Canada: Ontario's iconic maple trees being killed off by invading beetles
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-Pastor-Dale-Morgan-
2012-01-11 05:27:082012-01-11
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Plagues,
Pestilences and Diseases
Canada: Ontario's iconic maple trees being killed off by invading beetles
By Lee Greenberg, Postmedia News January 10, 2012
Ontario's government is not doing enough to protect its maple trees, which face a growing threat from Asian longhorn beetles, said environmental commissioner Gord Miller.
TORONTO — Ontario's government is not doing enough to protect its maple trees, which face a growing threat from Asian longhorn beetles, said environmental commissioner Gord Miller.
Miller said authorities were able to contain the longhorn beetle when it first showed up in the Greater Toronto Area in 2003. "But it's escaped and it's in the forests of New York State and threatens to migrate up here and attack our maple forests," he said Tuesday.
The maple tree is but one example of how biodiversity in the province faces threats from habitat degradation, climate change, overexploitation, pollution and invasive species, expert say.
Polar bears, Jefferson salamanders and snapping turtles are several species struggling to adapt, he said.
On Tuesday, Miller called on the province to release a plan to enhance biodiversity. The government's last such plan expired in 2010. The Liberal government has failed to renew it.
At the same time, Canada has signed on to an international commitment known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
"Much of our economic activity and our quality of life is dependent on our biodiversity," he said, giving the example of bees that are essential in crop pollination. "It's the basis of agriculture, the fishing industry, and the quality of life through clean air and clean water. These are major things that matter."
Certain agricultural crops, such as fruits and alfalfa, will fail if bees disappear, Miller said. The province is already losing its ash trees as a result of the emerald ash borer, a beetle from Asia. Ontario's forestry industry could be dealt a further blow if, as predicted, climate change renders northern Ontario inhospitable to spruce trees within the next 80 years.
Miller is strongly urging the government to take action on biodiversity. He said the international community, in the wake of Canada's Kyoto climb down, now looks at the country with "arched eyebrows."
"There is an important role for Ontario" in re-establishing Canada's environmental reputation, he said.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Ontario+maples+risk+from+invading+beetles/5975710/story.html#ixzz1j8zYldmN
Canada: Ontario's iconic maple trees being killed off by invading beetles
By Lee Greenberg, Postmedia News January 10, 2012
Ontario's government is not doing enough to protect its maple trees, which face a growing threat from Asian longhorn beetles, said environmental commissioner Gord Miller.
TORONTO — Ontario's government is not doing enough to protect its maple trees, which face a growing threat from Asian longhorn beetles, said environmental commissioner Gord Miller.
Miller said authorities were able to contain the longhorn beetle when it first showed up in the Greater Toronto Area in 2003. "But it's escaped and it's in the forests of New York State and threatens to migrate up here and attack our maple forests," he said Tuesday.
The maple tree is but one example of how biodiversity in the province faces threats from habitat degradation, climate change, overexploitation, pollution and invasive species, expert say.
Polar bears, Jefferson salamanders and snapping turtles are several species struggling to adapt, he said.
On Tuesday, Miller called on the province to release a plan to enhance biodiversity. The government's last such plan expired in 2010. The Liberal government has failed to renew it.
At the same time, Canada has signed on to an international commitment known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
"Much of our economic activity and our quality of life is dependent on our biodiversity," he said, giving the example of bees that are essential in crop pollination. "It's the basis of agriculture, the fishing industry, and the quality of life through clean air and clean water. These are major things that matter."
Certain agricultural crops, such as fruits and alfalfa, will fail if bees disappear, Miller said. The province is already losing its ash trees as a result of the emerald ash borer, a beetle from Asia. Ontario's forestry industry could be dealt a further blow if, as predicted, climate change renders northern Ontario inhospitable to spruce trees within the next 80 years.
Miller is strongly urging the government to take action on biodiversity. He said the international community, in the wake of Canada's Kyoto climb down, now looks at the country with "arched eyebrows."
"There is an important role for Ontario" in re-establishing Canada's environmental reputation, he said.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Ontario+maples+risk+from+invading+beetles/5975710/story.html#ixzz1j8zYldmN
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