WWF_LP_FALL_2020_FIN

CONSERVATION
CANADA’S FRESHWATER
REPORT CARD
A herd of walruses
Western painted
turtle
WWF-Canada’s new 2020 Watershed
Report just gave 42 of our country’s
sub-watersheds a health score of Good
or Very Good while 21 scored Fair and
four scored Poor or Very Poor. This
sounds like great news — except that
Canada is home to 167 sub-watersheds,
and there isn’t enough data for 100 of
them to be scored at all.
This is a slight improvement from
our 2017 report, Canada’s first-ever
national assessment of freshwater
health and threats, which lacked
information for 110 sub-watersheds.
But these significant data deficiencies
remain a major concern.
This lack of comprehensive, openaccess
water data means we can’t fully
understand how threats from human
activities — ranging from pollution and
habitat loss to overuse and climate
change — are impacting freshwater
health. This is why WWF-Canada is
working with groups across Canada to
improve and expand our data collection
and provide up-to-date information for
our regular reassessment.
We’ve also invested in restoring
threatened landscapes and communitybased
monitoring — like STREAM, our
Sequencing the Rivers for Environmental
Assessment and Monitoring program
— to safeguard freshwater ecosystems.
But more work is needed. Without
a coordinated approach, including
a standardized, widespread and
consistent national monitoring system,
it is impossible to ensure Canada’s
freshwater health.
Learn more about the health of your
watershed at watershedreports.wwf.ca.
© SHUTTERSTOCK
© CATHERINE PAQUETTE
CONSERVATION
OUR ARCTIC SPECIES
CONSERVATION
FUND CONTINUES
DURING COVID-19
With wildlife research and stewardship
largely on hold in Nunavut as
the territory remains closed to nonessential
travel to stay COVID-19
free, our new Arctic Species Conservation
Fund (ASCF) season is focusing
on community-led efforts.
These include investigating the
YOUR IMPACT
INNOVATING FOR
FRESHWATER HEALTH
Citizens scientists in Sudbury, Ontario receive
STREAM water monitoring training
impact of microplastics on walrus
in Iqaluit; developing new stressmonitoring
techniques for narwhal;
locally-led harvest monitoring of caribou
in Kivalliq; analyzing years of
caribou collar data on habitat use and
calving ground locations; monitoring
walrus haulouts to gauge shipping
disturbances; enhancing our humanpolar
bear conflict reduction work in
Whale Cove with camera traps; and
an on-the-land clean-up within the
proposed boundaries for Aviqtuuq
Inuit Protected and Conserved Area
outside Taloyoak.
Now more than ever, the ASCF
supports local projects that continue
vital wildlife monitoring while ensuring
the safety of our partners during
the pandemic.
Our Generation Water Tech Challenge
has given four recipients the opportunity
to advance their bold solutions
for improving Canada’s freshwater
health. Throughout the challenge, our
innovators have worked closely with
staff from WWF-Canada and the
Centre for Social Innovation’s Climate
Ventures Earth Tech accelerator program
to help bring their ideas to life.
From tackling road salt issues with
artificial intelligence to digitizing
microbial activity in real-time, these
technological tools are revolutionizing
how we monitor and safeguard
Canada’s waterways.
© TOM ARNBOM / WWF-SWEDEN
LIVING PLANET FALL 2020 — PAGE 6