Between 2001 and 2011, 10,000 hectares of wetlands were drained in Canada. Data from the University of Saskatchewan research was published June 4 by The Western Producer.
The scientists clarified that the Water Security Agency (WSA) data on the conservation of 86% of Saskatchewan’s wetlands is based on recent data, not historical data. “From what I understand, they took approximately the year 2006 as a base.”said Colin Whitfield, assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s Water Security Institute.
“We run the risk of not taking into account the areas drained many years ago and included in cultivated land. “At best, this will provide an underestimation of the actual amount of drainage.”says the scientist. Whitfield said it is difficult to reconcile the WSA figure with other studies done in recent years, which show that more than 40% of wetlands have been drained.
An environmental scientist specializing in biogeochemistry studies interactions between water and nutrients and damage to ecosystems due to wetland drainage. He maintains that drainage decisions are made without considering the consequences.
Whitfield found that nutrients are moving downstream, ducks and waterfowl are disappearing due to habitat destruction and changes in hydrological regimes, even with partial drainage.
He noted that it is not just a few wetlands within the network that have been drained, but most of them. At this scale, serious consequences are inevitable and there is still no way to mitigate them.
“In recent years we have seen the licensing of drainage for an area that is 17 times the size of Regina (administrative center of the province of Saskatchewan, approx. IA Krasnaya Vesna), without requiring restoration or protection of at least one wetland or mitigation.”says the message.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.