Before The Nature Trust can know where to put our conservation efforts, we need to have an understanding of the biodiversity present on the conservation area. Biodiversity is the variety of life in an area, which can range from life in a pool of water that collects between the leaves of a plant to the all-encompassing biosphere.
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity in its broadest sense refers to the infinite variations of all life on Earth, from a tiny bacterium to a gigantic redwood. It can also refer to all the life in a given area, such as all of BC, or one of our conservation areas.
The concept of biodiversity can be applied to many levels of organization. It can refer to genetic diversity within a population, the number and types of species in an area, or the distribution and abundance of species communities and ecosystems.
Biodiversity in BC
BC is the most biologically diverse of Canada’s provinces and territories and with its vast array of ecosystems, from coastal estuaries and temperate rainforest to rare Garry-oak meadow to antelope- and sage-brush desert, BC is home to more than 50,000 species of plants, animals, and fungi.
At least 105 species are known to live almost entirely in BC, including endemic species like the Vancouver Island marmot, Queen Charlotte hairy woodpecker, and several insects that live only in the South Okanagan. BC has the highest number of nationally endemic species of all provinces and territories, representing over one-third of Canada’s nationally endemic species. Most of the world’s population of western sandpipers, as well as the North Pacific population of humpback whales, migrate along the BC coast between overwintering grounds in Central and South America to breeding and foraging areas in the Arctic.
Within BC’s diversity are many keystone species that shape and define the ecosystems they live in. For example, downy woodpeckers manage insect pests while creating tree cavities that other animals, such as owls and squirrels, use as nests. The loss of these woodpeckers would have cascading effects on other species and the community as a whole.
Protecting biodiversity
Most of the vulnerable species in BC live in the Southern Interior (Okanagan and Kootenay valleys) and Salish Sea (coastal southwestern BC, including southern Vancouver Island). These areas host many sensitive ecosystems and are also under intense development pressure from their human inhabitants. Almost all of these vulnerable species rely on wetlands or riverine systems within these regions for part of their life cycle. Fragmentation and isolation of larger, more connected habitats such as forest or shrub-steppe, which may have lower human populations, less habitat diversity, and fewer threatened species prevents more common species, such as mule deer and black bears, from being able to thrive. Since these ecosystems play an important role in maintaining viable species populations across the province, they are conservation priorities for NTBC.
Why biodiversity matters
Biodiversity’s economic value
Biodiverse ecosystems provide services that are critical to human survival and economic sustainability. Different organisms are responsible for controlling invasive or pest species, maintaining soil fertility, pollinating crops, purifying air and water, detoxifying and decomposing wastes, and regulating climate. These ecosystem services are complex, interconnected natural processes that are not fully understood, and the impacts to humans of losing any one of these processes are still being researched.
Natural resources such as timber, minerals, water, fish and game animals, and agricultural products are integral to BC’s economy. At the same time, aesthetic value of intact, biodiverse areas invigorates our tourism industry and allows us to host a vast array of adventure, ecotourism, and wilderness experiences. The economic value of extracting natural resources is easy to measure, but the economic value of protecting biodiversity by leaving natural resources in place is much more difficult to assess. There has been progress in measuring economic values, such as for wetlands acting as natural flood defenses or forests filtering drinking water, where the economic gains are measured by the unnecessary engineered infrastructure or disaster recovery costs that would have been needed to mitigate for the loss of the nature-based solution.
Medicine and science
Over 80% of pharmaceuticals are derived directly or indirectly from wild species — mainly plants. For instance, the anti-cancer drug taxol was discovered in the bark of Pacific yew trees in BC’s old-growth forests. Today, researchers continue to investigate sea stars, kelp, fungi, and countless other species for substances that could inspire new medicines and medical technologies. However, estimations suggest that at least one important undiscovered drug is lost every two years from ongoing biodiversity loss.
Protecting biodiversity means protecting opportunities for future discoveries.
Cultural heritage
The Indigenous people who have lived on and stewarded the place now known as British Columbia since time immemorial have deep connections to living things that share our lands and waters. With over 200 distinct First Nations inhabiting all of BC’s diverse regions, the ways they relate to, care for and rely upon the province’s biodiversity are as varied as the land itself. The plants, animals, and fungi that live here don’t just provide food, medicine, clothing, and ceremonial objects: Many Indigenous families, clans or nations trace their own ancestry to other species, such as wolves, orcas, or ravens, who share these ancestral territories.
Species at risk in BC
Many of the animals and plants that live in BC are at risk of extirpation. In 2025, the provincial government found that 1,726 species are of provincial conservation concern, meaning they are threatened or vulnerable to being lost. This represents a 25% increase in the number of imperiled species since 2008, due largely to the addition of species to the list since 2008. However this percentage is likely an undercount — since there are serious flaws in the designation of species’ status in BC. And without any formal provincial legislation to protect these species and their habitats, these listings are merely an admission that imperiled species exist in BC.
The major threats
Species extinction is a natural process, but human consumption of natural resources has accelerated the rate of extinction of species globally to more than 100 times greater than known background rates.
In BC, the biggest threat to biodiversity is habitat loss and fragmentation, which is driven by human activities such as industrial logging, mining, agricultural conversion, and urban expansion. Degradation of ecosystems and the spread of invasive species are also major stressors, which both amplify and are amplified by the changes to ecosystems that are occurring as a result of a rapidly changing climate.
