While the federal government’s latest State of Canada’s Birds report has some startling numbers on bird declines across the country, it still offers some hope that things can improve.
That’s according to Megan Lafferty of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. The report, issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada on behalf of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, looks at the population trends of 400 bird species since 1970.
(Graph courtesy NABCI Canada.)
It shows the country’s grasslands have lost an estimated 300-million birds over the last 50 years. 55 of 58 seabirds in Canadian waters are ranked as “special concern” while 20 species are at risk of extinction.
Lafferty says while the impacts of human habitation and pollution are dramatic, there is still cause for optimism.
(Photo courtesy Nature Conservancy of Canada.)
Since the ban on DDT for example, there have been big improvements in the population of waterfowl and birds of prey.
She says the North American Conservation Act, a 30-year international collaboration to protect species across borders, is also working.
Read the full report on NABCI Canada’s website at this link.
(Photo courtesy Nature Conservancy of Canada.)
Megan Lafferty spoke with VOCM’s Linda Swain. Listen below:
