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Climate Change and Canada’ Canada’ss National Park System The David Suzuki Foundation was an official reviewer of the new Environment Canada and Parks Canada report, Climate Change and Canada’s National Park System. The following material, prepared by the Foundation, contains highlights from the report. Decades of conser vation work could be destr oyed by global war ming conservation destroyed warming Climate change will dramatically alter many of Canada’s 39 majestic national parks, according to a new report by Environment Canada and Parks Canada. areas may not be able to safeguard their survival. The congress also stressed government action is needed to help slow global warming. What is climate change? From the untouched wilderness of the Yukon’s remote Ivvavik National Park to the stunning fjords, glacial lakes and stunted forests of Newfoundland’s rugged Gros Morne National Park, climate change has the potential to erode decades of conservation efforts in Canada. In fact, 31 of the 39 parks are expected to move out of their ecoclimatic zones. Several plant and animal species may face extinction and forest fires and drought could become more common under modeled scenarios. As temperatures increase and seasons change, southern non-native species are likely to invade our forests, rivers, valleys, mountains and lakes, threatening the future of Canada’s national parks. In Parks Canada’s 1997 State of the National Parks report, climate change was, even then, identified as a stressor causing significant ecological impacts in seven parks. The new preliminary study suggests the effects of climate change will increase in all of the country’s national parks, including those already under severe stress. Protecting these areas and minimizing damage will be an unparalleled challenge. The findings of the federal study are similar to those of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s 4th World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas. It concluded that climate change presents an urgent threat to all ecosystems and species and that existing protected The David Suzuki Foundation Naturally occurring gases in the Earth’s atmosphere (including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) trap heat radiated from the planet’s surface and atmosphere. This produces a natural greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth warm enough to sustain life. However, human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas, cause large increases of these gases, dramatically increasing the temperature of our atmosphere and oceans. The result is climate change and it is impacting our national parks and the plants and animals inside them. • • • • • As temperatures increase, Canada can expect hotter, drier summers and more extreme weather events, including severe flooding, ice storms and drought. Glaciers in Banff National Park are melting and some could disappear in less than 20 years. Forest fires are expected to become more frequent and intense in Ontario’s national parks and drought threatens to devastate prairie parks. The rising sea level is expected to alter the dune system, mudflats, salt marshes and estuaries in Atlantic parks compromising an essential habitat for endangered shorebirds. Climate change is already having significant effects in Canada’s north. Polar bears living in Wapsuk National Park in the Northwest Territories are suffering as changing weather patterns disrupt their feeding habits. As a • result, the traditional hunting patterns of aboriginal people will break down. In some areas of Canada’s Arctic, the average temperature is expected to rise an astounding 12 degrees by 2050. While studying the impact of climate change, Parks Canada divided its 39 national parks into six broad geographic regions: Atlantic, Great Lakes St. Lawrence, Prairie, Western Mountain, Pacific and Arctic. An overview of the potential impacts on national parks in each of the six regions follows. Atlantic Parks As the climate warms, rising sea levels will have greater ecological consequences in this region than anywhere else in the country. Kejimkujik, Kouchibouguac and PEI National Parks can expect changes to the tidal flats, which provide essential habitat for migratory shorebirds, including the endangered piping plover. In other areas, there is a high likelihood of coastal erosion and salt-water invasion into fresh water areas. That may cause the degradation of important marine, dune, tidal pool, salt marsh and estuary habitats. Nova Scotia’s Aspy Bay is expected to become permanently flooded or become a low marsh environment. Increased storm intensity would give climate change a larger role in disturbing vegetation and affecting its recovery – switching from boreal to temperate and mixed forests. Parks include: Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Forillon National Park, Fundy National Park, Gros Morne National Park, Kejimkujik National Park, Kouchibouguac National Park, Mingan Archipelago National Park, Prince Edward Island National Park, Terra Nova National Park. Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Basin Parks Decreasing water levels and increasing water temperatures are expected to be among the most serious climate change effects in the region. Water levels are expected to drop dramatically to record low levels as a result of accelerated evaporation. Levels could decline as much as 1.3 metres and water temperature could increase by as much as three degrees. In Point Pelee National Park, known around the world as a refuge for hundreds of species of birds, the wetland marshes may partially dry, threatening rare species such as the The David Suzuki Foundation rose swamp mallow and spotted turtles. Nesting sites for waterfowl will become more accessible to predators and fish species will be threatened as a result of surface water temperature increases. Fire frequency and intensity is expected to increase in four of Ontario’s five national parks. The loss of mature forests will reduce the habitat for species such as moose and woodland caribou that thrive in Pukaskwa National Park. A warmer climate will also contribute to the migration of non-native species from the south as native species move northward out of park boundaries, losing protection. Parks include: Bruce Peninsula National Park, Georgian Bay Islands National Park, La Mauricie National Park, Point Pelee National Park, Pukaskwa National Park, St. Lawrence Islands National Park. Prairie Parks The Prairie provinces are expected to experience the greatest temperature increase due to climate change after the Arctic. Because of this, there will be greater rates of evaporation, drier soils and more drought. Stream flows may decrease and some permanent streams will become intermittent. Water temperatures in rivers and streams are expected to increase. Fish, wetlands and waterfowl will be severely affected. Prince Albert National Park is home to the second largest waterfowl breeding area in Canada – lower lake levels would expose many nesting sites to predators. A wetland of major significance, the