Species At Risk And Ontario’s Emerging Habitat Protection Regulations

The goal of maintaining and enhancing biodiversity is one of the underpinnings of public policy and legislation that seek to protect species at risk. Canada was the first country to ratify the UN Convention on Biological Diversity which entered into force on December 29, 1993. In the Convention, the contracting parties begin by saying they are conscious of the intrinsic value of biodiversity and of the ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic values of biological diversity. They then list threats to biological diversity. Article 6 of the Convention states that each contracting party will adopt a national strategy, plans and programs for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Article 8(f) states that each contracting party will rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and promote the recovery of threatened species.