Success and challenges for our Haiti project

Last fall, we celebrated the reopening of the only school in Formon, a remote community adjacent to one of Haiti's forest remnants and biodiversity hotspots. Fortunately, this area was spared the devastation of the January earthquake. However, the school and the community are now facing challenges to integrate people displaced from areas affected by the earthquake.

Read more about the achievements of this project so far and about how you can help the school in Formon! And stay tuned for updates on this project.

Canada's Birds In Panama

Western Sandpipers breed across western Canada’s Arctic and have for millennia migrated along flyways from Alaska down through the US, then along the coast of northwestern Mexico and on to Panama.

Panama Bay, on the southern Pacific side of Panama, lies at the heart of a network of vital wetland habitats upon which depend millions of Western Sandpipers during our boreal winter months. Remove one of these sites and you potentially risk the entire population.

Efforts over the last decade have brought international attention to the site and organizations like Panama Audubon Society (BirdLife in Panama) have been working to redress the complex issues affecting the Bay, which lies in the shadows of Panama City’s fast-growing skyscrapers, giant structures that are now a wall-to-wall feature of the shoreline.

Nature Canada has accompanied Panama Audubon Society on this journey and secured funds through the Canadian International Development Agency to work with local communities living on the eastern edge of the bay to better engage in local conservation action. While the communities understood the benefits of the mangrove forests, it was clear that the major source of environmental degradation was not the local communities but uncontrolled urban sprawl - both outwards and upwards!

Earlier this month, I participated in a meeting of like-minded organizations seeking to support the conservation of these critical staging sites for shorebirds throughout the Americas. This initiative, called the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, was founded in 1985 to bring together knowledge and resources for securing a network of sites upon which depend the lives of many shorebirds (and in some cases, whole populations of an individual species). Nature Canada joined representatives from 11 nations with an interest to share in the conservation of these highly mobile species. In recognition of our commitment to shorebird conservation combined with our collaboration with other BirdLife partners in Latin America and the Caribbean, I have been invited to chair this international network.

Our meeting in Panama helped draw attention to the plight of Panama Bay to local decision makers. As Nature Canada becomes more involved in site-based conservation, it is moving to adopt a range-wide approach to its conservation efforts, recognizing that we must, where possible, engage in the conservation of our breeding birds beyond our borders to include actions that span the entire flyways of our shared birds. It is our plan to do this through a very active and engaged network of BirdLife International partners.

Photo Credits – Diego Luna (Top Photo - Panama Bay, Bottom Photo - Dowitchers)

A must read for nature lovers: "Where the Wild Things Were" by William Stolzenburg

Have wily coyotes been frequenting a forest, field, town or neighbourhood near you recently? [Probably]

Have you heard of a fur-bearing critter called a fisher, the meso-carnivore possibly behind disappearing domestic cats in some rural areas? [Maybe]

Have you heard the haunting howl of a wolf echoing through the streets of your neighbourhood? [Almost no chance if you live in a populated area]

- o - o - o - o -

Yes, there are 'wild things' among us. And yes, a few of them are 'predators' by definition. This is nothing new, nor should it come as any surprise. What is surprising, however, is the cast of wild characters that currently populates parts of North America compared to what used to be there…

We’ve all heard accounts of the packs of wolves or solitary big cats that once roamed the wildlands of our continent. They hunted their prey in relative isolation from human populations; that is, until we encroached on almost all their habitats and forced them into increasingly smaller fragments of ‘wilderness’. Now we more commonly associate species such as lynx, red and grey wolf and eastern cougar with regional – or even national - lists of species at risk. And those wildlands? Well, they’re something we usually drive far from towns or cities to see in “nature’s museums”, aka, strictly protected areas like national parks.

William Stolzenburg, formerly a writer for The Nature Conservancy and Science News, masterfully describes the fate of North America’s former top predators in his fantastic book, "Where The Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators" (published by Bloomsbury). To support his narrative, Stolzenburg peers into the minds and experiences of the scientists behind some of the key findings that have arisen from the "ecological wreckage". He interweaves the seminal work of ecologists including Michael Soulé, John Terborgh, Robert T. Paine, James A. Estes, David S. Wilcove, William J. Ripple, Robert L. Beschta, and Aldo Leopold, on the pivotal roles of top predators in nature – and the ecological meltdown that’s taking place on land and in the sea in their absence.

