{"id":4444,"date":"2023-03-09T15:09:38","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T15:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nebn.davidbeyer.ca\/?p=4444"},"modified":"2023-03-17T17:08:58","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T17:08:58","slug":"niagara-escarpment-biodiversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/niagara-escarpment-biodiversity\/","title":{"rendered":"Niagara Escarpment Biodiversity"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines biodiversity as <\/span>the variability among living organisms from all sources including, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including diversity within species, between species<\/span>,<\/span> and of ecosystems.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 725-kilometre long cuesta known as the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario rises in Queenston, heads up through Carolinian forest, and ducks under the waves of Georgian Bay in Tobermory, leaving glimpses in the form of islands in Fathom Five National Marine Park. Covered by glacial melt waters only recently given it\u2019s 420 million geological history, the ridge meanders as fish habitat emerging again on Manitoulin Island and beyond across the Great Arc into Michigan and Wisconsin. Given it\u2019s continuous, sinuous length through a range of latitudes, it epitomizes biodiversity serving as core habitat and as a continuous wildlife corridor.<\/p>\n

In establishing the <\/span>Niagara Escarpment as a Biosphere Reserve<\/span> in 1990<\/span>, UNESCO reminds us that the <\/span>E<\/span>scarpment is <\/span>the largest contiguous stretch of primarily forested land in south-central Ontario with habitats ranging over more than 430 m<\/span>etres<\/span> in elevation<\/span>, <\/span>including Great Lakes coastlines, cliff edges, talus slopes, wetlands, woodlands, limestone alvar pavements, oak savannahs, conifer swamps<\/span>,<\/span> and many others. These habitats collectively boast the highest level of species diversity among Canadian biosphere reserves, including more than 300 bird species, 55 mammals, 36 reptiles and amphibians, 90 fish<\/span>,<\/span> and 100 varieties of special interest flora.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite <\/span>current threats to Ontario\u2019s Greenbelt (which includes the escarpment) and t<\/span>he common understanding that the world <\/span>is <\/span>in <\/span>the midst of the<\/span> sixth <\/span>mass <\/span>species <\/span>extinction, <\/span>this is a hopeful time for biodiversity conservation with Canada playing a key role. In December 2022, the world came to Montreal to participate in<\/span> the U.N. <\/span>Convention of the Parties<\/span> (<\/span>COP15<\/span>)<\/span>. The end result was signing of the <\/span>Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework<\/span><\/a>, committing countries to protect 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030, recognizing Indigenous leadership as a central pillar of achieving these goals<\/span>,<\/span> and reaffirming Indigenous <\/span>p<\/span>eoples\u2019 right to free, prior<\/span>,<\/span> and informed consent to development projects taking place on their territories. In February 2023, the <\/span>5<\/span>th<\/span> International Marine Protected Areas Congress<\/span><\/a> (IMPAC5) in Vancouver resulted in more conservation commitments.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Niagara Escarpment is key to <\/span>biodiversity conservation in Ontario. <\/span>An earlier Conservative government <\/span>led by Premier Bill Davis <\/span>did their part<\/span>. W<\/span>hat will we do to continue it\u2019s protection<\/span>, and encourage the current Conservative government to <\/span>go back to the future<\/span>?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0By Brian McHattie is a board member of the Sources of Knowledge Forum.www.sourcesofknowledge.ca<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources of Knowledge Forum<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Groups across the <\/span>E<\/span>scarpment landscape continue to celebrate biodiversity. On April 28<\/span> to <\/span>30, 2023, the Sources of Knowledge in Tobermory, Ontario will hold it\u2019s 13<\/span>th<\/span> annual<\/span> forum with a focus on the Saugeen (Bruce) Peninsula<\/span>. L<\/span>earn more at <\/span>www.sourcesofknowledge.ca<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

As Parks Canada states<\/span>, a<\/span>ll of nature is connected. But sometimes things get disconnected.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wildlife living in national parks cross their boundaries all the time in order to access what they need to survive. But roads and railways make it hard for wildlife to travel from one area to another. Dams can interrupt the flow of streams and rivers. Logging, mining<\/span>,<\/span> and urban development can impede the movements of many animals, whether they\u2019re traveling vast distances (birds, grizzly bears, wolves) or just down to the local pond (turtles and frogs).<\/span><\/p>\n

Nature needs its connections big and small, just as humans need theirs. Such connections are the arteries of the living world, helping life circulate and oxygenating entire ecosystems. Here are some ways Parks Canada and its partners are improving ecological connectivity<\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0Maintaining the \u201cunimpeded movement of species and the flow of natural processes that sustain life on earth\u201d (from the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species<\/span><\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0Protecting habitat corridors that knit together fragmented landscapes<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0Lessening the impacts of fragmented habitats that make it hard for species to move and interact over large spaces<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u00a0Creating the links required to conserve biodiversity, foster ecological integrity, and support the recovery of species at risk<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines biodiversity as the variability among living organisms from all sources including, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems. The 725-kilometre long cuesta known as the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario rises in Queenston, heads up through Carolinian forest, and ducks under the […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4444"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4459,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4444\/revisions\/4459"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nebnetwork.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}