Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management in Canada

Conservation of Biological Diversity

The term biodiversity refers to the various life forms we experience around us. Biodiversity conservation involves protecting this diversity of life with the aim of ensuring that the environment remains capable of meeting the needs of current and future populations. This paper provides answers to a series of discussion questions touching on the concepts of biodiversity and biodiversity conservation in Canada.

1. List at least three major threats to biological diversity in Canada. Which of these is the most significant and why?

The term biological diversity refers to the various life forms we experience around us. In Canada, it is threatened by a variety of factors that include human activities, pollution, and competing land uses. Human activities represent the most significant threat to biodiversity, given that almost every single human activity causes some form of alteration to the natural environment. Conversion of natural habitats to farmlands, driven by increased food production demands, has resulted in the loss of over 80% of prairie habitat (Conservation Issues, n.d.). Moreover, agriculture continues to cause the extirpation and reduction of wild-pollinating insects, scrublands, grasslands, and other fauna. Poor agricultural practices also cause the loss of topsoil and degrade soil quality. What is even more concerning is that this trend is expected to continue as the population grows.

2. Briefly explain the basic approaches that Canada is taking to involve different stakeholders in its effort to conserve biodiversity.

Canada uses two main approaches to engage all stakeholders in the conservation of biodiversity. The first is responsibility-sharing: the federal government recognizes conservation as a joint effort requiring the collaboration of all stakeholders. For this reason, it has shared conservation responsibilities among itself, provincial and territorial governments, wildlife management boards, local communities, and individuals — each with a specific role to play (Environment Canada, 2015). The second approach is the formation of strategic partnerships with stakeholders in both the private and public sectors. A notable example is a partnership formed between the federal government, municipal governments, residents, ranchers, and farmers to help restore the rangelands in western Canada, which had been severely degraded by human activities (Environment Canada, 2015).

3. Explain why non-native species are considered a threat to the conservation of biological diversity. What strategies are being used to counter the effects of this threat?

Non-native species are species that are not native to a particular area but arrive with human assistance and then spread on their own. They threaten biodiversity because they often cause damage or even extinction of native species through habitat modification, predation, hybridization, and competition for resources. A well-known example is the brown tree snake, an invasive species that has nearly wiped out all native bird and lizard species on Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

A number of strategies are being implemented to counter this threat. At the prevention level, these include providing access to information on the risks posed by such species, increasing public awareness of how species spread, and developing risk-assessment processes for stakeholders and working groups. At the operational level, strategies include using chemical and laboratory-generated techniques to control the spread of invasive species — for instance, collecting eggs and incubating them in laboratories to prevent hatching, injecting individuals with drugs that inhibit reproduction — and establishing refuges for native species under threat.

Species Vulnerability and Classification Systems

4. List and describe the biological features of a species that contribute to its vulnerability and extinction.

A number of traits can make a species more vulnerable to extinction:

i) Low reproductive rates. The continuity of a species is closely tied to its reproductive rate. A species with a low reproductive rate is less likely to recover after its habitat is destroyed, making it more vulnerable to habitat modification and extinction. This is especially true for species that require specific conditions to breed, such as birds that engage in courtship displays before mating.

ii) Low natural mortality rates. A low natural mortality rate implies that births are occurring but very few individuals are dying. When such a species loses its habitat, it becomes vulnerable to intense competition and, consequently, extinction.

iii) Specialization of diet or habitat. Species that depend on a single type of food source or habitat are unable to adjust to environmental changes and are therefore prone to extinction.

iv) Altruism. This refers to the unselfish care members of a species show toward one another. Members of an altruistic species will often not abandon their wounded or fallen companions when confronted by predators, making the group itself more vulnerable to predation and increasing the risk of extinction.

v) Colony breeding. Species that prefer to breed in colonies for protection or survival make themselves vulnerable to mass predation events and are prone to extinction.

5. What classification levels have been developed to protect species internationally, nationally, and provincially? Consider the peregrine falcon; how is it classified on a global, regional, national, and provincial basis? Why are the classifications different or the same at the various levels?

In Canada, four categories exist for ranking species at risk: the provincial status, the national status, the regional status, and the global status. At the provincial level, species identified as being at risk by the NS Species at Risk Working Group are classified into three levels: (i) Endangered — facing imminent extinction or extirpation; (ii) Threatened — likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not corrected; and (iii) Vulnerable — of special concern because particular qualities make it sensitive to natural events or human activities.