Deftly citing research from the scientists listed above (and many others), Stolzenburg walks the reader through several studies of “trophic cascading” which, simply put, is the falling apart of a food web that occurs when there are few or no top predators to effectively regulate prey populations. Prey species may then over-browse entire ecosystems, decreasing habitat quality and the food available for other species. New predators and prey may invade these systems over time, exerting new ecological pressures on the biotic community. Soon an ecosystem or biological community that was once thriving may be diminished to one that is a ghost of its former self, inhabited by opportunistic species (think of white-tailed deer, coyotes and Barred Owls) that were historically never common – or not even present at all. One could go on…

Instead, I heartily invite you to read Stolzenburg’s book. You will not be disappointed. As a conservation biologist and a fervent enthusiast for natural areas, I found his writing incredibly refreshing and thought-provoking. Stolzenburg is by all means a very accessible writer, too. I also appreciated his keen interest in this topic, which comes through clearly in his prose. He paints a cunning picture of white-tailed deer population irruptions throughout the United States, and solidly sleuths the full story behind the importance of wolves to Yellowstone National Park's biological community.

This book now holds a special place on my shelf, next to books like Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind (David Quammen), One River & Shadows in the Sun (Wade Davis), Ishmael (Daniel Quinn) and Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run (David Brower). It is truly a must-read that, unfortunately, had to be written; it shows us how blindly we persecute some wild animals without understanding their important roles in maintaining nature’s balance.

“And I can only believe, from somewhere deeper than any logic center of the brain, that a life of incomprehensible loneliness awaits a world where the wild things were, but are never again.”

– William Stolzenburg, 2008, from “Epilogue”, Where The Wild Things Were, p.218 (Bloombury USA)

The Mackenzie Gas Project: Your Say

Last week, we told you that Nature Canada has submitted its final comments about the Mackenzie Gas Project to the National Energy Board. We also wanted to know your thoughts about the project.

Our most recent quick poll asks: Do you think construction of the Mackenzie Gas Project should proceed?

Overwhelmingly, the responses have been no - the Mackenzie Valley should be off-limits to large-scale industrial development (84% of responses). A further 13% of respondents believe that the project would be acceptable if all 176 recommendations of the Joint Review Panel are implemented to reduce damage to the environment and provide lasting benefits to the people living in the area. Only 3% of the responses indicate that construction should proceed regardless of its impacts because the project is an important source of revenue for the northern economy.

We also asked how you would feel if natural gas from the pipeline was used to expand tar sands operations.

Most responses agreed with this statement that "gas from the pipeline should absolutely not be used to expand tar sands operations."

Among the concerns expressed was the worry that, even if all the recommendations were implemented, there could still be environmental impacts:

"I think it would be a gross misuse of an energy resource, and a massive environmental insult. And the construction of the pipelines, roadways and other infrastructures will cause unforeseen problems to local peoples and wildlife."

Many responses also suggested that the money being directed towards oil and gas development could be better spent on alternative energy sources:

"I would prefer to see alternative energies from wind, solar and tidal sources receive as much investment as is given to tar sands development. Bolster that which is sustainable, not that which is destructive, harmful."

"We need to tap alternate, less invasive energy sources. Pristine habitat is rare in our world and we should be doing everything to protect what is left for the other billions of creatures with which we share this planet."

The overall feeling of the responses can be summed up with this one:

"The pipe line should not be built - we need to preserve the land free from development. If the gas from the pipe line were used to develop the tar sands it would be a double assult on our natural environment."

Your support provides direction for our work. If you haven't made your voice heard yet, why not vote now? Or, check out some of our other quick polls to share your thoughts.

Our last "official" word on the Mackenzie Gas Project

Nature Canada has been involved in the review of the Mackenzie Gas Project since 2005. Last week, we made our last official intervention by submitting comments on the Joint Review Panel (JRP) recommendations to the National Energy Board (NEB) and the federal and territorial governments. The JRP concluded the Mackenzie Gas Project could be carried out without major negative impacts if all of its 176 recommendations were fully implemented.

