Foundations for Sustainable Livelihoods in Cuba's Turquino-La Bayamesa

Turquino, Sierra Maestra-photo by CNAP

Nature Canada believes in a flyways approach to the conservation of migratory birds. To that end, for the past two years, we have supported integrated conservation and development efforts by our BirdLife partners in key Caribbean biodiversity areas where "Canadian" migratory birds, like the Bicknell's Thrush, spend the winter.

You've read about our successes in Haiti's Macaya and in the Dominican Republic's Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo. In Cuba, our partner, the National Protected Areas Commission (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Protegidas-CNAP) has also been working to establish ecotourism, tree nurseries and agroforestry plots in an area that was once as critical to the Cuban revolution as it is today to biodiversity. Find out what we're accomplishing.

This work is supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Aflockalypse: What It’s Really Trying to Tell Us

Photo: Steve Kulak

When 5,000 red-wing black birds dropped from the Arkansas sky earlier this month, the media sat up and took notice.

In the following days, reports of other mass die-offs in the animal kingdom surfaced. From Vietnam to England, birds were falling from the sky, crabs were washing up dead on beaches, and the world was spinning on its head.

But in the weeks since that sorrowful start to 2011, lurking in the shadows of the media hysteria, the question about what it all really meant, remained unanswered.

What can we make of the ‘Aflockalypse’?

What we do know is that animal deaths happen regularly. These mass deaths often go unnoticed by the general public, but not unrecorded by watchful researchers and citizen scientists. An average of 167 mass events are reported to the Geological Survey every year, and their wildlife specialists know of at least 16 cases over the past 20 years of large numbers of blackbirds dying all at once.

Many of these deaths are caused by storms, disease, and human activity.

According to Mike Parr, president of the American Bird Conservancy, billions of birds die every year due to human activities. Cats account for close to half a billion deaths alone. Collisions with buildings bring down between one hundred million and a staggering one billion birds every year. It’s also estimated that 15 million birds succumb annually to pesticide poisoning.

Closer to home, tens of thousands of Common Loons along with some ducks and Cormorants have been killed in the past 10 to 15 years from avian Type E Botulism. The deaths were likely caused by a combination of human-related activities and a particular set of circumstances. Undoubtedly, certain human activities threaten wildlife. As a result, we have an ethical responsibility to ensure that our actions are not endangering other forms of life and if they are, we should change them so that they don’t.  

So while the recent animal die-offs reported in the media are not really that uncommon, they can be seen as an extension of a greater problem: extinction.

Experts say that worldwide, 17,000 plants and animals are threatened with extinction. The over-riding cause is human ‘progress’, which often results in significant habitat loss. And increasingly, climate change will drive the disappearance of wildlife. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that 20%-30% of the world’s plant and animal species will be at increased risk of extinction if global temperatures continue to rise.

A major study last year raised alarm bells over dramatic declines in biodiversity on the planet; 20% of the world's vertebrates are threatened, and an average of 52 species of mammals, birds and amphibians move closer to extinction annually.

Canada’s latest and most comprehensive survey of biodiversity shows that in this country 20% of amphibians are at risk of extinction, 17% percent of freshwater fish are endangered or threatened, 40% of grassland birds have been lost and there has been a 50% decline in the 35 shorebird species found in Canada.

At Nature Canada, we’re working to prevent the extinction of plants and animals by:

• Informing the public about the plight of Canada’s threatened wildlife
• Understanding the nature of human-caused threats to wildlife 
• Pushing for effective laws and supporting programs to protect endangered species and their habitats, and keep common species common.

While the intense media focus on the Aflockalypse may have been nothing but a curious media meme, it is certainly true that these days, it’s harder for many species to survive and thrive, and much work is needed to avoid the current extinction trends.

Study Outlines Steps to Protect Declining North American Landbird Populations

Crested Wood Partridge by Nathan Rupert

A recent study carried out by scientists from Canada, Mexico and the United States found that of the 882 native landbirds shared across borders, 17% (148 species) need immediate conservation action.

The report, Saving Our Shared Birds, an initiative of Partners in Flight, assessed the status of all 882 shared landbirds, and used their findings to rank the vulnerability of each species.

The 148 species identified as most vulnerable include:

• 44 species having limited distributions
• 80 tropical species which depend on deciduous, highland and evergreen forests in Mexico
• 24 species that occur in temperate-zone forests, grasslands and aridland habitats during the breeding season.

Hawk-eagles, wood partridges, Cyanolyca jays and macaws are some of the birds included in the list of 148 species. As is the case for biodiversity, habitat loss is the greatest threat to these birds.

The report concludes with six steps that Canada, Mexico and the United States must take to reverse the trend of declining North American landbird populations:

1. Protect and recover species at greatest risk by establishing protected areas and fully implementing endangered species laws.

2. Conserve habitats and ecosystem functions through policy changes that result in more sustainable agricultural, forestry and urban planning practices.

3. Reduce bird mortality by adopting measures that are effective in reducing bird mortality from collisions with windows or tall buildings, poisoning from pesticides and unsustainable hunting and trapping.

