This text is taken from the Courrier de la Planète of October 18, 2022. To subscribe, click here.
According to the most recent report living planet World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the planet’s biodiversity has declined dramatically over the past 50 years. On a global scale, the document mentions a decline of 70% for 31,821 animal populations of 5,230 different species between 1970 and 2018.
On a North American scale, the document puts the drop at around 20% over the same period, and this affects a variety of species of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. This observation includes Canada, which will host the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) in Montreal in December.
“There is a huge decline in biodiversity all over the world, including in Canada. Species and populations of species are experiencing this decline and the problem must be tackled,” says Catherine Paquette, Freshwater Ecosystems Specialist for the Canadian branch of the WWF.
She recalls that the most recent report Living Planet Canadapublished in 2020, also testified to the seriousness of the situation for species assessed as being at risk in the country by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
According to what emerges from the findings of the environmental organization, the populations of these species have declined by 59% between 1970 and 2016. For species whose conservation concerns on a global scale and which are threatened with extinction according to the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the decline in numbers amounts to 42% over the same period.
“Species continue to decline, even after they are listed as endangered and given more protection. It is very rare that they are removed from this list of species at risk. It tells us that what we are doing is not enough,” laments Ms. Paquette.
Climate and biological crisis
She underlines at the same time that biodiversity is directly affected by several problems, including the loss of habitats, in particular due to urban sprawl. It must be said that this diversity of species is greater in the southern portion of the territory, where the vast majority of the population is found. In Quebec, the example of the chorus frog illustrates the problem well, since this small batrachian has lost more than 90% of its habitat.
Added to this is climate change. “Climate change is one of the main threats. The decline in biodiversity is directly linked to this. We have even reached a point where climate change will become the greatest threat to animal populations. »
The rise in mercury is indeed likely to severely disrupt natural habitats, and the species that depend on them may not be able to adapt to these upheavals. This is the case, for example, of the migratory caribou, a species that was very abundant barely 30 years ago.
In this context, it is important to accelerate the establishment of protected areas. “You have to establish areas that are important for biodiversity, for example because there are several species there, or several species at risk. We can also think of areas that are essential for the reproduction of species,” explains Catherine Paquette.
The federal government has promised to protect 30% of marine and terrestrial natural environments by 2030. The Quebec government has made the same commitment. But in both cases, it remains to be seen where the natural areas that will be preserved will be located.
Ecological footprint
The WWF report also highlights the extent of the “ecological footprint” of Canadians. This indicator measures the number of hectares needed annually to meet our needs, for example to grow what we eat, produce our consumer goods, eliminate our waste, etc.
In Canada, this amounts to about 7.5 hectares per person, while the world average is 2.8 hectares and the carrying capacity of the planet is around 1.6 hectares. This measurement of the impact of our way of life on our consumption of resources is consistent with Overshoot Day, which indicates the day of the year when humanity has consumed all the resources that the planet can generate in one year. This year, that day happened on July 28, but if all humans consumed like a Canadian, that day would have happened on March 13.
The very significant ecological footprint of Canadians does not surprise Émile Boisseau-Bouvier, analyst of climate policies and ecological transition for Équiterre. “We measure our well-being a lot by GDP growth alone. When we use this indicator, we promote an economy that is linear and extractivist in which we waste our resources and eat away more and more territory. »
To change the paradigm, he believes that we would have to act on several fronts: reduce our energy consumption and our greenhouse gas emissions, but also review land use planning, the “sustainability” of our consumer goods and reduce the place of advertising, which pushes us to consume more and more.