wo lost worlds give us hope

. dclence

Matters

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 hunt-
ed 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 crea-
tures 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 prob-
ably 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 dif-
ferences extend to more than just fur colour:
researchers are finding that they behave differ-
ently too.

Wolves of the Great Bear are also different—
smaller, more agile and specially adapted to for-
age for the bounty of sea life found along the
shore. Then there are the salmon, which
researchers have found arte 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 sci-
ence and good news for the people who depend
on the health of this ecosystem for their liveli-
hoods.

The story is only partially complete, however,
as discussions arte 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 percent 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 protect-
ed 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.