4. Expand our knowledge base for conservation by acquiring a better understanding of bird distribution patterns; connectivity between locations; population responses to management practices; and the cumulative effects of human-caused bird mortality.

5. Engage people in conservation about birds, and encourage the participation of local communities through citizen science programs and programs that promote the benefits of conserving birds to those who depend on them for their well-being.

6. Increase the power of international partnerships by sharing and transferring information and knowledge through partnerships such as regional alliances, international joint ventures and community-based partnerships, as well as develop new mechanisms to engage business, industry, and NGOs.

We hope the Government of Canada will adopt these recommendations, and by doing so, make significant progress towards the conservation of North American landbirds.

What Does Biodiversity Mean to You?

Last month, we asked our readers to tell us what biodiversity means to them. This quick poll question was prompted partly by a story that indicated that a worrying number of people thought biodiversity was a brand of washing powder. Well, we are happy to report that Nature Canada’s readers did not think biodiversity was a cleaning product and for the most part understood its true meaning. To check out the survey results and responses please click here.

While several similar definitions exist, biodiversity is generally known as the variety of life forms on Earth – the genes, species and ecosystems that make up this planet we inhabit. The biodiversity we see today is the result of billions of years of evolutionary history, shaped by different combinations of life forms, their interactions with each other and their environment. Researchers and scientists use biodiversity as one measure to evaluate and monitor the health of ecosystems. Today, there are many millions of distinct biological species on Earth, almost all of which are increasingly altered by human activity, in ways that are lasting and difficult to predict.

What is becoming clear is that human activity is the main cause of biodiversity loss. Direct threats include changes in land use, the introduction or removal of species, pollution, resource consumption and climate change.

Biodiversity loss is significant because life on Earth depends on biodiversity. It is the source of food, fuel and water. It provides life-giving and irreplaceable services such as nutrient cycling, photosynthesis, water purification, climate regulation, pollination. Changes in biodiversity can therefore have profound effects on our health, livelihoods, culture and security.

In an effort to counteract the trends the United Nations declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). One key message of International Year of Biodiversity campaign is biodiversity is “essential to sustain the living networks and systems that provide us with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend on,” as stated by the Convention on Biological Diversity, the international legal and binding treaty.

Nature Canada joined Countdown 2010 [an initiative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)], and pledged our commitment to help reduce biodiversity loss and ensure that all levels of government and society take action together to reduce biodiversity loss by 2010. With your help we gathered 1,840 signatures for the IYB petition/personal pledge that was sent last month to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Environment Minister John Baird and the environment critics from each of the opposition parties, urging them to take the following five actions:

• Protect at least 50 per cent of Canada's Boreal Forest;

• Protect Canada's endangered wildlife by effectively implementing the Species at Risk Act;

• Save one of Canada's greatest grasslands treasures and the wildlife that live there. Close the door on further industrial development within Alberta's Suffield National Wildlife Area;

• Declare a moratorium on new tar sands expansion until environmental and human health
  issues have been fully addressed;

• Commit to environmentally sustainable development in Canada's North. Demand that the Mackenzie Gas Project proceed only if it does not negatively impact the region's people and
  wildlife.

As the International year of Biodiversity comes to a close, consider the words of famed Harvard University biologist—also referred to as the “father of biodiversity”—Edward O. Wilson who once said, "It is reckless to suppose that biodiversity can be diminished indefinitely without threatening humanity itself."

Sources:

http://www.naturecanada.ca/biodiversity.asp

http://www.cbd.int/2010/biodiversity/

http://biodiversity.ca.gov/Biodiversity/biodiv_definition.html

http://supporter.naturecanada.ca/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_VIEW_REPORT&SURVEY_ID=3440

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity

Science Pages, October 2010, page 1.

Petition to Protect Canada's Biodiversity

Nature Canada would like to thank all those who signed our letter asking the Canadian government to take action to conserve Canada's biodiversity during the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). The petition letter, having 1,840 signatures, has been sent to PM Stephen Harper, Environment Minister John Baird and the environment critics from each of the opposition parties, urging them to take the following five actions:

• Protect at least 50 per cent of Canada's Boreal Forest;
• Protect Canada's endangered wildlife by effectively implementing the Species at Risk Act;
• Save one of Canada's greatest grasslands treasures and the wildlife that live there. Close the
door on further industrial development within Alberta's Suffield National Wildlife Area;
• Declare a moratorium on new tar sands expansion until environmental and human health
issues have been fully addressed; and
• Commit to environmentally sustainable development in Canada's North. Demand that the
Mackenzie Gas Project proceed only if it does not negatively impact the region's people and
wildlife.

If you would like to celebrate the IYB, here are five things you can do:

• Do your part to use nature’s resources wisely and conserve energy at home and work.
• Support native birds and butterflies by planting gardens and placing feeders around your home.
• Learn ten new things about nature in your region, and share what you know with ten other people.
• Read at least one book or watch one movie this year about biodiversity, nature, or the environment.
• Participate in at least one outdoor expedition, such as a bird watching trip, to connect with nature.

Once again, thank you all for your efforts and continuous support.

In 2010, we remember that biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is our life.

