Originally published December 29 2005
WWF reports on the impact of rising water temperatures on Canadian fishing
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report at the 11th session of the United Nations Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention that demonstrated the adverse impact a temperature change of two degrees Celsius would have on Canada's Atlantic fish.
Canada's Atlantic fish will be squeezed into ever smaller patches of cool water, endangered Atlantic salmon will be doomed, and key boreal forest species will be stranded as their natural habitats erode, if the globe's temperature is allowed to rise too far, says WWF.
A new WWF report, launched at the Eleventh session of the United Nastions Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention (COP-11), examines the impacts of a 2�C (3.6�F) increase in global average temperature on the Canadian fishery and forestry sectors.
While various studies have looked at ecosystem-wide impacts, this is the first time that scientists have studied the impacts of a 2�C warming on the distribution of individual species.
Unless aggressive action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global warming will rise to 2�C above pre-industrial times, a threshold at which climate change impacts would become unmanageable for nature and people.
"The threat from global warming means that there will be few fish to fish and not many trees to harvest," says Julia Langer, WWF-Canada's Director of Global Threats.
Both Atlantic salmon and Atlantic deep sea scallops may be lost in their southern range, with no northward gain.
Production of maple syrup may be significantly reduced if temperatures remain above freezing during the sugaring-off period, although a small contribution to the GDP, effects on local economies and regional heritage could be large.
And warmer, drier conditions are expected to increase both frequency and severity of fires and insect outbreaks in Canada's boreal forests.
Along with adopting all of the necessary decisions to make the current Kyoto Protocol operational, countries must respond to the growing threat of climate change and commit to begin negotiations for the much deeper cuts in emissions that are needed after the first period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.
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