Biodiversity is in decline around the world, accelerated by a warming global climate, urbanization, excessive resource extraction, and habitat loss.
In advertisements for Canada’s provinces, territories, and the country itself, wildlife is often highlighted to showcase our biodiversity.
The truth is that biodiversity in the Americas is declining faster than in other parts of the world, according to a recent biodiversity assessment of the Americas from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
In Canada, populations of plant and animal species are declining across the board, including species defined as at risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
The WWF claims these at-risk populations declined by almost 60 percent on average from 1970 to 2016, and efforts to stop or reverse biodiversity loss in Canada are failing.
Some provinces are doing better than others. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s “On the Path to 2023” report gave Alberta one of the lowest grades in terms of conservation.
Meanwhile, Quebec received the best grade. When it comes to conservation, the difference between Quebec and Alberta is night and day.
Last month, Quebec signed a Canada-Quebec agreement to “advance the protection and conservation of nature throughout Quebec,” which will see Canada invest $100 million to support the objectives of Quebec’s 2030 Nature Plan and Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy.
A month earlier, the UCP government released a draft sub-regional plan for the Upper Smoky that would allow US timber company Weyerhaeuser to clearcut critical caribou winter habitats.
One of the biggest reasons why biodiversity efforts are failing in Canada is weak biodiversity laws that don’t provide comprehensive protection for species and ecosystems.
Part of the problem is that many of these laws existed before biodiversity science advanced and issues like climate change were recognized.
The Next Steps
Changes made to these laws over the years have created a smokescreen, leading to confusion and conflicts of reporting, accountability, transparency, prioritization, and more.
But outdated biodiversity laws aren’t solely to blame for poor conservation outcomes. Some governments are choosing to prioritize profits over environmental protection.
In 2023, Alberta’s UCP government split Alberta Fish and Wildlife capacity and staff between three separate ministries without public consultation or notice.
Fishing and hunting allocations were given to the Ministry of Forestry, Parks, and Tourism, fish hatcheries management to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and fish and wildlife species at risk decisions to the Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas.
“Management of fish and wildlife should be kept in one unified ministry so that wildlife and their habitat don’t suffer from reduced capacity and fragmented communication between departments,” said Devon Earl, Alberta Wilderness Association conservation specialist.
You wouldn’t trust a construction worker to perform surgery, would you? So why did the UCP government assign fishing and hunting allocations to a Minister who makes at least $5,000 a year from his outfitting business that offers guided hunts?
Alberta has a history of putting profits over conservation, but this choice isn’t unique to Alberta.
So how do we make protecting Canada’s biodiversity a priority before we lose the incredible wildlife our country is known for?
Kim Honey, CEO and Editor-in-Chief for The Conversation, suggests a single unified law for biodiversity that she calls the Canadian Biodiversity Conservation and Protection Act (CBCPA).
Wings of Hope
The proposed Act lays out six suggestions that would replace current biodiversity laws. The six points call for a stricter and unified national approach to biodiversity conservation.
They emphasize mandatory nature-positive programs grounded in science, transparency, and inclusivity, with clear biodiversity targets aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Honey also suggests giving the public access to government biodiversity data, inclusive governance that respects Indigenous rights, and a new fund to coordinate conservation efforts.
The plan includes merging four existing agencies into a single Biodiversity Conservation Agency to strengthen accountability and representation.
Her final suggestion includes creating cohesive rules for managing protected areas, species at risk, and migratory wildlife.
No plan is perfect but Honey’s CBCPA is at least food for thought. Canada appears to be on the right track with the federal 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy, which aims to protect and conserve 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030.
The question is whether or not Canada will reach this target. In the past, our country has made decisions that hurt, not help, conservation.
In 2018, the federal government approved the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project, which is expected to increase the risk of extinction for the endangered southern resident orcas by 12 to 24 percent.
According to the WWF, there are over 600 plant and animal species at risk in Canada and more than 150 are under consideration to be added to that list. But it isn’t all bad news.
A new species of butterfly was recently discovered in Waterton Lakes National Park named the “curiously isolated hairstreak.”
With a population of about 500, these beautiful insects are especially vulnerable to threats like wildfires and climate change.
Unless our province and Canada improve their biodiversity efforts, we are at risk of losing more than just hairstreak butterflies.
