05/10/2005 - Federal, provincial
and territorial ministers responsible for
Forests, Wildlife, Endangered Species, and
Fisheries and Aquaculture met today in Saskatoon
to review progress on activities targeted
at recovering species at risk and protecting
Canada’s biological diversity.
“Biodiversity is important to all Canadians
and Saskatchewan people are particularly appreciative
of the need to maintain the variety of plant
and animal species on our natural landscapes.
As the host province Minister, I take pleasure
in welcoming my colleagues from across the
nation to our province during this our Centennial
year,” Saskatchewan Environment Minister David
Forbes said.
“We need to accelerate action to conserve
Canada’s biodiversity and recover species
at risk,” said Canada’s Environment Minister
Stéphane Dion. “A healthy natural environment
supports not only the health and well-being
of Canadians, but also contributes to sustaining
a strong and dynamic economy for Canada, both
for today and for the future. I invite all
of our governments to consider investing the
funds necessary to implement the activities
agreed to by Ministers today.”
Ministers today approved a plan to develop
a Biodiversity Outcomes Framework for Canada.
This Framework will build on ten years of
collaboration and on existing plans and strategies
implemented by all jurisdictions and will
better equip federal, provincial and territorial
governments to manage, measure, and report
on biodiversity conservation in Canada. The
newly approved plan sets the stage for a joint
federal-provincial-territorial work program
and consultations with a range of stakeholders
in order to complete the Framework by the
fall of 2006.
The general approach to conserve Canada’s
biodiversity supports a number of concrete
activities agreed to by Ministers. In this
context, Ministers recognize the risks posed
by wildlife diseases not only to wildlife,
but also to human health and Canada’s long-term
economic sustainability. Ministers also acknowledge
the potential negative impact of wildlife
disease on the Canadian cattle industry. Ministers
addressed this important issue and approved
the National Wildlife Disease Strategy, which
provides a broad national framework to deal
with wildlife disease issues. The National
Wildlife Disease Strategy aims to minimize
the damaging effects of wildlife diseases
on wildlife, livestock,human health and the
economy.
Ministers also approved the National Chronic
Wasting Disease Control Strategy. Chronic
Wasting Disease (CWD) is an infectious, fatal
disease affecting deer and elk. The goal of
the Strategy is to eradicate CWD from Canada
or control it so it does not spread to new
geographic areas or species. The need for
a national approach has been demonstrated
by the recent discovery of CWD cases in Alberta
and New York State and by the expansion of
the disease in Saskatchewan.
Ministers also endorsed the Action Plan for
Invasive Alien Terrestrial Plants and Plant
Pests - Phase Two, and the Implementation
Strategy 2005-07 for Aquatic Invasive Species,
which will further implement the Invasive
Alien Species Strategy for Canada approved
last year. Invasive alien species, such as
zebra mussels in the aquatic environment and
the weed purple loosestrife, threaten Canada’s
biodiversity, economy and society. Federal,provincial
and territorial governments will now build
on existing partnerships and establish new
collaborative efforts to prevent the introduction
of new invasive alien species into Canadian
habitats and to manage and prevent the spread
of existing invasive alien species.
A key initiative to encourage collaborative
action is the Invasive Species Partnership
Program, which Ministers approved today. This
national, federally-funded program will allocate
up to $1 million annually for five years to
community-based projects aimed at reducing
the introduction and spread of invasive alien
species. Ministers instructed their Deputy
Ministers to engage officials responsible
for national, provincial and territorial parks
and protected areas in addressing invasive
species, and called for a federal-provincial-territorial
meeting of Ministers responsible for parks.
Ministers also noted the role Canada’s Aboriginal
people play in conserving our biological diversity.
It was recognized by Ministers that protecting
our resources requires continuing consultation
and cooperation. Ministers agreed to focus
continuing attention on national cooperation
to examine best practices as well as encourage
capacity building to include effective involvement
by Aboriginal people and communities in natural
resource management. They also agreed to meet
in the coming year with the NACOSAR (National
Aboriginal Committee on Species at Risk) to
discuss species at risk programming across
Canada.
A discussion paper for consultation with
Canadians was approved by Ministers, setting
out the policy questions and issues relating
to Access to genetic resources and Benefit
Sharing (ABS). ABS is the third objective
of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity,
which calls for "the fair and equitable
sharing of the benefits arising out of the
use of genetic resources and associated traditional
knowledge". The Ministers agreed to continue
assessing the challenges and opportunities
of developing ABS policies in Canada, with
the aim of making it a priority to promote
Canada's social, environmental and commercial
interests.
Ministers responsible for species at risk
made progress on several matters at the Canadian
Endangered Species Conservation Council (CESCC)
annual meeting. The ministers discussed recovery
of at-risk species and released the 15th annual
Recovery of Nationally Endangered Wildlife
Program (RENEW) report and its companion document
entitled “Saving the Wild”. The RENEW Report
provides information on the status of recovery
planning and implementation in Canada.
CESCC also released the Committee on the Status
of Endangered Wildlife in Canada’s (COSEWIC)
annual report on the status of species at
risk in Canada. Ministers thanked COSEWIC
for their work on assessing at-risk species
and provided guidance to COSEWIC for its work
in the coming year.
Ministers reviewed progress on the development
of bilateral agreements on species at risk
and the recently completed and signed Canada
- British Columbia bilateral agreement as
an example. In addition, other provinces,
territories and the Government of Canada are
committed to completing their respective bilateral
agreements.
Minister Michael Miltenberger, NWT, will host
next year’s meetings in the Northwest Territories.