Three Major Decisions to Conserve Biodiversity

All 193 Parties attending the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) in Nagoya, Japan ended their two week conference with the adoption of three major decisions:

1) the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS);
2) the post-2010 (2011-2020) Strategic Plan; and
3) a resource mobilization strategy with the objective of increasing resources to enhance the implementation of the Convention.

Click here to read these decisions (they are the first three decisions in the list of COP10 outcomes).

Parties have one year, between 02 February 2011 - 01 February 2012, to ratify the legally binding ABS Protocol. The Protocol will only enter into force after 50 ratifications. Although the Protocol was adopted, after many years of negotiations, some Parties were not satisfied. Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Cuba and some African nations expressed their concerns over the Protocol, which they find does not take into account their views. However, they did not stand in the way of its adoption.

Parties to the Convention also adopted a decision which endorsed the Government of Japan's proposal, submitted on September 22 at the United Nations General Assembly High Level meeting, to declare 2011-2020 as the UN Decade on Biodiversity. The objective of the proposal is to create momentum for the implementation of the CBD and its new Strategic Plan, as well as contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Many NGOs, including Conservation International and the Canadian Environmental Network, have supported the proposal.

There was some concern around the CBD's implementation, but these decisions have given us a little bit of hope. However, let's not forget that actions speak louder than words, and ink and paper. That being said, we ask you to send a letter urging the Canadian government to take action to conserve Canada's biodiversity during this International Year of Biodiversity.

Native Prairie Saved From Potato Production

We previously told you about a shocking plan to sell public prairie land in Alberta for potato production. Since then, SLM Spud Farms has withdrawn its offer to purchase public native prairie rangeland in Alberta's Bow Island Provincial Grazing Land (BIPGR).

Keith Ypma, SPL Spud Farms' family spokesperson, said the withdrawal was due to the "negative attention" the proposal stirred up.

This case is a great example of how the public can make a difference by voicing their opposition to the destruction of endangered habitats and wildlife and conserving Canada's natural heritage! But, the sale of public lands could continue. Environmental groups and opposition party members in Alberta are urging the government to complete land-use plans that protect the province's lands, and engage the public in a transparent and open process should any public land be put up for sale.

World Vertebrate Populations Declining - How is Canada Doing?

A new study, The Impact of Conservation on the Status of the World's Vertebrates, published in the journal Science, sheds light on the global biodiversity crisis we are facing today.

Carried out by 174 scientists from around the world, and using data for 25,780 species (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fishes) from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, the study finds that an estimated 20% of the world's vertebrates are Threatened - assigned Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable status according to the IUCN Red List. Of the 20% are 25% of all mammals, 13% of birds, 22% of reptiles, 41% of amphibians, 33% of cartilaginous fishes (e.g., sharks and rays) and 15% of bony fishes (i.e., fish with scales). Their study shows that an average of 52 species of mammals, birds and amphibians move closer to extinction annually.

The main threats driving these species towards extinction are logging, over-exploitation, agricultural expansion and invasive alien species. Southeast Asia has experienced the most losses and faces high risk of extinction. Other regions seeing large declines in biodiversity include parts of Central America, the tropical Andes of South America and Australia.

On a more positive note, the study shows clear evidence that without conservation efforts biodiversity loss would have increased by 18%. Their analysis showed that 64 mammal, bird and amphibian species had their status improved due to such efforts. Three of these species (the California Condor, Gymnogyps californianus, and the Black-footed Ferret, Mustela nigripes, in the United States, and Przewalski’s Horse, Equus ferus, in Mongolia) had been extinct in the wild and later reintroduced.

To ensure that conservation work continues to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss, their study shows that commitment and resources are needed. Referring to the tenth meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Biodiversity (CBD COP10) in Nagoya, Japan, IUCN's Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre says "this is clear evidence for why we absolutely must emerge from Nagoya with a strategic plan of action to direct our efforts for biodiversity in the coming decade. It is a clarion call for all of us – governments, businesses, citizens – to mobilize resources and drive the action required. Conservation does work but it needs our support, and it needs it fast!”

Canada's latest and most comprehensive report on biodiversity, Canadian Biodiversity: Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010, shows that in this country 20% of amphibians are at risk of extinction, 17% percent of freshwater fish are Endangered or Threatened, 40% of grassland birds have been lost and there has been a 50% decline in the 35 shorebird species found in Canada. Canada's 4th National Report to the CBD (a reporting mechanism under the Convention every four years), which assessed progress towards the 2010 Biodiversity Target, showed that an average of 17% of Canadian species across all taxa are considered 'at risk', 30 species were Extirpated and 12 have gone Extinct.

Join us in urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to take action in conserving Canada's natural heritage during this International Year of Biodiversity! And don't forget that there are changes we can all make in our everyday lives that will benefit biodiversity, too.

Photo 1: African Elephant

Photo 2: Burrowing Owl

Canada Stalls Agreement on Major International Protocol

We’ve blogged about the importance of reaching an agreement on a Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) of genetic resources, under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). ABS is one of the three fundamental objectives of the CBD, and centers on access to genetic resources and sharing of benefits arising from their use.

