http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0107-01.htm
Published on Monday,
January 7, 2002 by Reuters
North America Facing a Biodiversity Crisis
Pollution and other ills threaten animal species
survival, says a study. Losing those species would hurt humans.
by Robert Melnbardis
QUOTE:
"At the turn of the millennium, North Americans are faced
with the paradox that many activities on which the North
American economy is based impoverish the environment
on which our well-being ultimately depends."
North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation
http://www.cec.org/home/index.cfm?varlan=english
MONTREAL - At least 235 North American animal species such
as the monarch butterfly and northern codfish are threatened
by pollution, human encroachment on their natural habitats,
and aggressive harvesting practices, says an environmental
agency set up under NAFTA.
A broad study by the
North American Commission for Environmental
Cooperation (http://www.cec.org/home/index.cfm?varlan=english),
a Montreal-based agency created under the North American Free
Trade Agreement comprising the United States, Canada and Mexico,
says the continent faces a "biodiversity crisis" in
which threatened
species could disappear. That harms evolution and depletes the
natural environment humans depend on to survive.
Half of North
America's most biodiverse eco-regions are severely
degraded, says the report, which will be formally released to
the three governments today.
"Our report shows
that over the past few decades, the loss and
alteration of habitat has become the main threat to biodiversity,"
said Janine Ferretti, executive director of the commission.
"A significant proportion of the plant and animal species
of
North America is threatened."
The monarch butterfly,
which migrates from Canada to Mexico,
faces a number of threats, including coastal development
in California, deforestation of fir forests in Mexico, and
the use of pesticides on milkweed plants, its main food.
The report notes that
some experts believe humans are "fishing
down the food chain" in over-harvested stocks such as salmon,
cod, halibut and swordfish. That means catching fish that are
needed to rebuild depleted species.
Freshwater species
such as crayfish, 48 percent of which
are at risk, are even more vulnerable to extinction because
they cannot escape to new ecosystems when their own habitats
are degraded by pollution.
An apparent inability
to develop North America's economies
while sustaining its environment not only threatens biodiversity,
but imperils people's future, the report says.
"At the turn of
the millennium, North Americans are faced with
the paradox that many activities on which the North American
economy is based impoverish the environment on which our
well-being ultimately depends," the report says.
It notes that the poor
are the hardest hit by environmental problems.
In an interview, Ferretti
said the United States, Canada and
Mexico had made progress in creating refuges for wildlife,
protecting species, and gathering data on biodiversity.
Much more was needed to reverse the degradation of biodiversity,
she said, adding that she hoped the commission's report,
"The North American Mosaic," would become a key resource
for planning and policymaking.
"It's a panoramic
view of the state of the environment
in North America, and it's the first time that information
from all three countries has been collected on such a broad
sweep of issues," Ferretti said.
Future studies would
focus on a core set of indicators
to provide a snapshot of the state of the environment,
she added.
The current report
raises alarm bells on a number of fronts,
including the effect of modern transportation systems on the
environment, the overuse of water resources and rising threat
of drought, and bio-invasion, the spread of nonnative species
imported into North America.
"Bio-invasion,
that is something that wasn't in our lexicon
10 years ago. The magnitude of this threat is quite significant,"
Ferretti said.
Agriculture and thermoelectric
power generation account
for about 80 percent of water withdrawals in North America.
Irrigation is a particular threat. The Oglala Aquifer
underneath the Great Plains has water resources equivalent
to Lake Huron, but it is being depleted by irrigation faster
than it can recharge, the report says.
Copyright 2001 Reuters
Ltd.
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