Peace-Athabasca Delta in Wood Buffalo National Park, contains the world’s only natural breeding ground for the endangered whooping crane. The Peace-Athabasca is one of the world’s largest freshwater deltas and serves as the resting area or breeding ground for more than 400,000 migrating waterfowl that land here every fall and spring. Wood Buffalo also supports vast stretches of grasses and marsh plants used by bison as a grazing ground. Increased drought conditions could also result in frequent and intense forest fires in many northern areas. This would fragment the forest, particularly old-growth forests, and lead to grassland expansion. Boreal forests would need to shift as much as 100 to 700 kilometres to the north to survive, which may not be possible. Species such as woodland caribou, the burrowing owl and black-tailed prairie dog colonies are threatened by such changes. Parks include: Elk Island National Park, Grasslands National Park, Prince Albert National Park, Riding Mountain National Park, Wood Buffalo National Park. Wester n Mountain Parks estern Forty-one plant species in Banff National Park will be particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Many species would be unable to adapt and would become extinct with a resulting loss of biodiversity. A projected increase in precipitation during below freezing winter temperatures means snow packs will increase. Deeper snow will force deer and elk to migrate further down valley to find food throughout the winter, where they are at a greater risk of being killed by cars and trains. Lower level glaciers will rapidly retreat. Warmer spring and fall temperatures could cause longer glacial melting seasons – glaciers less than 100 metres thick could disappear over the next 20 years. The accelerated glacial run-off would also release pollutants that have been trapped in the glacial ice and snow during the last century in sufficient quantities to seriously affect downstream aquatic ecosystems. Parks include: Banff National Park, Glacier National Park, Mount Revelstoke National Park, Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park, Nahanni National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, Yoho National Park. Pacific Parks The projected 3.5 degree increase in sea surface temperatures in the northeast Pacific over the next 50 years may be the most important ecological effect on the marine, coastal and riverine ecosystems of the region’s national parks. Warmer waters could lead to increasing frequency and distribution of red tides, as well as encourage southern species such as mackerel and albacore tuna to move north and compete with salmon populations. Warmer waters will affect the spawning and migration of salmon, encouraging their northward migration, which in turn will disrupt the feeding habits of bears and bald eagles. In Kluane National Park Reserve, southerly plant and animal species will migrate into the park, as conditions become milder and montane, subalpine and alpine communities will shift upslope. In Gwaii Haanas National Park, montane spruce and alpine tundra areas will be The David Suzuki Foundation significantly affected by projected temperature and rainfall increases. Parks include: Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, Kluane National Park Reserve, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Ar ctic Parks Arctic Ecosystems in Canada’s Arctic parks are the most vulnerable to global warming and the magnitude of projected climate change is highest here. Warmer temperatures will increase the growing season for plants and will allow more southerly species to invade as the permafrost boundaries move northwards by as much as 500 kilometres. Changes in vegetation distribution and abundance will have drastic effects on park wildlife. Tukut National Park contains rare plant species that will be subject to rapid change. As ice thickness shrinks, many sea mammals such as polar bears, ringed seals, arctic foxes and arctic hares will be significantly affected. Polar bears need sea ice to access prey – if they have to stay inland longer or move north, it will increase nutritional stress levels and lower reproductive success. Polar bears at Wapusk National Park are already at the southern limit of their range. Much of the western Canadian population of snow geese and sea ducks that use coastal areas as staging grounds will be forced out of the park if climate change results in reduced coastal habitat and/or increased shoreline erosion. Parks include: Aulavik National Park, Auyuittuq National Park, Quttinirpaaq (formerly Ellesmere Island) National Park Reserve, Ivvavik National Park, Tuktut Nogait National Park, Vuntut National Park, Wapusk National Park. Recommendations Climate change has the potential to undermine decades of efforts to protect, restore and enhance our national parks. The David Suzuki Foundation believes the federal government must take immediate and meaningful action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow global warming. Canada must take the lead in the international effort to implement strong and binding domestic emissions reduction measures. At the 4th World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) concluded that climate change “represents a critical and urgent threat to all ecosystems and species.” IUCN also recommended that governments and international bodies strengthen their efforts to slow down human activities contributing to climate change. In order to protect our national parks and the ecological integrity of the globe, we must immediately begin to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Governments at all levels, industry and individuals will need to be involved. Fortunately, there are ways to increase energy efficiency and address climate change that will protect of our national parks and have many health and economic benefits. But we must act now, as further delay will result in a greater build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and make climate stability harder to restore. Further Resources: Climate Change: Parks in Peril contains detailed information about climate change and Canada’s national parks. http://ww.davidsuzuki.org/climate_parksinperil.htm Power Shift sketches out a path to a future in which Canadians can achieve and surpass the 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions needed to stabilize global climate. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/climatereports.htm Canadian Solutions describes how government, industry and individuals can reduce emissions through immediate policies that can be implemented to effectively and affordably to meet Canada’s Kyoto Climate Change Target. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/climatereports.htm Turning down the Heat, an inspiring showcase of ‘pollution solutions’, speaks of a day when we no longer have to fear climate change, or breathe air polluted by fossil fuels. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/energy/index.htm 2211 West 4th Ave., Suite 219 Vancouver, BC V6K 4S2 Tel: (604) 732-4228 Phone: (604) 732-0752 E-mail: [email protected] www.davidsuzuki.org