One of five pillars

Environment is one the five pillars that will shape Canadian agriculture policy in the 21st century under the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF). The APF is a comprehensive five-year strategy for Canadian agriculture. After consultations with producers, industry and public, the provinces and territories are now implementing the APF.

One of the rapidly developing benefits of the APF is a wider recognition of the value of ecological goods and services provided by the agricultural landscape, says Shane Gabor, DUC research biologist. “Acceptance that natural areas provide important services that should be valued both environmentally and economically has grown by leaps and bounds in the last two years,” says Gabor.

Canadian society, agriculture, business, and each one of us are dependent on the goods and services provided by nature. A natural landscape – a woodlot or marsh, for example – generates oxygen, cleans water, prevents erosion, captures excess carbon dioxide, provides habitat for many other species, and much more. The healthier the woodlot or marsh ecosystem, the more resilient it is and the better it works for all, including humans.

However, a four-year scientific assessment of the earth’s ecosystems by 1,360 experts from 95 countries concluded last year that 15 of the 24 ecosystem services that support life on Earth are being degraded or used unsustainably. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment experts reported that those services freely available today will cease to exist or become more costly if the current decline continues.

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