In the midst of a biodiversity crisis

Posted onOctober 12, 2022|News and Events
BirdLife International’s newly launched flagship State of the World’s Birds report State of the World’s Birds 2022 paints most concerning picture for nature yet – BirdLife International paints the most concerning picture for the natural world yet, with nearly half of the world’s bird species now in decline. While further underlining that we are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis, it also highlights the critical solutions we desperately need to save nature – we now urgently need the political will and financial commitment to implement these at scale and at pace.

Wildlife Preservation Canada’s mission is to bring those critical solutions needed to save Canada’s birds from extinction to the forefront of conservation action in this country. WPC’s Executive Director Lance Woolaver played a critical role in saving several of the species highlighted as being saved by conservation action in the report.

Lance was instrumental in saving the pink pigeon and echo parakeet in Mauritius during the earlier years of those successful programs, and helped the California condor team develop new techniques to save young condors from ingesting deadly plastic and metal garbage. Lance also managed the successful rescue of the Madagascar pochard, a unique species of duck rediscovered on a single small lake in Madagascar, saving the pochard from certain extinction. Other WPC staff have also contributed significantly to the recovery of many of the species mentioned as saved by conservation action in the report including our Canada’s New Noahs and WPC’s own Conservation Programs Director Jessica Steiner.

Lance worked with local farmers to protect Ridgway’s hawk nestlings in the Dominican Republic.

“We have to take action now. The awareness that birds are in serious trouble is out there. Birds are in decline. The biodiversity crisis is real. It is happening and is every bit as much of an existential crisis for humanity as climate change. When we lose species we lose the very fabric of ecosystems that we rely on for our own survival.

The good news, as the report points out and our own experience at WPC shows, is that we know what is needed to save birds from extinction and how to do so. What is lacking is the general mobilization from governments and the general public, as mentioned in the report, to act at the scale and speed we need to.

My hope is that people will really understand the urgency of this situation and act on it. We are all bombarded by bad news day in and day out and I know we are all getting fatigued with negative news. But there is good news. Conservation organizations like WPC know how to save species. We have ensured that the loggerhead shrike and other grassland species that use the same habitats here in Canada have not disappeared. We can do it. We just need more help to do even more.”

Dr. Lance Woolaver Jr.
Executive Director, Wildlife Preservation Canada

Lance with a Madagascar pochard, a unique species of duck. Lance managed the program on Madagascar that saved the pochard from certain extinction.

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