Advertisement

With the world on track to lose two-thirds of global wildlife in one lifetime, Canada has a huge responsibility

The world has lost nearly 60 per cent of the global wildlife population since 1970 due to human activity and is on track to lose more than two-thirds by 2020, says the World Wildlife Fund in a shocking report.

Canada is faring better than many countries but it has an enormous share of the world's biodiversity and it's falling short of protecting it, says the report by the conservation group.

James Snider, vice-president of science at WWF Canada, says the global trends are very drastic.

"In Canada the reductions may be not quite as severe and I think that is evidence of the unique role that Canada can play on a global stage, given the vast natural resources and wildlife that we do have," Snider told Yahoo Canada News.

"But that is not to say there are not individual concerns here in Canada."

This country has about 20 per cent of the world's freshwater supply and one quarter of the world's remaining wetlands.

Globally, freshwater wildlife populations have declined 81 per cent over the past four decades.

In Canada, seven of eight species of freshwater turtle are at risk, along with freshwater mussels in southern Ontario, Snider points out, along with several species of fish.

Yet there is not a consistent monitoring program for freshwater species, he said.

This country protects about 1.05 million square kilometres of land and freshwater habitat - covering about 10.6 per cent of the total, according to Environment Canada.

It's a big number but falls far short of the 17 per cent target laid out in the international Convention on Biological Diversity, says WWF Canada.

Canada is home to 10 per cent of the world's remaining forests, a "global responsibility," Snider said.

It also has the longest coastline of any nation on Earth.

Around the world, there has been a 36 per cent decline in ocean species since 1970, due mainly to overfishing, habitat loss and climate change.

ALSO READ: Researchers say the near total destruction of a massive starfish is changing the ocean off the B.C. coast

This country is not immune. Cod stocks off of Newfoundland collapsed three decades ago and today the WWF warns that forage stocks such as capelin, herring and mackerel are in trouble and are not being properly monitored.

"Canada has not done a very good job in terms of protecting our oceans," Snider said.

About 0.9 per cent of Canadian ocean territory is protected - far short of the 10 per cent target in the international Convention on Biological Diversity.

Species such as beluga and North Atlantic right whales ply Canadian waters, Snider points out.

"These populations, really kind of majestic species, would benefit from increased levels of marine protection," he said.

This country is home to about 70,000 species, 739 of which are deemed at risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

The report says habitat loss is the biggest threat, citing the decline in caribou. Once found in 80 per cent of the country, some herds have declined more than 95 per cent.

In the Arctic, Canada is already experiencing some of the most dramatic effects of climate change. Even if the nations of the world manage to hold the global temperature increase to between 1.5C and 2C, that will mean between 3.5C and 5C warming in the Arctic.

David Miller, president of WWF Canada, said the report is a reminder that people are pushing the planet into dangerous new territory.

"We know that here in Canada, our wildlife and their habitats are under increasing pressure from climate change and other human activities," he said in a statement. "We have a unique responsibility to help protect the world's biodiversity."