I'll use the same example I used before as to how ABS should work: an indigenous community holds the knowledge, passed through generations, that a certain plant has therapeutic properties (a genetic resource). A pharmaceutical company hears of this plant and would like to use it in the development of a new medicine. Under ABS, the pharmaceutical company will have to acquire (free) Prior Informed Consent from the indigenous people - the 'access' component of ABS - and enter into a contractual agreement with them. Once the resource has been commercialized, the pharmaceutical company will have to share the profits with the indigenous people - the 'benefit sharing' component of ABS. If the pharmaceutical company goes ahead without considering any of the ABS components, it may be labeled as committing an act of 'biopiracy'.

Failing to adopt a legally binding Protocol at the CBD’s tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) will have serious implications on the Convention’s implementation. The head of Brazil’s delegation, Paulino Franco de Carvalho, believes the Protocol ‘would be totally void’ if it did not recognize, and guarantee, the rights of indigenous people and local communities. In fact, he has has made it very clear that Brazil will not sign onto an ABS Protocol that is not fair.

It seems as though Canada is taking the lead in stalling an agreement as they push for the exclusion of indigenous peoples’ rights from the Protocol – an important component, given the valuable traditional knowledge that they hold.

Two pieces of text in the Protocol that Canada would like to exclude are 1) “taking into account the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as regards this Protocol”; and 2) “Affirms nothing in this Protocol shall be constructed as diminishing or extinguishing the rights that indigenous and local communities have now or may have in the future”. In other words, Canada does not want to make mention of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples or sign onto a Protocol that doesn't allow it to deviate from respecting their rights.

Apart from excluding indigenous peoples’ rights, the Canadian government took its position without consulting with any indigenous communities. Apparently, Canada does not pay for any indigenous representatives to attend these conferences, even though they’re granted ‘observer’ status!

BirdLife International believes that progress towards overcoming the biodiversity crisis faced by the world today, and implementing the CBD, largely depends on the adoption of a legally binding Protocol on ABS at COP10.

It is expected that over 120 environment ministers will be attending the final days of COP10 by the end of the week to sign the Protocol.

Native Prairie Threatened by Potato Production

White potatoes
by Julep67 via flickr

The Alberta Cabinet is considering a proposal to sell 13,600 acres of public native prairie rangeland in the Bow Island Provincial Grazing Reserve (BIPGR) to SLM Spud Farms for conversion into irrigated cropland for potato production.

This plan is absolutely shocking.

The central grasslands of North America are considered one of North America’s most endangered ecosystems. In this International Year of Biodiversity and as governments from around the world are gathered in Nagoya, Japan to work towards addressing alarming biodiversity loss, entertaining a proposal to convert endangered native prairie lands to potato production should be out of the question.

We wrote last week to Alberta's Premier to urge him to reject this proposal and prevent the significant impacts this conversion would have on Canada’s biodiversity. Read our letter.

State of Canada's Biodiversity Highlighted in New Government Report

The federal government has released a new report on biodiversity, Canadian Biodiversity: Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010, in advance of the COP10 meeting that started this week. The report, which is a joint federal/ provincial/ territorial initiative to assess Canada's ecosystems, focuses on trends in ecosystem condition, drivers and stressors. It is billed as the first assessment of Canada's biodiversity from an ecosystem perspective.

This report is a first step in Canada's Biodiversity Outcomes Framework, outlining the health of Canada's ecosystems and enabling the government to better define the national biodiversity agenda and set priorities. It also provides a good measure of Canada's progress towards achieving the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) 2010 Biodiversity Target.

Some excerpts from the report's Executive Summary:

Some findings reveal that much of Canada’s natural endowment remains healthy, including large tracts of undisturbed wilderness, internationally significant wetlands, and thriving estuaries, particularly in sparsely populated or less accessible areas. Forest area is fairly stable. Over half of Canada’s landscape remains intact and relatively free from human infrastructure. Although much is in the more remote North, this also includes large tracts of boreal forest and coastal temperate rainforest.Canada maintains commercial and recreational freshwater and marine fisheries of significant economic and cultural importance.

Some key findings identify ecosystems in which natural processes are compromised or increased stresses are reaching critical thresholds. Examples include: fish populations that have not recovered despite the removal of fishing pressure; declines in the area and condition of grasslands, where grassland bird populations are dropping sharply; and, fragmented forests that place forest-dwelling caribou at risk.

We're glad to see a comprehensive report that addresses the state of Canada's biodiversity, but we're puzzled as to why Environment Canada released such an important document in silence - there isn't yet a news release about it on the department's website to publicly announce the availability of the report and most of the media attention has been as a result of opposition critics questioning the government's commitment to the UN summit in Nagoya, Japan.

As the International Year of Biodiversity draws to a close, we continue to ask the government to safeguard the vast array of biodiversity in Canada, for the world and for future generations.

CBD COP10; The Action Begins

We've mentioned the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) in various blog posts, and we also mentioned the importance of COP10 in addressing the global biodiversity crisis the world is facing today. COP10 began today in Nagoya, Japan, and the time has come for some important (and delicate) issues to be agreed upon. Three of the main issues are:

- A Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing;
- A Strategic Plan for the post-2010 period; and
- A new Strategy for Resource Mobilization.

