In 1992 Canada’s provincial, federal and territorial governments agreed to help protect biodiversity at the both the species and ecosystem levels by signing on to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and supporting development of the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy.
The Biodiversity Outcomes Framework (BOF) was created to further advance the goals of the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy by:
- helping to identify and link current and future priorities;
- engaging Canadians in planning and implementation; and
- reporting on progress.
One element of BOF is to maintain healthy and diverse ecosystems. Development of an Ecosystem Status and Trends Report enables compilation of information to help assess the state of our ecoystems.
The Ecosystem Status and Trends Report intends to:
- provide science-based information on the status and trends of Canada’s ecosystems for a domestic audience;
- provide ecosystem-based information as a foundation for prioritizing the national biodiversity agenda;
- provide a vehicle for dialogue with society on the importance of healthy ecosystems; and,
- provide information for the status and trends section of the 4th National Report to the CBD.
The Ecosystem Status and Trends Assessment (ESTA) provides an integrated assessment of current status, emerging trends and significant stressors of Canada’s ecosystems. It also proposes a new and ongoing system for ecosystem monitoring and status and trends reporting, providing policy-makers with the detailed assessments required to develop policy and alert the public to ecosystem changes of concern.
The ESTA also adds ecosystem content to complement the Status of Wild Species, Protected Areas, and Invasive Alien Species Reports, and enables more complete implementation and communication of the “assess†component of the Biodiversity Outcomes Framework.