I've commented before on the huge challenge of implementing the Panel's recommendations. However, if the National Energy Board determines the project is in the public interest and decides to approve it, the NEB and governments should take every measure to ensure all the JRP recommendations are indeed implemented fully. This is the essence of our comments to the NEB and the territorial and federal governments, which also include specific comments and recommendations relating to protected areas, Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and the Kendall Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

We also argue against the Proponents' recommendations that the NEB ignore a large part of the JRP recommendations. This would undermine the approach of sustainability that the region has chosen for its development. The Proponents show deep disregard of the JRP's efforts to ensure this basin-opening project is the foundation of the sustainable development of the region. Given this lack of commitment to sustainability, I can't imagine it could be in the public interest for the Mackenzie Gas Project to proceed. There's too much at stake.

Another show of disregard for sustainability came yesterday from the new Minister of Natural Resources, Christian Paradis. While acknowledging that he has a lot to learn still, he pointed to the Mackenzie Gas Project review as an example of the "red tape" he means to eliminate to facilitate industrial development projects. He also said he believes in balancing the environment with the economy. Perhaps among the things he has yet to learn is that there is no economy without the environment; and that if sustainable industrial development can be achieved it is only through, among many other things, careful assessment and planning. And yes, this takes time and it is not easy. There is too much at stake.

The NEB is considering a motion by Alternatives North for an economic update from the Proponents. If the NEB rules in favour of this motion, the hearings for final argument currently scheduled for April 2010, will likely be postponed.

Why does the Mackenzie Gas Project threaten the integrity of the Mackenzie valley? Read more and take action.

Biofuel Crops Raise Invasion Concerns

Concern over invasive biofuel crops has caused the IUCN to look deeper into the potential risks associated with their introduction and impacts on local livelihoods and the environment. Nadine McCormick, IUCN Energy Network Coordinator puts it this way: “Current biofuel production is based on established food crops, and while this raises other sustainability concerns, the risk of invasion is not large. However, this risk will increase exponentially as new plants – that grow fast with many seeds in pretty much any land – are cultivated for more advanced biofuels.”

Not all biofuel crops are invasive, but this new report does push for more precautionary actions to avoid any detrimental impacts on the environment and livelihoods. The invasive nature, which is not inherent, of a biofuel crop depends on the environment in which it is grown as well as the method by which it is grown.

Geoffrey Howard, IUCN Global Invasive Species Coordinator, states that “biological invasions from the introduced species themselves, as well as from the production processes, are real risks to biodiversity and livelihoods,” and goes on to say “the risks can be reduced by following the guidelines we’ve set out.”

The guidelines, a product of cooperation between the IUCN and the Roundtable on Sustainable Energy (RSE), include step-by-step recommendations for reducing the risk of biological invasions by biofuel crops.

The report can be found here:

http://www.iucn.org/?4716

I remember working on an environmental impact assessment project in 2007 for a Jatropha (a biofuel crop) plantation project in southern Egypt; beautiful Luxor and Aswan! We had not listed biological invasions as one of our concerns due to the project’s location – in the middle of nowhere without any signs of life. It would be great to go back and see what has become of this project.

Shifty the Eagle

Online community member Jim Dubois has sent us another great photo series. He writes:

It's mating season for the Eagles again, and so Shifty's doing his best to look good. Eagles mate for life, but you can't take anything for granted when you're hoping to get a wing over. There's a lot of handsome strangers around at the moment, too. Staying regal involves lots of preening, singing, flying from perch to perch in your territory, calisthenics, and looking grand. These were all taken within twenty minutes, the light lately is nuts!













Thanks for sharing these great shots with us, Jim! You can see more of Jim's photos at http://www.theineleganteagle.com/.

Send your wildlife photos to us and we may feature them as the photo of the month share them right here on the Nature Canada blog!

Contest Alert - Nature Matters!

Calling writers, videographers and nature lovers! Environment Canada has the perfect contest for you.

As part of the International Year of Biodiversity declared by the United Nations, Environment Canada is holding the national Nature Matters! Contest. Until February 28th, Canadians between the ages of 9 and 35 can submit written or video essays answering the question:

"Why is nature important to you?"