Call on Canada's Government to protect biodiversity by signing our open letter to Prime Minister Harper to take 5 steps on behalf of biodiversity.

Read more of our CBD and International Year of Biodiversity related blog posts.

BirdLife International’s Position on the International Regime for Access and Benefit Sharing

The Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) in Nagoya, Japan this October will set the stage for the agreement on a crucial component of the CBD: Access & Benefit Sharing, or ABS. ABS is one of the three fundamental objectives of the CBD, and centers on access to genetic resources and sharing of benefits arising from their use.

For example, an indigenous community holds the knowledge, passed through generations, that a certain plant has therapeutic properties (a genetic resource). A pharmaceutical company hears of this plant and would like to use it in the development of a new medicine. Under ABS, the pharmaceutical company will have to acquire (free) Prior Informed Consent from the indigenous people - the 'access' component of ABS - and enter into a contractual agreement with them. Once the resource has been commercialized, the pharmaceutical company will have to share the profits with the indigenous people - the 'benefit sharing' component of ABS. If the pharmaceutical company goes ahead without considering any of the ABS components, it may be labeled as committing an act of 'biopiracy'.

BirdLife International believes that progress towards overcoming the biodiversity crisis faced by the world today, and implementing the CBD, largely depends on the adoption of a legally binding Protocol on ABS at COP10.

However, draft text for the Protocol has yet to be finalized, although there are hopes that the Interregional Negotiating Group (ING) of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing (WG-ABS) will conclude this week's last-minute meeting with a draft, agreed upon by all Parties, to be presented for finalization and approval at COP10.

According to Dr. Muhtari Aminu-Kano, BirdLife’s Senior Adviser on Policy and Advocacy

Several key Governments see progress in developing a new agreement on ABS as absolutely necessary, and are willing to block progress in all other areas of the CBD until such an agreement is reached. We are asking politicians to get their acts together and stop unnecessarily blocking the negotiations.

In addition to the adoption of an ABS Protocol at COP10, BirdLife International believes that Parties must:

• Adopt a comprehensive, ambitious and achievable Strategic Plan with associated 2020 Targets. This should include a framework to involve local communities and civil society in achieving its aims, and should recognise the importance of linking biodiversity conservation to improved livelihoods and poverty reduction.
• Agree on mechanisms to ensure each country has the resources it needs for effective implementation of the CBD. This must involve an increase in biodiversity budgets in all countries, and new and increased money from developed countries to developing countries. We want governments to recognise that at least a tenfold increase in funding is needed by 2020.
• Agree to expand protected area networks, particularly in marine areas, to cover all areas of particular importance for biodiversity. Standard criteria should be developed for the identification of sites of global biodiversity significance.
• Agree on clear actions to promote synergies between the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at national and international levels. Biodiversity and ecosystems underpin effective climate change mitigation and adaptation and are in turn impacted by climate change. This must be recognised within all decisions and actions taken to address climate change.

It's the International Year of Biodiversity so call on Canada's Government to protect biodiversity by signing our open letter to Prime Minister Harper to take 5 steps on behalf of biodiversity.

Read about how Important Bird Areas (IBAs) help the CBD achieve its targets and why the CBD's implementation may be at risk.

How IBAs Help Us Reach CBD Targets

Tofino Mudflats IBA, BC - Photo by Barb Beasley

In a previous blog we highlighted how Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are used as an indicator to assess Goal 7, ensuring environmental sustainability, in the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report. We also emphasized how IBAs contribute to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) but didn’t explain how it would be achieved. Data on the conditions, threats and conservation actions undertaken in IBAs, under BirdLife’s global IBAs monitoring framework, has made it possible to measure the CBD’s implementation progress. The BirldLife monitoring framework is designed to be simple, sustainable, cost-effective, and maximize local participation and institutional engagement.

The monitoring framework’s capacity to track trends in IBAs over time was well demonstrated in a paper published by BirdLife’s journal, Bird Conservation International, in which they examined Kenya's IBA trends between 1999 and 2005. IBA indices for 36 IBAs showed that overall average conditions deteriorated during this time. However, pressures/threats slightly declined in intensity, especially between 2004 and 2005, where increased conservation action resulted in improved management practices that reflected in more favourable result scores for that year. According to Kiragu Mwangi, the paper’s lead author,

The results provide vital information for managers of individual protected areas, management agencies responsible for suites of sites, and national governments, and can be used to track progress in tackling the global biodiversity crisis.

Another co-author, Stuart Butchart, BirdLife’s Global Research and Indicators Coordinator, said:

The IBA monitoring framework is being implemented globally by the BirdLife Partnership and will make a significant contribution towards tracking the CBD 2020 target that seeks to ensure that important biodiversity areas are conserved through effectively managed protected areas.

