A UN scientific report detailing the growing global biodiversity crisis says that the Earth could lose one million species over the decades ahead. It confirms that we are in the midst of the sixth great wave of extinctions to have swept the Earth, but this time, the wave is the result of human activities and will require a major change in direction from human societies to save species.

The Ontario Government chose this inauspicious moment to introduce major revisions that fundamentally weaken the province’s Endangered Species Act (ESA). They have done this through a sweeping set of changes buried in an omnibus bill about housing (Bill 108). This is not good news for species in Ontario. At 1 million km², Ontario is bigger than many countries, which makes the health of biodiversity in Ontario critically important for the health of the planet. And some of the most intact wild areas left on earth can be found within Ontario’s borders, remaining strongholds for species at risk of extinction elsewhere. There is a lot at stake here.

Read the whole article in our blog, Muddy Boots

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