2 lost worlds

[Guest guest]

Two Lost Worlds Give Us Hope -- A Guest Commentary

 

February 15, 2006 - By Dr. David Suzuki, David Suzuki Foundation

Two lost worlds were in the news last week. One was discovered halfway

around the world, but the other is right here at home.

 

The first was a never-before examined patch of tropical rainforest deep

in the heart of New Guinea. It's likely one of the most biologically

diverse areas on Earth and it shows how little we really know about

life on this planet.

 

An international team of scientists recently returned from the Foja

Mountains of New Guinea having discovered 40 extremely rare mammals

(including the golden-mantled tree kangaroo which was thought to have

been hunted to near extinction), four new butterfly species, a new bird

species, 20 new frog species and many previously unknown plant species.

Having never encountered humans, some of the creatures were so unafraid

of people that researchers could simply pick them up off the ground.

 

That places such as this still exist is cause for hope. With well over

six billion people on the planet and an insatiable appetite for

resources, pristine places are becoming increasingly rare and species

are disappearing at an alarming rate. Yet scientists have only studied

a small percentage of life on Earth. Researchers estimate that there

are literally millions of species out there that we have never examined

and have no clue what they do in an ecosystem. As Oxford entomologist

George McGavin points out: in a tropical rainforest, every second or

third insect you pick up is probably unknown to science.

 

The other lost world in the news last week is also a remote and

incredibly diverse rainforest - but this one is in Canada. British

Columbia's north and central coast, known as the Great Bear Rainforest,

is unique, it is special and it contains creatures found nowhere else

in the world. Most people know about the Kermode bears that live on

this coast. They're a white version of the black bear, found only in

this area. And their differences extend to more than just fur colour:

researchers are finding that they behave differently too.

 

Wolves of the Great Bear are also different - smaller, more agile and

specially adapted to forage for the bounty of sea life found along the

shore. Then there are the salmon, which researchers have found are

vital to the health of the forests and many land-dwelling creatures.

Hundreds of unique runs of salmon find their way back to the Great Bear

every year to spawn; their bodies providing nourishment to the

wildlife, the trees and the soil.

 

The Great Bear Rainforest made international news last week because the

B.C. government, along with First Nations, environmental groups and the

forest industry, have drafted a plan to protect a portion of it. That's

good news for science and good news for the people who depend on the

health of this ecosystem for their livelihoods.

 

The story is only partially complete, however, as discussions are still

underway as to what kind of logging will take place in the parts of the

Great Bear outside the protected areas. This is critical because

unprotected areas make up more than 70 per cent of the land base and

contain the majority of salmon streams and much of the best wildlife

habitat.

 

Scientists have only just begun to understand this magnificent region

and all the life within it. The recent agreement, if combined with

truly sustainable logging practices outside the protected areas, could

keep this ecosystem functioning, allow economic activities such as

tourism and logging to co-exist and give scientists a chance to

understand more about Canada's own lost world.

 

It's an opportunity we would be foolish to pass up.

 

Take the Nature Challenge and learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org.