Freshwater Conservation

Freshwater is one of Canada’s most important resources — on a national and global scale. It supports a diversity of wildlife; is used in agriculture, recreation and industry; as well as sustain human life. Considering that Canada holds one-fifth of the world’s freshwater, it’s easy for Canadians to think of our water as an unlimited resource. However, freshwater environments face a wide variety of threats, including pollution, habitat degradation and loss, and invasive species.

The freshwater conservation program has four focus areas with the overarching goal of conserving habitat and native wildlife populations:

• Pollution as it relates to wildlife
• Habitat loss and alteration
• Aquatic invasive species
• Maintaining freshwater wildlife populations

This year, CWF began work on a National Status Report on Aquatic Invasive Species for release in the spring of 2012. The report will clarify issues and raise the profile of the impacts of invasive species.