Is Canada fulfilling its obligations to sustain marine biodiversity? A summary review, conclusions, and recommendations 1This manuscript is a companion paper to Hutchings et al. (doi:10.1139/a2012-011) and VanderZwaag et al. (doi:10.1139/a2012-013) also appearing in this issue. These three papers comprise an edited version of a February 2012 Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel Report.

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Hutchings ◽  
Isabelle M. Côté ◽  
Julian J. Dodson ◽  
Ian A. Fleming ◽  
S. Jennings ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
New Research ◽  
Research Initiatives ◽  
Developed Nations

Canada has made numerous national and international commitments to sustain marine biodiversity. Given current and potential threats to biodiversity from climate change, fisheries, and aquaculture, we provide a summary review of Canada’s progress in fulfilling its obligations to protect, conserve, recover, and responsibly exploit marine biodiversity. We conclude that Canada has made little substantive progress, when compared to most developed nations, in meeting its biodiversity commitments. Much of Canada’s policy and rhetoric has not been operationalised, leaving many of the country’s national and international obligations unfulfilled in some key areas, such as the establishment of marine protected areas and incorporation of the precautionary approach to fisheries management. We conclude that regulatory conflict within Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the absolute discretion exercised by the national Minister of Fisheries and Oceans contribute significantly to an unduly slow rate of policy and statute implementation. We recommend new approaches and measures to sustain Canadian marine biodiversity and new research initiatives to support scientific advice to decision-makers. Many recommendations focus on management actions required to meet existing commitments to biodiversity conservation. Overall, we conclude that the most effective strategy is to protect existing biological diversity and to rebuild depleted populations and species to restore natural diversity. By improving and protecting the biodiversity in Canada’s oceans, such a strategy will restore the natural resilience of Canada’s ocean ecosystems to adapt to the challenges posed by climate change and other anthropogenic activities with consequent long-term benefits for food security and social and economic well-being.

Climate change, fisheries, and aquaculture: trends and consequences for Canadian marine biodiversity 1This manuscript is a companion paper to Vander Zwaag et al. (doi:10.1139/a2012-013) and Hutchings et al. (doi:10.1139/er-2012-0049) also appearing in this issue. These three papers comprise an edited version of a February 2012 Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel Report.

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 220-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Hutchings ◽  
Isabelle M. Côté ◽  
Julian J. Dodson ◽  
Ian A. Fleming ◽  
S. Jennings ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Marked Change ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Projected Changes

Climate change, fishing, and aquaculture have affected and will continue to influence Canadian marine biodiversity, albeit at different spatial scales. The Arctic is notably affected by reduced quality and quantity of sea ice caused by global warming, and by concomitant and forecasted changes in ocean productivity, species ecology, and human activity. The Atlantic has been especially impacted by severe overfishing and human-induced alterations to food webs. Climate change, fishing, and aquaculture have all affected, to varying degrees, biodiversity on Canada’s Pacific coast. Past and projected trends in key biodiversity stressors reveal marked change. Oceanographic trends include increasing surface water temperatures, reduced salinity, increased acidity, and, in some areas, reduced oxygen. Reductions in Canada’s fishery catches (those in 2009 were half those of the late 1980s), followed by reductions in fishing pressure, are associated with dramatic changes in the species composition of commercial catches in the Atlantic (formerly groundfish, now predominantly invertebrates and pelagic fish) and the Pacific (formerly salmon, now predominantly groundfish). Aquaculture, dominated by the farming of Atlantic salmon, grew rapidly from the early 1980s until 2002 and has since stabilized. Climate change is forecast to affect marine biodiversity by shifting species distributions, changing species community composition, decoupling the timing of species’ resource requirements and resource availability, and reducing habitat quality. Harvest-related reductions in fish abundance, many by 80% or more, coupled with fishing-induced changes to food webs, are impairing the capacity of species to recover or even persist. Open-sea aquaculture net pens affect biodiversity by (i) habitat alteration resulting from organic wastes, chemical inputs, and use of nonnative species; (ii) exchange of pathogens between farmed and wild species; and (iii) interbreeding between wild fish and farmed escapees. Physical and biological changes in the oceans, along with direct anthropogenic impacts, are modifying Canadian marine biodiversity with implications for food security and the social and economic well-being of coastal communities. To assess the consequences of changes in biodiversity for Canada’s oceans and society, it is necessary to understand the current state of marine biodiversity and how it might be affected by projected changes in climate and human uses.

