Birds link us to the natural world even in the most urban settings. For many people, birds are their first, and favourite connection to nature. And they do so much to keep our ecosystems running smoothly, by controlling rodents and insect pests, scavenging wastes and pollinating plants.
Birds represent not only an important part of our environment in their own right but are a cost effective tool to monitor the health of our entire environment. For many reasons, birds are effective bio-indicators of the health of their, and our, physical, chemical and biological environment.
The truth is that healthy bird populations suggest healthy habitats for all species, including humans.
Sadly, many of Canada’s birds have suffered severe population declines over the past decades. Like other species, birds face mounting pressures on their habitats and populations. Some of these pressures may be due to climate change. Currently, one in eight of the world’s birds are threatened with global extinction, and of the 428 bird species that regularly breed in Canada, 60 are classified as at risk.
The decline of birds in Canada represents a literal ‘canary in the coal mine’ for our environment. The federal government’s recognized migratory bird responsibilities, which derive from the Migratory Birds Convention Act, mean these concerns should be incorporated into all policies, programs and actions affecting nature in Canada, for terrestrial, freshwater and marine areas.
Action Plan
Ask each candidate running in your riding about their commitment to the following action agenda:
• Immediately reverse funding cuts to the Migratory Birds Program of the Canadian Wildlife Service.• Announce a strategy to protect the ecological integrity of Canada’s 597 globally and nationally significant Important Bird Areas.
• By 2009 announce a funded plan to complete and manage Canada's network of National Wildlife Areas and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries, including updating its legal and policy framework.
• Immediately announce that Canada will protect the forests, peatlands, lakes and rivers of the Boreal Forest, breeding habitat for billions of migratory birds each year, by establishing interconnected networks of protected areas and implementing regional land-use plans in the Northwest Territories before approving any large-scale industrial projects, including the Mackenzie Gas Project.
• Enhance bird conservation programs to help species that are in decline, before they are put on the official critical list. Once species are on the critical list, they must be addressed through the onerous and expensive auspices of Species at Risk programs. Keeping common birds common is a much more effective strategy.
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