Comox Valley Naturalists Society

February, 2003
Frank Hovenden

The recent 12th annual World Community Film Festival ran a wonderful film titled “Natural Connections”. The film centered on the much mentioned but equally much misunderstood term, ‘biological diversity’ or ‘biodiversity’ for short. Although often cited as a reason to stop the latest mega project or clearcut, biodiversity is more than just a buzzword on a protest sign. Biodiversity is a yardstick with which to measure the health of planet Earth.

Biodiversity is relatively new term in the biological sciences. Much of early biology consisted of identifying and classifying creatures. This is the science of taxonomy. It is only recently that biologists have started to recognize that plants and animals don’t live in vacuums but interact with one another. As the world famous Ecologist E.O Wilson says, “Everything is connected”. It is these interactions and the totality of life, which give rise to the term biodiversity. Biological diversity can be defined as the variety of living creatures, including their ecological roles and their genetic diversity. Biodiversity is in short the “creation” in its mind-boggling entirety.

Life as we know it is not only precious but also rare. It is only here on planet earth that life has been confirmed. That it exists elsewhere in the immensity of space is entirely possible, however to date planet Earth holds the only known examples in our solar system.

The film “Natural Connections” used the acronym HIPPO to describe the threats to biodiversity. We don’t have to go too far afield to find examples.

The H stands for habitat. In the Comox Valley a quick look around shows the tremendous loss of habitat which has taken place in recent history. Our old-growth forests have been liquidated and replaced by tree plantations. Comox Lake is dammed and inaccessible to the historic salmon runs. Hatcheries are required to maintain fish stocks and several of the local races have been extirpated. Extirpated is a nice way of saying extinct on the local scale. There is price to be paid for what some call progress and it is a loss of biodiversity.

I stands for introduced species. Scotch broom colours our roadside and chokes out native vegetation. Starlings and English Sparrows both thrive in downtown Courtenay. Varnish clams are on our beaches while the green crab is heading this way. Atlantic salmon are swimming in our oceans. All these introduced invaders compete and in many cases replace the native inhabitants reducing biodiversity.

The first P stands for pollution. The tragedy of the Tsolumn River is the result of acid-mine drainage from an old mine on Mount Washington. This legacy is an ongoing blight against the mining industry and government ineptitude and inaction. The Tsolum no longer produces the salmon runs it once supported.

The second P stands for population. Human population levels are out of control. The Comox Valley has been one of the fastest growing population centres in British Columbia. There is scarcely a corner of earth where man’s footprint is not seen. The human race does not tread lightly. Where humans goes, they gobble resources. Water is often the limiting factor. Locally many creeks are stressed in late summer as local farmers tap into them for irrigation. This means less water for fish and other creatures.

O stands for overconsuming. As North Americans we are the shame of the world. With less than 5% of the world population we consume more than 25 % of the world resources.

Tragically every corner of the earth is losing biodiversity. The threats to biodiversity did not happen overnight and likewise the cure will not be a magic bullet. It must start with and awareness and follow through with restorative acts one at a time. Think of the HIPPOs that surround us and how you can drive them out of your life.

Click on a link below to view the CVNS newspaper column.