At the national level, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) uses the same three classification levels as the provincial system.

At the regional level, species are classified into five categories: S1 — extremely rare (five or fewer occurrences); S2 — rare (6 to 20 occurrences); S3 — uncommon (21 to 100 occurrences); S4 — usually widespread and fairly common (more than 100 occurrences); and S5 — demonstrably widespread, abundant, and secure.

At the international level (G-Ranks), species are classified as follows: G1 — critically imperiled, with extreme rarity (five or fewer individuals); G2 — imperiled globally because of rarity (6 to 20 occurrences); G3 — very rare (21 to 100 occurrences); G4 — apparently globally secure; and G5 — demonstrably secure globally.

The peregrine falcon is classified as Threatened at the national and provincial levels, G4 at the global level, and S4 at the regional level. The differences in classification reflect the fact that each system uses different definitions and categorization criteria for assessing the risk level of a species. The definitions used at the national and provincial levels differ from those at the global and regional levels, hence the variation in classification for the same species.

Ecosystem Management: Process and Objectives

6. Define the term ecosystem management and describe how it is useful in the conservation of biological diversity.

Ecosystem management can be defined as the process of conserving natural and ecological resources while meeting the needs of both current and future generations. It is useful in biodiversity conservation because it provides a structured, inclusive framework that engages all relevant stakeholders and addresses ecological, economic, and social dimensions of conservation simultaneously.

7. Briefly describe the five steps of the ecosystem management process and indicate difficulties that may be encountered at each step.

The first step is the identification of main stakeholders — all people with an interest in the ecosystem — and the development of relationships between those stakeholders and the ecosystem area (Shepherd, 2013). Stakeholder analysis must be conducted to determine who the primary and secondary stakeholders are and what their interests are. A key challenge at this stage is accurately identifying all stakeholders, especially when the ecosystem is large. Organizing identified stakeholders and assessing their level of commitment to the project can also be difficult.

The second step is to characterize the function, setting, and structure of the ecosystem — that is, the characteristics it needs to deliver key goods and services (Shepherd, 2013). This requires input from all identified stakeholders and involves decentralizing management across different levels: district, national, community groups, individual farmers, and so on. The main challenge here is coordination: with management decentralized to lower levels, ensuring that all parties remain focused on the shared goals can be difficult.

The third step involves identifying the key economic issues that could affect the ecosystem and its stakeholders — for instance, what incentives are driving inhabitants to use natural resources unsustainably? Issues such as corruption among local officials or informal permit systems may surface. The manager must also identify any positive incentives — better knowledge, stronger voice in decision-making — that encourage sustainable use (Shepherd, 2013). A pay-off system must then be developed so that those who cause environmental damage bear those costs, while those who protect the resource retain control over it. The central challenge is quantifying the damage done by a given party and assigning an accurate monetary value to it.

The fourth step is determining how the ecosystem being managed affects adjacent ecosystems. For instance, if a management plan prohibits certain livestock-rearing or agricultural practices, those activities may simply shift to a neighboring ecosystem. Identifying these unforeseen effects and putting mitigation measures in place — for example, encouraging adjacent communities to undertake their own management programs — is critical (Shepherd, 2013). The difficulty lies in establishing a causal link between one ecosystem's management practices and the changes observed in another.

The fifth and final step is the formulation of long-term goals for the ecosystem. The main challenge here is setting effective and realistic goals given that natural systems are constantly changing (Shepherd, 2013).

8. Provide two examples of ecosystem management objectives for a park and protected area, and for a forested ecosystem.

i) A park and protected area: Human activities are the major threat to biodiversity in a park setting. Irresponsible littering by visitors can, for instance, damage soil bacterial activity — particularly when plastic wrappers are involved. One management objective would therefore be to eliminate irresponsible littering by visitors. A second major threat is poaching; accordingly, a second objective would be to reduce the direct threat posed by human actors to the protected resources.

ii) A forested ecosystem: Wildfires are a core threat in a forest context, so one management objective would be to minimize the risk of wildfires in the ecosystem. Deforestation driven by human activities is another major threat; a corresponding objective would be to educate local populations on the dangers of deforestation to biodiversity and to establish enforceable penalties for prohibited activities.