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British Columbia is almost unique in the developed world in still having such
a variety of significant natural areas and values, and so many remaining options for
their management. The province is an attractive place to live and work because of
those natural values and because of the economic alternatives which they provide.
The population of our province will continue to grow, and we will continue to make
our living from the land and resources. Our challenge is to maintain prosperity and
social harmony while also respecting our responsibilities to steward the land in a manner
that will sustain those special natural values on which we depend and for which we,
increasingly alone in the world have an ability to ensure their continuance. One of the
major components of this stewardship is dealing with species at risk.
The Task Force has been asked by government to develop practical and fiscally
responsible recommendations for improving management of species at risk in British
Columbia. Accordingly, we have elected to build on the many conservation initiatives
that have already been accomplished. Our report provides advice that is aimed at making
early gains on both public and private land while proposing direction for the long term
that will help to address the continuing pressures of development and climate change.
Until now, following the example of the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk
(1996), the province has been largely focusing on individual species, seeking to prevent
extirpation or extinction or to effect recovery at the level of species and populations.
A single-species approach does not adequately deal with the unique conditions of
British Columbia, which has the greatest biodiversity of any province in the country.
Because of that biodiversity, we have an extremely large number of species that are being
assessed at risk.
This approach is leading us down a path of increasing complexity, overlapping initiatives
and unsupportable costs even as the numbers of at-risk species continue to grow. The Task
Force believes that a strategic shift is needed to alter our focus to the landscape level and to
incorporate conservation objectives into mainstream resource management decisions at the
same time as decisions are made leading to new development.
The report outlines impediments to effective management of species at risk and the
remedies needed to address them by refinements to existing statutes, regulations,
management systems and citizen engagement practices. Our advice is embodied in
our statement of a vision of the future in which the province has successfully balanced
its strong resource-based economy with a resilient supporting environment.
In order to contribute to realizing this vision the Task Force makes 16 general
recommendations with associated advice on the actions needed for successful
implementation.
Province of BC. 2011. Report of the British Columbia Task Force on Species at Risk. Province of BC
Topic: Species and Ecosystems at Risk
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