Document Actions
Solutions That Work
Endangered Species Legislation
To halt the creeping loss of species and destruction of habitat, British Columbia needs robust legislation. Sierra Club BC and our partners are advocating for a BC Species and Habitat Act that would grant immediate legal protection for threatened and endangered species and their habitats. To be effective, such an Act must also provide for recovery plans for those species, with firm timelines and adequate funding to ensure enforcement.
Sierra Club BC has also been focusing on engaging municipal governments. We are asking mayors and councils to endorse the need for a strong Species and Ecosystems Protection Act based on ten key conservation principles.
Thirteen municipalities have so far passed a resolution endorsing the Act: Victoria, Burnaby, Whistler, Abbotsford, Maple Ridge, Saanich, North Saanich, Hudson’s Hope, Fernie, Osoyoos, Coldstream, Mission and Penticton.
Does legislation work? It does, in spades! to confirm that, we only need to look south of the border, were the US has established a fairly robust Endangered Species Act (1973). A 1996 study examining this Act's effectiveness in the northeastern US found that no known endangered species has gone extinct since the Act's implementation and that 93% of species under protection have become stable or increased their population.
Legislation is the first and crucial step, the foundation on which to build a society and an economy that value and protect biodiversity in our province. Other important steps to this goal include:
- Responsible forest management, which takes into account the biological needs of wildlife and ecosystems as well as communities' needs for timber and jobs.
- Making sure that parks and protected areas
are large enough to maintain viable wildlife populations. Protected
areas should be connected by wide corridors to allow wildlife to move
around, helping preserve genetic diversity.
- As consumers of wood and paper products, we can send a powerful signal in the marketplace by only buying products derived from ecologically managed forests - FSC certified or Ancient Forest Friendly.