BAIKAL REGION IN THE UNESCO “MAN AND BIOCPHERE” PROGRAMME

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
V.M. PLYUSNIN ◽  
◽  
I.N. VLADIMIROV ◽  
A.A. SOROKOVOI
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Baikal Region ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Resource Exploitation ◽  
Biosphere Reserves ◽  
Climate Change Research ◽  
Territorial Planning ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Natural Resource Exploitation

The main objective of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program is to ensure a balance between the responsibility of humankind to preserve nature and its biological diversity and the need of natural resource exploitation by human being to improve the social and economic well-being of people. Biosphere reserves are recommended as representative objects for the conservation of biological diversity and, in general, ecological systems. The world network of Biosphere reserves in 2020 included 714 Biosphere reserves in 129 countries, in Russia there are 46 of them. They also act as models for achieving the goals and objectives of sustainable development of territories. The tasks include research related to climate change and the response of natural processes to these changes, implementation of space and cartographic monitoring of nature, educational activities and activities aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change. Research on the relationship between man and the biosphere in the Baikal region was carried out with an integrated environmentally oriented planning and use of lands, water and biological resources. For the Lake Baikal World Natural Heritage Site, we have carried out territorial planning and zoning, as well as determined the ecological potential of the landscapes of the Baikal natural territory.

scholarly journals Sustaining Canadian marine biodiversity: Policy and statutory progress

FACETS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 264-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Hutchings ◽  
Julia K. Baum ◽  
Susanna D. Fuller ◽  
Josh Laughren ◽  
David L. VanderZwaag
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Discretionary Power ◽  
Sustainable Fisheries ◽  
Fisheries Policy ◽  
Biodiversity Policy ◽  
Fisheries Act

A 2012 Expert Panel Report on marine biodiversity by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) concluded that Canada faced significant challenges in achieving sustainable fisheries, regulating aquaculture, and accounting for climate change. Relative to many countries, progress by Canada in fulfilling international obligations to sustain biodiversity was deemed poor. To track progress by Canada since 2012, the RSC struck a committee to track policy and statutory developments on matters pertaining to marine biodiversity and to identify policy challenges, and leading options for implementation that lie ahead. The report by the Policy Briefing Committee is presented here. It concluded that Canada has made moderate to good progress in some areas, such as prioritization of oceans stewardship and strengthening of the evidentiary use of science in decision-making. Key statutes were strengthened through amendments, including requirements to rebuild depleted fisheries ( Fisheries Act) and new means of creating marine protected areas ( Oceans Act) that allowed Canada to exceed its international obligation to protect 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020. Public release of mandate letters has strengthened ministerial accountability. However, little or no progress has been made in reducing regulatory conflict with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), decreasing ministerial discretion under the Fisheries Act, clarifying the role of science in sustainable fisheries policy, and accounting for climate change. Five future policy challenges are identified: (1) Ensure climate change impacts and projections are incorporated into ocean-related decision making and planning processes; (2) Resolve DFO’s regulatory conflict to conserve and exploit biodiversity; (3) Limit ministerial discretionary power in fisheries management decisions; (4) Clarify ambiguities in how the Precautionary Approach is applied in sustainable fisheries policy; and (5) Advance and implement marine spatial planning. Since 2012, there has been progress in recovering and sustaining the health of Canada’s oceans. Failure to further strengthen biodiversity conservation threatens the capacity of Canada’s oceans to provide ecosystem services that contribute to the resilience of marine life and the well-being of humankind. Unprecedented and enduring changes in the ocean caused by climate change have made the achievement of meaningful progress all the more urgent.