BirdLife will have a strong presence (approx. 95 staff) at the CBD’s tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) and will be leading and convening several side events. On October 25, the BirdLife International Partnership will present, for the first time, a global inventory of over 10,000 terrestrial IBAs and their protection status. It will also highlight key aspects of its site conservation approach that involves working with local communities across the globe to identify, document, monitor and conserve this network of globally important sites for birds and other biodiversity. On October 26, a Partnership Agreement between the Secretariats of the CBD and BirdLife International will be signed and a publication that shows how bird-related indicators can help to track progress in meeting biodiversity targets will be launched. For more information on side events taking place during COP10 please click here.

Nature Canada is the Canadian co-partner, with Bird Studies Canada, in BirdLife International. Together we deliver the international IBA program in Canada, which aims to identify, conserve and monitor a network of sites that provides essential habitat for bird populations.

IBAs are discrete sites that support specific groups of birds: threatened birds, large groups of birds, and birds restricted by range or by habitat. IBAs range in size from very tiny patches of habitat to large tracts of land or water. They may encompass private or public land, and they may or may not overlap partially or entirely with legally protected sites. This ultimately makes IBAs an important tool for identifying conservation priorities, and fostering greater success in the conservation of bird populations.

Is the CBD's Implementation at Risk?

From September 18 to 21 negotiations took place in Montreal to finalize text for the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Protocol under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Protocol is designed to ensure that fair and equitable sharing of benefits arises from the utilization of genetic resources. The text was not finalized and it was proposed to reconvene before the tenth meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP10) in Nagoya, Japan this October, but was refused by the EU representative; Canada, Australia and Switzerland did not voice a preference on whether or not to reconvene.

Hope for adoption of the protocol at COP10 has somewhat diminished following some developed countries lack of keenness on the matter (mainly Canada and the EU). This creates a divide between biodiversity-rich countries (providers of genetic resources) and developed countries (users of genetic resources). Developed countries are afraid that a legally binding protocol with a compliance mechanism would hinder progress within the pharmaceutical, agribusiness and biotechnology sectors. Conversely biodiversity-rich countries believe that an ABS protocol is essential for the proper implementation of the CBD. They are also concerned that if the protocol is not legally binding, cases of biopiracy (unauthorized access to a genetic resource and not sharing the benefits arising out of its utilization with the community in which it was discovered) will be on the rise.

When government leaders met on September 22, at the United Nations General Assembly High Level meeting to commemorate the International Year of Biodiversity, Brazil’s Minister of Environment, Izabella Teixeira, on behalf of the Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries (comprised of Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Africa and Venezuela – collectively holds almost 80% of the world’s biodiversity) stressed the importance of COP10; which sets the stage for three major decisions to be taken: 1) the Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing, 2) the Strategic Plan for the post-2010 period, and 3) the New Strategy for Resource Mobilization.

Representatives from Denmark, Argentina, Belgium and the European Commissioner of the Environment stated that further action and commitment by Parties to the Convention was needed to conclude an ABS Protocol in COP10. Jim Prentice, Canada’s Minister of Environment, kept it short and sweet without mentioning the ABS Protocol. There are rumors that Canada is one of the main countries holding back the progress on this negotiation – presumably because of concerns over Traditional Knowledge held by indigenous communities.

Failing to adopt the protocol in COP10 could significantly undermine the CBD, especially given that ABS is one of three CBD objectives.

There is a bit of good news, a meeting has been confirmed to resume negotiations before COP10 - a little bit of hope?

Call on Canada's Government to protect biodiversity by signing our open letter to Prime Minister Harper to take 5 steps on behalf of biodiversity.

Check Undercover COP for updates on CBD negotiations.

IUCN Urges Governments to Make Funds Available to Slow Biodiversity Loss

As a contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity, the United Nations is holding a high-level meeting today, September 22, at its General Assembly's 65th session in New York to address the extinction crisis - the first high-level meeting to ever address this subject. The event is part of the United Nations effort to raise awareness about the loss of biological diversity (biodiversity) and shed light on the need to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - one of three UN Conventions born at the Rio Summit in 1992 to enable countries to conserve their biological diversity, sustainably use it and share, equitably and fairly, the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

A 10 year strategic plan, known as the Post-2010 Strategic Plan, consisting of 20 targets, is due to be adopted by the Parties to the CBD during the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) in Nagoya, Japan this October. The aim of the Strategic Plan is to assist Parties in halting the loss of biodiversity by 2020.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recognizes that it is imperative to take into consideration the financial resources needed to achieve these targets and is calling on governments to address this issue at the high-level meeting before COP10.

Examples of questions for discussion at today's meeting are:

- What are the human, institutional, scientific and financial resources that countries need in order to fully implement the Convention and what mechanisms are needed to ensure that each country has access to the resources it needs?

- How will you ensure that the post-2010 biodiversity strategy is reflected in your national biodiversity strategy and action plan, including a set of measurable national biodiversity targets?

- How will you ensure that the post-2010 biodiversity strategy is reflected in your national and local development priorities and that biodiversity will be mainstreamed throughout government and in all sectors of society and the economy?

"When governments meet next month in Nagoya they must be ready to invest what’s needed to halt biodiversity loss, and so avoid the much larger costs of inaction" says Julia-Martin Lefèvre, IUCN's Director General.

