We URGE you to forward this statement to other colleagues and request that they, too, add their names to this statement.
- Copy and send by e-mail to kkavanagh@wwfcanada.org
- Print and fax to (416) 489-3611
*What we plan to do with the statement and signatures.*
We will coordinate and facilitate the presentation of the statement to the Ontario government and the media at a briefing to be held in early December, 1998. We will also use the list of names to advise the Ontario public of the strong support from the scientific and academic communities for increasing the amount of protected lands in Ontario.
A COLLECTIVE STATEMENT OF CONSERVATION CONCERN FROM THE SCIENTIFIC AND ACADEMIC COMMUNITIES REGARDING LANDS FOR LIFE, ONTARIO, CANADA
Whereas conserving biodiversity is of importance to maintaining the natural state of the Earth's biosphere and in turn the quality of life for humankind;
Whereas establishing protected areas systems is fundamentally important to society in providing humankind with a source of natural capital upon which to build a greater diversity of environmental options for future generations; Whereas the principal cause of wildlife extinction and population decline are loss and fragmentation of wild habitat by widespread industrial development;
Whereas industrial mining, forestry and hydroelectric development are incompatible with maintaining the natural integrity of a significant portion of wild habitats;
Whereas a representative, permanent protected areas system is necessary to help maintain diverse genetic resources and for the ongoing function of providing benchmark sites for the evaluation and improvement of surrounding industrial management practices:
Whereas current forest management practices in Ontario, Canada are still experimental with respect to the maintenance of biodiversity, and in court have recently (October 1998) been shown to be in non-compliance with Ontario's own Crown Forest Sustainability Act;
Whereas the Lands for Life Consolidated Report from the Round Tables only recommends protection of an additional 1.6% of the land base within the Lands For Life planning area, bringing the total protected land base to 8.2%, a figure inadequate to sustain ecological integrity and the long term health of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife populations and ecosystem types:
Resolved:
We, the undersigned, wish to convey our collective dismay that Ontario's Lands for Life Round Tables have been unable to bring modern science to bear on the urgent issue of ecosystem protection and failed to recommend completion of a permanent protected areas system representing Ontario's landscape diversity. Accordingly, we call on the Government of Ontario to reject the Round Tables' recommendation to permanently protect only an additional 1.6% of the planning area. Rather, we urge the Government of Ontario to complete, as promised, a protected areas system that is fully representative of Ontario's diverse ecosystem types. Such a system must utilize accepted scientific principles of protected areas design and accepted precautionary principles which, we believe, will require that at least 20% of the planning area be permanently protected.
It is our opinion that to do anything less will lead to the further decline and loss of native habitats, wildlife species, and genetic resources that underpin the ecological integrity of a significant part of the Ontario and
Canadian landscape, and forecloses opportunities for recreational, cultural, spiritual and economic development on a truly sustainable basis.