scholarly journals A review of the challenges and opportunities for restoring animal-mediated pollination of native plants

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Cariveau ◽  
Bethanne Bruninga-Socolar ◽  
Gabriella L. Pardee
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Restoration Success ◽  
Scale Management

Ecological restoration is increasingly implemented to reverse habitat loss and concomitant declines in biological diversity. Typically, restoration success is evaluated by measuring the abundance and/or diversity of a single taxon. However, for a restoration to be successful and persistent, critical ecosystem functions such as animal-mediated pollination must be maintained. In this review, we focus on three aspects of pollination within ecological restorations. First, we address the need to measure pollination directly in restored habitats. Proxies such as pollinator abundance and richness do not always accurately assess pollination function. Pollen supplementation experiments, pollen deposition studies, and pollen transport networks are more robust methods for assessing pollination function within restorations. Second, we highlight how local-scale management and landscape-level factors may influence pollination within restorations. Local-scale management actions such as prescribed fire and removal of non-native species can have large impacts on pollinator communities and ultimately on pollination services. In addition, landscape context including proximity and connectivity to natural habitats may be an important factor for land managers and conservation practitioners to consider to maximize restoration success. Third, as climate change is predicted to be a primary driver of future loss in biodiversity, we discuss the potential effects climate change may have on animal-mediated pollination within restorations. An increased mechanistic understanding of how climate change affects pollination and incorporation of climate change predictions will help practitioners design stable, functioning restorations into the future.

Marketing Linkages: Secretariat Governance of the Climate-Biodiversity Interface

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sikina Jinnah
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Active Player ◽  
Executive Secretary ◽  
Response Measures

In this article I argue that, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), led by its autonomously entrepreneurial Executive Secretary, influences overlap management by strategically linking biodiversity and climate change issues. Specifically, the Secretariat marketed (filtered, framed, and reiterated) strategic frames of the biodiversity-climate change interface that reframed biodiversity from a passive victim of climate impacts, to an active player in climate response measures (i.e. adaptation). This reframing is significant in that a major hurdle to selling the benefits of biodiversity conservation to countries with more pressing development concerns has been the perceived limited relevance of conservation to human well-being. In emphasizing biodiversity's role in human adaptation and security, the Secretariat has begun to shape member state discourse surrounding the biodiversity-climate change linkage. Ultimately aimed at enriching our emerging theoretical understanding of the role of international bureaucracies in global governance, this article illuminates: (1) how the Secretariat understands and manages biodiversity-climate linkages; (2) the origins of the Secretariat's understanding and activities surrounding this issue; and (3) how Secretariat participation in overlap management is beginning to influence CBD political processes and outcomes.

scholarly journals New data on the distribution of Menyanthes trifoliata, Carex limosa and Comarum palustre in "Torfeno Branishte" Reserve, "Vitosha" Natural Park, Bulgaria

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Bancheva ◽  
Rayna Natcheva ◽  
Vladimir Vladimirov ◽  
Atanas Tanev ◽  
Galin Gospodinov
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Natural State ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Natural Park ◽  
Comarum Palustre ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Menyanthes Trifoliata

"Torfeno Branishte" is a Reserve located in "Vitosha" Natural Park, Bulgaria. It was established in 1935 to preserve the peat communities in the high parts of Vitosha Mountain in their natural state. The reserve comprises Bulgaria’s most significant complex of high mountain peatlands. Their age is estimated to be over 1500 years old, and the thickness of the peat cover accumulated during that time can reach up to 2 meters in depth. Their current area is 785.3 hectares. Plant communities dominated or participated by Sphagnum L. and/or other peat-forming mosses are very sensitive to climate change and anthropogenic impact. They often house a large number of plant species with conservation significance. The purpose of this study is to provide new data on the distribution of three extremely rare and endangered plant species. During a field study in "Vitosha" Natural Park related to the selection of sites for monitoring and installation of permanent monitoring sites for climate change monitoring in nature reserve "Torfeno Branishte", two species were found that were considered extinct from the territory of the mountain – Menyanthes trifoliata L. and Carex limosa L. Both species are protected by the Biological Diversity Act and are included in the Red Data Book of Republic of Bulgaria (Peev 2015). Prior to this study, for decades they have been purposefully searched for with no positive result. As a result of this study, the number and population sizes of M. trifoliata and C. limosa were determined. In addition, the populations of Comarum palustre L. and Carex limosa L. that occur at the same location were found to be much larger than previously known. Population sizes of the three species are low, but still viable. The major threat to the well-being of these species is the drought.