According to the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species, 21 percent of mammals, 30 percent of amphibians, 12 percent of birds, 35 percent of conifers and cycads, 17 percent of sharks and 27 percent of reef-building corals assessed are threatened with extinction!

Call on Canada's Government to protect biodiversity by signing our open letter to Prime Minister Harper to take 5 steps on behalf of biodiversity.

Biodiversity Action: The Guardian's 'Biodiversity 100' Campaign

We learned in May that the 2010 Biodiversity Target, to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss, had been missed.

World leaders are going to meet again in Nagoya, Japan this October and hopefully adopt a new ambitious target for 2020 and a longer-term vision for 2050. Many are skeptical of the new plans and want to see more action and less paper and ink.

The Guardian, a British national newspaper, has launched a new campaign, Biodiversity 100, to pressure governments to take more serious action towards conserving biodiversity. They’re compiling a list of 100 tasks to forward to governments and ask them to sign a commitment to action - before going to Nagoya. The tasks will address the G20 countries given that they have no excuses not to meet their obligations.

The campaign is seeking actions that are aimed at protecting ecosystems or species, backed with strong scientific evidence and that are politically costly or opposed by interest groups. The more specific the tasks the better! For example, stopping a destructive industrial project such as the Mackenzie Gas Project or the Northern Gateway Pipeline, or changing or passing law such as repealing the harmful Schedule 2 of the Metal Mining and Effluent Regulations (MMER).

They’re finalizing their list within a month so make sure Canada is represented and add your suggested actions to their simple form by the end of August. Raise your voice at home by signing Nature Canada’s pledge urging the Canadian government to take five concrete actions to conserve biodiversity during the International Year of Biodiversity.

Create Protected Areas, End Use of Pesticides

Suffield National Wildlife Area
Photo by Andy Teucher

Nature Canada is carrying a grasslands conservation message to an international forum.

North America's native grasslands are rapidly vanishing, along with some of the continent's most endangered species, but concerted action by national governments can turn the tide, we plan to say before an international commission gathering in Mexico this week.

The Montreal-based Commission for Environmental Co-operation (CEC), a body created by NAFTA's environmental side agreement in 1994, is holding its annual meeting on 16-17 August, in Guanajuato, Mexico, where experts will examine ways of improving environmental protection provided by each country.

Nature Canada will be urging the governments of Mexico, United States and Canada to focus the CEC's efforts over the next 5 years on restoring the health of one of North America's most imperiled ecosystems – our native grasslands.

North America's central grasslands extend from the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada, south through the central, northern and mid-west United States to southern Texas into northeastern and central Mexico, and from western Indiana to the foothills of the Rockies.

The grasses, sand hills, coulees and riverbanks of the grasslands ecosystem sustain hundreds of plant and animal species, including the burrowing owl, peregrine falcon, California condor, northern leopard frog and pronghorn antelope.

About a quarter of the species North America's three nations share, including many at the greatest risk of extinction, breed primarily in grasslands. Yet less than 20% of Canada's native grasslands remain and many of the country's grasslands species are in decline. In less than 5 years, Canada's largest grassland bird, the Greater Sage Grouse, may be extirpated from Canada.

In a presentation scheduled for Tuesday, Nature Canada will call on the CEC's member nations to deliver on two critical and long-overdue actions that only governments can take: creating additional protected areas, and ending the use of pesticides that kill birds and other wildlife.

Less than 3% of the region's grasslands are found inside protected areas. That figure should be at least 10% within each country.

The CEC has already completed an important step by identifying the North American Grasslands Priority Conservation Areas. Also, many organizations in the three countries, including Nature Canada, are working to protect grassland areas on public and private land. The CEC's leadership could leverage these efforts and build the momentum required to achieve the 10% target by 2015.

North America's governments should also move immediately to end the use of pesticides that needlessly harm birds and other biodiversity.

Burrowing Owl

Birds are effective indicators of the health of our environment, and the message we're receiving from grasslands birds is that we're going down a disastrous path.

Among the many factors contributing to bird declines, the use of pesticides is a major culprit. Research by Environment Canada's own scientist, Dr. Pierre Mineau, has recently shown pesticides still kill millions of birds every year.

The good news is that this cause of bird mortality can be directly addressed through government action.

The CEC could coordinate work to identify a list of pesticides of common concern that our governments can then phase out. At the same time, CEC can work on best management practices that support the transition to an Integrated Pest Management approach.

In addition to calling for more protected areas and an end to harmful pesticides, Nature Canada also supports the CEC's proposal to promote best management practices among ranchers, landowners and others who live and work within grasslands ecosystems. Governments should promote their widespread adoption by recognizing and rewarding those who follow such practices.

How will you connect to nature this Parks Day?

Do you remember your first experience of true wilderness? The first time you really grasped the panoplies of form, function and wonder that embody E.O. Wilson's now ubiquitous term "biodiversity"?

The first time you felt a connection to nature?

The first time you heard nothing but nature's chorus all around you?

There's something very special in each of these experiences. Something sublime. Maybe a sense that you were in just the right place at just the right time, and that you experienced something truly unique. But how do you get to that place at just that time?

