announcement in 2016, visits to the seven mountain parks — Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, Waterton Lakes, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier — were already 8.5 million, up nearly <a href="http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/pc/R61-107-2016-eng.pdf">20 per cent since 2011-2012</a>. The free passes added another five per cent, bringing the total number of visitors to the mountain parks to <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/docs/pc/attend">nine million</a> in 2017-2018. </p>
<p>This relentless effort to fill national parks with people does not bode well for the grizzly bears, caribou and other animals that Parks Canada is supposed to protect in wildernesses not overwhelmed by human activity.</p>
<p>It shouldn’t be too surprising to hear that animals fare better when humans aren’t around. Grizzly bears that live outside of national parks like Jasper have <a href="https://www.washington.edu/conservationbiology/research-programs/grizzly-bears-in-jasp">lower levels of physiological stress, better body condition and more successful reproduction</a>. </p>
<h2>Reset, again?</h2>
<p>Environment Minister Catherine McKenna appears to have realized that Parks Canada has lost its way. </p>
<p>Yet when she <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mckenna-national-parks-consultation-1.4652371">vowed in May to press the reset button</a> and send the agency back on a conservation course, there was a collective groan from scientists and conservationists on social media.</p>
<p>The button has already been reset so many times. There was a round table on Canada’s national parks last year — the fourth since 2008 — as well as the creation of a <a href="http://www.conservation2020canada.ca/who-we-are/">National Advisory Panel</a>. People have stopped counting the ways in which Parks Canada has been given new direction, only to turn back to embrace business interests.</p>
<p>The most comprehensive reset was one offered up by the <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/docs/pc/rpts/ie-ei/report-rapport_1">government-appointed Ecological Integrity Panel</a> whose members, drawn from universities, government and non-profit organizations, travelled extensively to speak with Parks Canada staff and with interested Canadians to see first-hand the challenges the agency faced.</p>
<p>Their <a href="http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/R62-323-2000-1E.pdf">landmark report</a>, published in 2000, remains timely. It offers a clear plan for limits on development within park boundaries and a strategy for ecological integrity, one in which conservation trumps development and addresses emerging issues such as wildfire and climate change. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222834/original/file-20180612-112623-1guaw5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222834/original/file-20180612-112623-1guaw5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222834/original/file-20180612-112623-1guaw5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222834/original/file-20180612-112623-1guaw5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222834/original/file-20180612-112623-1guaw5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222834/original/file-20180612-112623-1guaw5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222834/original/file-20180612-112623-1guaw5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Following the report of the Ecological Integrity Panel, elk were no longer allowed to take refuge in national parks townsites.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Edward Struzik</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Parks Canada responded to that report and other blueprints by hiring more scientists to deal with species at risk, pollution, invasive plants and animals, and external issues that threaten ecological integrity. </p>
<p>The number of controlled burns were increased to mimic what Mother Nature would have done with lightning strikes. Elk were no longer allowed to take up residence in the Banff and Jasper townsites. Recovery plans were put in place for endangered species such as the black-footed ferret and caribou. Exotic trout were removed from mountain lakes. Golf courses made room for wildlife corridors.</p>
<p>It didn’t last long.</p>
<h2>Burns bad for business</h2>
<p>In the years after Stephen Harper was elected in 2006, many of the agency’s scientists were laid off. Those who stayed <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/nine-years-of-censorship-1.19842">were forbidden to speak to journalists</a>. One of them was dismissed without cause, allegedly because <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/jasper-national-park-ski-hill-expansion-threatens-caribou-report-says-1.3162938">he wanted to release a year-old report on how a proposed ski expansion would further threaten caribou in Jasper</a>.</p>
<p>As the scientists were shown the door, public relations experts, image consultants and marketing gurus were hired to lure more people into national parks.</p>
<p>The prescribed burn program continued on, but not with necessary speed, according to a scientist I spoke to. The budget wouldn’t allow for it. Burning trees was also deemed to be bad for business during the busy summer months.</p>
<p>The town of Banff is now in greater danger of burning than ever before because of climate change, and <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=sd4yDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA87&pg=PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false">because Parks Canada has suppressed fire for so long in critical places such as Sulphur Mountain</a>.</p>
<h2>Caribou on the edge</h2>
<p>Wildlife and wilderness have paid a high price. </p>
<p>In 2007, the last of Banff’s caribou died in an avalanche after years in which Parks Canada ignored the fate of caribou both within and outside the park. It was the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01343.x">first time a large mammal had disappeared from a national park</a> in over a century. </p>
<p>Caribou in Pukaskwa in Northern Ontario are next in line. There may be as <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/on/pukaskwa/nature/faune-wildlife/mammiferes-mammals/caribou">few as five left</a>. None have reproduced in the park since 2011.</p>
<p>Now, we have the prospects for a paved bike path that will take riders from Jasper to Lake Louise through caribou, mountain goat and grizzly bear habitat. </p>
<p>We also have a road that will lead into a proposed mine adjacent to — and along the headwaters of — the South Nahanni River in <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/24">Nahanni National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site</a>. The 180 km all-season road would connect the Prairie Creek Mine to the Liard Highway near Nahanni Butte, N.W.T, with about half of it passing through the Nahanni.</p>
<p>If there really is a reset under McKenna — Parks Canada declined to acknowledge that a panel has been struck — it might take Parks Canada back to its 2006 days when things started to unravel. </p>
<p>But what’s needed is a plan to make up for the progress that has been lost in the past 12 years. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222835/original/file-20180612-112623-17eu5h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222835/original/file-20180612-112623-17eu5h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222835/original/file-20180612-112623-17eu5h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222835/original/file-20180612-112623-17eu5h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222835/original/file-20180612-112623-17eu5h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222835/original/file-20180612-112623-17eu5h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222835/original/file-20180612-112623-17eu5h0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lowell Glacier Kluane National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Edward Struzik</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the wilderness in Canada continues to shrink, time is running out for caribou in Jasper and Pukaskwa, but also for the 42 at-risk species in Point Pelee, Ontario, the 18 in Grasslands in southern Saskatchewan, and the 50 or so in the Trent-Severn Waterway, in Ontario.</p>
<p>The list of species at risk in our national parks is a long one and unless Parks Canada takes meaningful action and puts their interests ahead of business, it will keep getting longer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96628/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edward Struzik is affiliated with The Canadian Arctic Resources Committee. I am a board member. Established in 1971, CARC is a well-respected non-partisan, public interest, research and advocacy organization. Composed of citizens committed to environmentally-responsible northern development, support for the rights of Indigenous peoples, respect for the authority of northern territorial governments and increased international co-operation in the circumpolar world, CARC has a reputation for high quality research and public policy analyses, effective public communication and advocacy, and helping to set the public policy agenda. CARC has published more than 100 books, monographs, and facilitated nationally significant conferences on the Arctic.</span></em></p>Canada’s national parks don’t need more visitors. They could use more scientists, and better science, to help conserve the country’s species.Edward Struzik, Fellow, Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.