Grand prize winners will be invited to Ottawa to attend the re-opening of the Canadian Museum of Nature on International Biodiversity Day, May 22, 2010 and will also have their winning entries displayed at the Biosphère in Montreal during 2010.

Grand prize winning and runner-up essays will be announced through the Environment Canada network, reaching over a million people, and will be published on the website of the Canadian Biodiversity Information Network.

For the entry form and more details, visit www.cbin.ec.gc.ca/nature/concours-contest.cfm?lang=eng.

Update: Deadline extended until March 28, 2010.

3 out of 7 is still a victory for avian conservation

Parks Canada has released a map of the recommended boundaries for the new Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve and adjacent waterway provincial park in Labrador. We're happy to tell you that 3 of the 7 important bird areas (IBAs) in the Mealy Mountains region and surrounding coastal areas have been included in the new protected area. This is excellent news for avian conservation in Canada!
















The South Growswater Bay Coastline IBA, Cape Porcupine IBA and Tumbledown Dick Islands and Stag Islands IBA all fall within the recommended boundaries for the new national park. However, it appears that only the offshore islands of the South Groswater Bay IBA are inside the park boundary, leaving the mainland coastal sections of this IBA unprotected.

Bird species to benefit from strong habitat protection in the above IBAs include: Common Eider, Harlequin Duck, Black Scoter and Surf Scoter, as well as other waterfowl. Continentally or globally significant concentrations of these species are present in the IBAs at different times during the summer; Harlequin Duck and Common Eider breed in the IBAs, while the Scoter species congregate there when moulting.

IBAs falling outside the new protected areas' boundaries are The Backway IBA, Goose Brook IBA, Gannet Islands IBA and the Northeast Groswater Bay IBA. While the Gannet Islands IBA is actually protected as part of the provincial Gannet Islands Ecological Reserve, safeguarding habitats for globally significant concentrations of breeding Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill and Common Murre, habitats for species found in the remaining IBAs will not see stronger protection. Species found in the 'unprotected' IBAs include Canada Goose (during migration), Atlantic Puffin and Razorbill (globally significant concentrations), Leach's Storm-Petrel (west Atlantic population) and both Common and Thick-billed Murres.

The Migratory Birds Convention Act protects most of Canada's bird species and their nests from harm, but fails to protect their habitat outside of designated Migratory Bird Sanctuaries (and even within them, any "protection" is weak). Protected areas such as National Wildlife Areas, Marine Wildlife Areas, National Parks, National Marine Conservation Areas and Marine Protected Areas can protect habitat for a variety of different bird species on land, in aquatic environments and offshore.

Find out what you can do to help secure habitat protection for all of Canada's IBAs by visiting the IBA Canada website.

Map courtesy of Parks Canada and Newfoundland & Labrador Environment and Conservation

The Northern Gateway: Another unsustainable proposal?

The Great Bear Rainforest; First Nations lands, livelihoods and traditions; grizzlies, wild salmon, orcas and 28 Important Bird Areas; a tanker moratorium; Climate Change... these are just but a few of the many reasons a proposed pipeline to Kitmitat, BC for exporting tar sands oil should be of great concern to all Canadians.

The project should have been reviewed through a public inquiry, but the government has instead established a Joint Review Panel under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. Nature Canada recently joined 18 environmental groups in urging the government to undertake a much more comprehensive environmental assessment than is currently planned of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project.

Enbridge's Gateway Pipeline Inc. proposes to construct and operate pipelines, 1,170 km in length, between an inland terminal near Edmonton, Alberta and a marine terminal near Kitimat, British Columbia. Approximately 500 km of the pipeline will be in Alberta, and 670 km in British Columbia. The project will include an export oil sands product pipeline, an import condensate (a hydrocarbon) pipeline, terminal facilities, integrated marine infrastructure at tidewater to accommodate loading and unloading of oil and condensate tankers, and marine transportation of oil and condensate.

The scope of an environmental assessment is one of the most critical elements determining whether the review can be a meaningful exercise and contribute to sustainability. Does purporting to assess the environmental impact of this proposed pipeline without reviewing the impact of tanker traffic and of the increased oil sands production make any sense? To me, it's like calculating the harm done by a gunshot by considering the trajectory of the bullet, but not what it hits or who pulled the trigger.

