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Biodiversity

What is biodiversity and why does it matter?

Impact Area

Biodiversity is the collection of life that makes up our natural world.

This includes the variety of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms that work together to create healthy, balanced ecosystems that sustain life.

Biodiversity is important because it supports everything in nature that we need to survive and has a direct impact on our health and well-being. It provides food, fresh water, shelter, energy and medicine. Biodiversity also supports business and recreational activities that contribute to the economy.

Five major threats to biodiversity

Up to one million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction, many within decades, according to a recent United Nations report. This sobering statistic underscores the significant decline in global biodiversity. What’s causing populations of so many species to decline?

The short answer is us. Humans.

  1. Habitat loss and degradation:

    When areas containing wildlife habitat are destroyed, they no longer provide the food, water and shelter species need to survive.

  2. Climate change:

    As global temperatures rise and extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, many species cannot adapt and their populations plummet.

  3. Pollution:

    Contaminants that enter our air, soil and water can pose serious problems for ecosystems and the species that inhabit them.

  4. Invasive species and disease:

    Invasive species often have no native predators, allowing them to outcompete native plants and animals. This loss of biodiversity can reduce the resiliency of native ecosystems and disrupt food webs.

  5. Species over-exploitation:

    The overuse of wild plants and animals by people depletes populations, taking more from nature than it can provide.

Mallard hen sitting in shoreline pollution.
A turtle sunning itself on a log in a healthy wetland
A turtle sunning itself on a log in a healthy wetland © DUC
The world’s biodiversity clock is ticking Get the story

The world’s biodiversity clock is ticking

Read now

DUC’s approach to solving the biodiversity crisis

DUC and our conservation partners are bringing life back to threatened ecosystems through habitat protection and restoration. We believe the battle for biodiversity can be won when citizens worldwide understand the value of nature. Solutions to halt and reverse the alarming trend of species loss are in sight, and we’re hard at work delivering them.

We are focused on the future; this is our approach to safeguarding biodiversity.

See Our Approach

COP15: An opportunity to protect nature and species at risk

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP-15 is being held in Montreal from December 7 – 19, 2022. Here, global leaders will come together to develop a plan to tackle the biodiversity crisis.

COP15 is an unprecedented opportunity to make new commitments that will protect nature and species at risk. We are proud to be part of the global conservation community that’s urging COP15 delegates to change how nature is prioritized in policy and public investment.

What is Ducks Unlimited Canada doing to support biodiversity?

The conservation actions required to halt and reverse biodiversity have been core to the work that we have been doing for decades.

Read about our multi-pronged approach to biodiversity that includes research, education, advocacy, industry partnerships, and landscape-scale conservation operations.

Stories about biodiversity

Read more stories about biodiversity
Nature needs a helping hand
Biodiversity, Landowners, Wetland restoration

Nature needs a helping hand

Book chronicles Ontario landowner’s journey to wetland conservation and youth education.

What do wild ducks eat?
Biodiversity, Waterfowl, Wildlife

What do wild ducks eat?

Different ducks have different diets—and even eat different foods according to their physical needs and the time of year.

B.C. frog relocation project aims to better understand conservation practice
Biodiversity, Pacific Coast, Science, Wildlife

B.C. frog relocation project aims to better understand conservation practice

Mitigation translocation has become increasingly more common in B.C. since the Sea to Sky project.

Bringing estuary habitats back to life, one partnership at a time
85 Years of Conservation, Biodiversity, Pacific Coast, Partnerships

Bringing estuary habitats back to life, one partnership at a time

DUC and Raincoast Conservation Foundation are restoring natural infrastructure in the Fraser River Estuary

MarshKeepers protect nature’s treasures, one wetland at a time
Biodiversity, Pacific Coast, Science, Volunteers

MarshKeepers protect nature’s treasures, one wetland at a time

MarshKeepers support on-the-ground conservation by visiting sites and recording their observations.

Years in the making for record-breaking conservation project
Biodiversity, Landowners, Prairie Pothole Region

Years in the making for record-breaking conservation project

A Prairie Pothole wetland is restored to life thanks to vision of long-time staff, landowners

A bittersweet legacy for Adam Herold
Biodiversity, Grasslands, Prairie Pothole Region, Wildlife

A bittersweet legacy for Adam Herold

A grassland oasis honours a lost son following the Humboldt Broncos tragedy

The value of perennial cover in marginal areas of agricultural land
Biodiversity, Landowners, Partnerships, Pollinators, Prairie Pothole Region

The value of perennial cover in marginal areas of agricultural land

Seeding forage on saline areas in farmland can be more than a Band-Aid, it may also be a cure. 

More ecosystems where we are making an impact

Our conservation efforts impact diverse areas across the entire country—including your community.

Wetlands

Wetlands

Great Lakes – St. Lawrence

Great Lakes – St. Lawrence

Boreal Forest

Boreal Forest

Grasslands

Grasslands

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