scholarly journals Biological diversity in a changing world

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1558) ◽  
pp. 3593-3597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne E. Magurran ◽  
Maria Dornelas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Evolutionary Processes ◽  
The World ◽  
Natural Change

From the pioneering explorations of Joseph Banks (later a President of the Royal Society), to the present day, a great deal has been learnt about the extent, distribution and stability of biological diversity in the world. We now know that diverse life can be found even in the most inhospitable places. We have also learned that biological diversity changes through time over both large and small temporal scales. These natural changes track environmental conditions, and reflect ecological and evolutionary processes. However, anthropogenic activities, including overexploitation, habitat loss and climate change, are currently causing profound transformations in ecosystems and unprecedented loss of biological diversity. This series of papers considers temporal variation in biological diversity, examines the extent of human-related change relative to underlying natural change and builds on these insights to develop tools and policies to help guide us towards a sustainable future.

scholarly journals What Is the Future of the Lower Mekong Basin Struggling against Human Activities? A Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Meur Mathieu ◽  
Vo Le Phu ◽  
Gratiot Nicolas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Mekong River ◽  
International Consultation ◽  
The World ◽  
Lower Mekong Basin ◽  
Negative Impacts

The Mekong River (MR) is recognized the 12th biggest rivers in the world. The Mekong watershed is the biggest one in Southeast Asia (795,000 km2), is densely populated (70 million people), is considered as the most productive one in Southeast Asia and is economically essential to the region. However, nowadays, the Lower Mekong River (LMR) and its delta are facing several emerging and critical anthropogenic stressors (dams construction, climate change, water poor quality, delta sinking). This review attempts to: (i) present the Mekong regional characteristics (geography, topological settings, climatic conditions, hydrology, demographic features and the anthropogenic activities), (ii) present the different factors that endanger the LMR, including the dam’s impacts, the climate change, the delta subsidence, and the degradation of the water quality, (iii) make comparison with different big rivers around the world and (iv) promote future decisions in order to minimize the negative impacts and seek for a trajectory that assures well-being and sustainability. International consultation and cooperation leading to sustainable management is now of a pivotal importance to try to avoid the deterioration of the LMR and its delta.

scholarly journals Governance Challenges for Implementing Nature-Based Solutions in the Asian Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 102-113
Author(s):  
Kanako Morita ◽  
Ken'ichi Matsumoto
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Societal Challenges ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
Stages Of Economic Development

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are recognized under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. This relatively new concept has become a key element in strategies for green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. NbS consist of a range of measures that address various societal challenges, including climate change, natural disasters, and water security, by combining human well-being and biodiversity benefits. Although the importance of NbS has been widely recognized, existing studies on aspects of their governance are limited and mainly focus on NbS in European countries. There is little relevant research in other regions, including Asia. This study aimed to explore challenges for NbS governance by analyzing the development and implementation of NbS in Asia. We focused on NbS in the fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and infrastructure. In these three fields, NbS are linked to climate security issues and have been widely implemented in Asian countries. This analysis identified the challenges for NbS governance for countries at different stages of economic development, and for developing measures for NbS with different institutions and actors. It recognizes the importance of a framework that matches the need for NbS with relevant institutions and actors at various scales and in various sectors. Guidelines are required to integrate NbS into strategies and policies at national and local levels and also into international cooperation.

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