A recent Supreme Court decision states that authorities conducting environmental assessments can't scope the review to avoid addressing a project's full environmental impacts. So there is perhaps some hope that Minister Prentice will decide the review of the Enbridge Pipeline will be a meaningful one.

The Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project put sustainability at the center of its assessment, released on December 30, 2009. While I have some reservations about their conclusions, their approach to sustainability should become best practice for all environmental assessments of major projects. It should be applied in reviewing the Northern Gateway project. Many don't want the pipeline at all. Stay tuned...

Photo by Tom Middleton

Canada ranked low on Environmental Performance Index

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a tool that was developed to measure the environmental performance of a country's policies, has ranked Canada 46th out of the 163 countries measured.

The major environmental factor that pushed Canada further down the list was its ranking for greenhouse gas emissions per capita: 151st, beaten by all industrialized nations except Australia. This GHG ranking was based on data that was collected for the years 2007 and 2008 without even accounting for 2009!

A few other disappointing rankings revealed by the EPI were:

- 125th (out 127 countries) on fisheries conservation; beaten by Australia, New Zealand and Iceland. The US also scored better than Canada - mainly due to its federal regulations for sustainable fisheries.

- 80th on preserving biodiversity and habitat;

- 140th in preserving the vitality of ecosystems;

- 146th in sulphur dioxide emissions;

- 147th in nitrous oxide emissions.

It seems Canada will have to saddle up to start revitalizing its reputation as an environmental leader!

IBAs officially protected in Canada's newest national park!

Wow, what an exciting Friday! Today's announcement of a new national park and waterway provincial park is a great step for boreal forest conservation in Labrador - and across Canada! As Katherine blogged earlier, these new protected areas are the culmination of efforts by many, many organizations and individuals over a long period - some for more than 30 years.

Despite what you might think, this announcement is for the birds...
It really is.

We have reports that several important bird areas (IBAs) in the Mealy Mountains region have been included in the final boundary for the protected areas. This will help to protect important breeding, staging, moulting and feeding habitats for a number of waterfowl species, including the Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, Common Eider, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter and more. We'll give you specific names and locations of the newly protected IBAs as soon as Parks Canada releases an electronic version of the map to the on-line community.

Breeding boreal landbirds will also benefit greatly from the new protected areas. Species such as Peregrine Falcon (threatened), Rusty Blackbird (special concern) , Olive-sided Flycatcher (threatened, no SARA status yet) and Wilson's Warbler will each benefit from the expansive mosaic of wetlands, open tundra and old-growth forests safeguarded against development by the forthcoming protected areas.

So there you have it, today's announcement really is for the birds!

All of us at Nature Canada once again congratulate federal Minister of Environment, Jim Prentice, and Newfoundland & Labrador Minister of Environment and Conservation, Charlene Johnson, for pledging to protect such a large area of pristine boreal forest. Canadians from coast, to coast, to coast are no doubt overjoyed by the news; a 2008 poll conducted for the Canadian Boreal Initiative found that 91% of Canadians want governments to do more to protect our nation's boreal forest.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for more wonderful conservation announcements like this throughout this International Year of Biodiversity!

Yours in conservation,
Alex

Photos: Harlequin Duck and Peregrine Falcon, both by Larry Kirtley

Nature Canada Welcomes Establishment of Mealy Mountains National Park

We did it! Thanks to your support, we're congratulating the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador on their announcement today to preserve over 13,000 square kilometres of boreal habitat in eastern Canada.


Nature Canada has been working towards the establishment of a National Park in the Mealy Mountains for more than 15 years, and we couldn't have realized this success without all of our members who have written letters, signed petitions and joined campaigns to create this newest national park.


The National Park in the Mealy Mountains of Labrador will be the largest in eastern Canada. The permanent protection of such a large area of boreal forest ensures at-risk species like the Woodland Caribou and the Harlequin Duck have the habitat they need to survive.

Our Director of Conservation, Mara Kerry, is in Happy Valley-Goose Bay to celebrate this announcement with Environment Minister Jim Prentice and Charlene Johnson, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Minister of Environment and Conservation, who also announced a waterway provincial park to protect the Eagle River.


Welcome Mealy Mountains as Canada's newest national park!

Read our official news release here.

Photo by Garth Lenz