I was lucky during my youth and grew up with an expansive wilderness literally in my backyard. I recall experiencing new aspects of nature on a regular basis, connecting to nature, exploring nature from dawn to dusk. But mine is not everyone's experience. Despite Canada being a 'wilderness nation', most of our population resides in urban areas.

So if you're one of the roughly 27 million Canadians living in an urban area, how do you connect to nature? First, you find the right place. Second, you find the right time. Nature Canada's suggestions?

Where: Canada's national parks, national marine conservation areas or any other protected natural area in your province or territory.

When: Canada's Parks Day, Saturday July 17th, 2010.

Canada's parks and other protected areas are an ever-expanding showcase of this country's natural splendour from sea to sea to sea. And they're yours to enjoy whenever you want to connect to nature! But given where you live and the fact that parks tend to be wild, you'll probably have to travel. Ah, but road-trips are always fun - why not create a nature-themed playlist for the drive! Parks Day is our chance to celebrate parks and other protected areas every year, and it helps us remember why conserving and connecting to nature is so vital.

Canada's national parks system, as one example of a protected areas network, aims to protect a representative portion of each of 39 terrestrial natural regions across the country. The national parks system is complemented by the federal marine protected areas strategy, which aims to protect a portion of each of 29 marine natural regions in Canada's territorial waters. So you've got a great chance to see for yourself some representative examples¹ of Canada's wild species, their habitats and the broader land- or seascapes that support them - protected forever.

Ideally, parks and other protected areas should be large enough to protect a full suite of ecosystem processes, such as water and nutrient cycling. Areas should be well-connected across land- and seascapes, encompassing multiple ecosystem types and adequate habitat for populations of wide-ranging species - especially those requiring several ecosystem types throughout their life cycles. A recent report by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society looks at how well Canada's existing protected areas meet these and other conservation objectives.

In addition to protecting wildlife and ecosystem processes, parks and other protected areas provide good baselines against which scientists can assess the impacts of human activities and other disturbances on non-protected landscapes over time. In fact, my own M.Sc. (Biology) research used this approach.

I've had some of my most memorable natural experiences in Canada's parks and protected areas: witnessing Common Loons and Red-breasted Mergansers drift silently across the lakes of Kejimkujik National Park & National Historic Site in Nova Scotia; standing mere feet away from an adult bull moose in Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park; observing the eerie yet peaceful silence of the Rockies in winter at Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. I hope for more experiences like these as I continue to visit protected areas with my family over time.

What memorable natural experiences have you had in parks or other protected areas? Comment below or connect to our Nature Explorers on-line community to share your experience with others.

Don't forget that Parks Day 2010 is also a celebration of Banff National Park's 125th anniversary and the International Year of Biodiversity. Make 2010 your personal year of biodiversity. Give yourself a biodiversity challenge or take our biodiversity pledge. Why not learn ten new things about nature in your region and share what you know with ten other people? Or participate in an outdoor expedition this summer, such as a bird watching trip, to connect with nature? And why not do these things in a park or other protected area...?

Happy Parks Day 2010!
-Alex

Photo 1: La Mauricie National Park, Québec (A. MacDonald)
Photo 2: White-tailed deer, Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia (A. MacDonald)
Figure 1: Map of Canada's parks and other protected areas (Data from the Atlas of Canada and the World Database on Protected Areas)


¹National Parks have been officially established in over 70% of the terrestrial natural regions to date, with new parks in the planning stages in all but 5 of the remaining regions. Progress on national marine conservation areas is improving over time, notably with the recent addition of the Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and we look forward to several other marine natural regions receiving official protection soon.

Edward Norton Appointed UN Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity

On July 8, 2010 at the UN’s headquarters in New York, actor and director Edward Norton was designated Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon.

Norton, a committed social and environmental activist, is also a major financial supporter for various charitable causes. Last November Norton ran the NYC Marathon in 3h48 min along with three Maasai warriors and a team of 30 people, ultimately raising close to a million dollars for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

In a statement to the press, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon applauded Norton’s long time involvement in sustainable development and conservation issues, “Edward Norton has brought global star power to global issues. His efforts to preserve biodiversity and promote ecosystem integrity in East Africa have been truly impressive.”

The UN and Norton hope to use Norton’s celebrity status to promote awareness on the impact of biodiversity loss. “Environmental conservation, climate change, biodiversity are very much the issues that will define my generation,” stated Norton. Norton hopes to use his new role to inspire young people to take up the challenge of environmental protection as he believes people do not relate as well to the issue of biodiversity loss compared to issues with a human component. “(People) don't necessarily link themselves as directly to a crisis like biodiversity loss, as much as they will to say a refugee crisis. But I think catastrophic events, such as what is happening in the Gulf with the oil spill, do highlight for people that there is an enormous ramification for human well-being to a loss of biodiversity like a fishery,” stated Norton.

Norton's appointment marks the UN's 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, “a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives.”

In September, the UN will hold a General Assembly, gathering 192 heads of state — its first high-level session focusing on biodiversity. Norton hopes leaders will present “compelling examples” of solutions to biodiversity loss that can be translated into concrete government policies.