Browsing by Author "Kraus, Daniel"

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    Bending the curve of biodiversity loss: Identifying barriers and opportunities to accelerate endangered species recovery in Canada
    (University of Waterloo, 2025-07-09) Kraus, Daniel
    The decline of wild species represents one of the most urgent crises of our time, with significant ecological, cultural, and economic implications. Understanding the barriers and opportunities to accelerate wildlife recovery is essential to inform effective conservation planning, policymaking, and action, and ultimately to halt and reverse the loss of nature. Research for this thesis was guided by three interconnected objectives: 1) identify the patterns and processes of wildlife extinction and recovery in Canada, with a detailed examination of nationally endemic species, 2) compare and examine the effectiveness of national approaches to endangered species assessment, listing and recovery, thereby identifying bridges and barriers to recovery, and 3) develop and advance new approaches to planning and implementation that will accelerate endangered species recovery in Canada. These objectives are intended to provide novel contributions that fill key knowledge gaps to support the practice of endangered species conservation. This research describes over 200 species ‘missing’ from Canada since European settlement, revealing significantly more extinctions and extirpations than reported under the Species at Risk Act. These losses are concentrated in Ontario, BC, and Quebec, with unsustainable harvesting historically driving extinctions, and habitat degradation emerging as the dominant contemporary threat. In contrast, the research also identifies 49 species with genuine improvements in conservation status, as well as over 50 species that began to recover before formal national assessments began. Key drivers of recovery include harvest management, pollution abatement, with more contemporary recoveries resulting from translocations, stewardship, and protected areas. The research also highlights that most improvements in the conservation status of species at risk are the result of discovering new populations and cautions against misclassifying these as conservation successes. This research also provides the first comprehensive inventory of Canada’s 308 nationally endemic species, approximately 90% of which are of global conservation concern. The analysis identifies 27 spatial concentrations of endemic species, many of which are associated with glacial refugia, islands, coasts, and unique habitats. Despite their significance, nationally endemic species have not been prioritized in national conservation efforts, but their conservation will play an essential role in Canada’s contribution to preventing global extinctions. Drawing on comparisons with the US and Australia, the thesis identifies systemic barriers to endangered species recovery and offers ten strategic "bridges" to overcome them. These include ecosystem-based recovery, community co-governance, linking wildlife recovery to ecosystem services, and improving public narratives around wildlife loss and recovery. Insights from a survey of 136 Canadian recovery planning practitioners further highlighted that effective implementation of SARA remains illusive, with respondents emphasizing the need for improved consultations, co-production with Indigenous communities, streamlined processes, and knowledge sharing. The thesis concludes by proposing pathways to reduce extinction risks and accelerate recoveries that are based on the relationships between processes, places and peoples. These include approaches to increase proactive conservation, supporting community-based recovery planning and action, and improving knowledge mobilization. These recommendations aim to strengthen Canada’s capacity to meet its national and global biodiversity commitments and bending the curve of biodiversity loss.