Taking Nature's Pulse - Biodiversity BC

VIIItaking nature’s pulse: the status of biodiversity in british columbiaThreats to BiodiversityBiodiversity is under threat around the world. According to the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment morethan half of the earth’s grasslands, forests, rivers and lakes have been degraded, along with their ability to performessential ecosystem functions and support life. Similarly the World Conservation Union (IUCN) has ranked40% of the 40,000 species it has evaluated as being threatened with extinction. With each species that is lost, sotoo is its potential to contribute to the production of food, fuel, building materials, pollination, decomposition,filtration and other services needed to maintain life on the planet.While British Columbia faces many of the same threats that are occurring globally, its biodiversity is in relativelybetter shape due to the shorter history of large-scale human development and the province’s mountainousterrain. However, current trends indicate that threats to B.C. species and ecosystems are increasing.In British Columbia there are six major stresses that threaten biodiversity:• ecosystem conversion (the direct and complete conversion of natural ecosystems to landscapesfor human uses);• ecosystem degradation (change to the structure of a natural system from activities such as forestharvesting or water diversion);• alien species (species that occur outside their native range due to human introduction);• environmental contamination (the release of contaminants into natural systems);• species disturbance (the alteration of the behaviour of species due to human activities);• species mortality (the direct killing of individual organisms).Ecosystem conversion, ecosystem degradation and alien species are the most significant stresses on biodiversityin B.C. and globally.The human activities that contribute most significantly to the stresses on biodiversity in B.C. are associatedwith climate change, agriculture, recreation, urban and rural development, forestry, transportation and utilitycorridors, oil and gas development and water development. Other activities that have important impacts onbiodiversity are grazing, industrial development, mining and aquaculture. Within B.C., human activities are generallyconcentrated in areas of high biodiversity, particularly along rivers, in estuaries and in fertile valleys.