Habitat fragmantation
Wildlife habitat becomes fragmented when parts of an ecosystem become degraded or are converted to other uses, resulting in patches of habitat that are disconnected from each other. Wildlife populations confined to these patches may struggle to survive, or face threats trying to get from one patch to another.
Large protected areas, such as NTBC’s nearly 4,000-acre Hoodoos Conservation Complex in the East Kootenays, can be big enough to support intact biodiversity. Smaller protected areas need to be connected to one another by suitable habitat without barriers to dispersal to support all the species that rely on them. It can take decades after an ecosystem is fragmented to fully understand the effects on biodiversity.
Creating “corridors” of natural or restored strips of land between isolated patches of natural ecosystems can protect species by helping them move between suitable habitat patches. Many factors go into deciding what will make an effective corridor, such as the species’ habitat needs, size of the connected patches, and condition of the overall landscape.
We take habitat connectivity into account when deciding what lands to protect, prioritizing large, intact parcels or ones that connect with existing protected areas.
Invasive species
Species distributions have always shifted over time as conditions change. But human activity has vastly accelerated the speed and distances by which new species can travel to different areas. Some of these introduced species can radically affect the ecosystems where they’re introduced and become invasive.
Without their native predators, pathogens, or parasites, introduced species can out-compete native species and take over an area, often completely shifting the ecosystem’s composition. They can also prey on or parasitize native species.
In BC, introduced knapweed is transforming arid grasslands, introduced purple loosestrife and reed canary-grass are overtaking wetlands, and introduced Scotch broom is invading Garry-oak meadows, while introduced American bullfrog prey on native populations of small mammals, other amphibians, and small birds. Even some pets, such as domestic cats, are aiding in the decline of native populations of birds.
Pollution
Pollution from burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas can remain in the air as particles or fall to the ground as acid rain. Acid rain acidifies lakes, streams, and sensitive forest soils, and it contributes to slower forest growth and tree damage at high elevations.
Chemical pollutants such as pesticides and herbicides can leach into soils and watersheds. Many fish species, such as salmon and steelhead, need small freshwater cold temperature streams to spawn; Polluted streams can cause them to abandon traditional spawning areas and threaten their populations.
Pollution can affect many species indirectly, such as when chemicals concentrate in the bodies of top predators or food chains.
Climate change
In 2024, the earth passed a perilous milestone: The average annual global temperature was 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than the average from 1850–1900. Scientists consider this a tipping point in terms of the effects of climate change on our planet. Estimates for future warming range from increasing by another 0.5 to more than 3.0 degrees by 2075, depending on whether near-term emission targets are achieved. Climate change doesn’t just affect the temperature: it affects extreme weather such as storms and drought, snowpack and glaciers and thus streamflows, polar ice caps and sheets and sea level rise, and human demand for resources such as electricity during extreme heat events.
Climate change also affects which species can live in an area. As local conditions change, many species will try to move to cooler places. Some will be able to. Some, such as those that have small ranges or encounter barriers such as highways or development, may be lost forever. And because dispersal is species dependent, ecosystems and communities of organisms that we know today will no longer exist.
Protected areas
Protected areas are essential to conserving biodiversity. The Protected Areas Strategy, initiated by the Government of BC in 1992, originally aimed to protect 12% of the province. As of 2016, the provincial government reports that 15% of the province has been designated as provincial or national parks and protected areas. And areas protected in wildlife management areas and by private conservation organizations have protected another 0.4% of the province.
This percentage of the land is still too small to maintain viable populations of many species, which is why our work protecting biodiversity through habitat conservation and stewardship continues.
At the Nature Trust of BC, we defend BC’s biodiversity by protecting and restoring the lands and waters these species call home.
Conservation priorities
We identify priorities for conservation by looking for hotspots, gaps, and complementary areas.
Hotspots are areas with high native species diversity or high numbers of rare or threatened species. Gaps are areas with species that are not sufficiently protected elsewhere. Complementary areas enhance existing protected areas by identifying new areas that contain the most unprotected species.
To make the best use of limited resources, we look for areas that protect as much biodiversity as possible within the available private land base.
You can help conserve biodiversity by learning about local ecosystems, sharing what you learn, and supporting conservation work that protects wildlife habitat. Everyday stewardship actions – from planting native species and reducing pollution to keeping sensitive habitats undisturbed – can help species at risk recover and prevent more species from becoming threatened. You can also support long-term habitat protection by volunteering, donating, or exploring land conservation options with NTBC.
Protect wildlife habitat
Identify and protect critical wildlife habitat, especially nesting and denning sites.
Leave sensitive habitats undisturbed and create additional habitat, such as with bird or bat houses.
Preserve mature forests and standing dead trees that provide shelter and nesting sites for wildlife.
Support native plants and pollinators
Leave native plants undisturbed and landscape with native trees, shrubs, and flowers.
Plant pollen- and nectar-rich species to support pollinators and beneficial insects.
Protect water and sensitive ecosystems
Maintain wetlands by conserving water and avoiding the drainage of natural water bodies.
Protect riparian areas and other sensitive ecosystems from trampling and disturbance through fencing or other stewardship measures, such as keeping dogs on leashes.
Reduce environmental impacts
Control and remove invasive plant species on your land.
Use environmentally friendly products and properly dispose of hazardous materials.
Reduce waste by reusing, recycling, and making mindful consumption choices.
Monitor and reduce the impacts of pets, especially cats, on local wildlife.
Practice responsible land management
Manage livestock grazing to maintain healthy ecosystems and range conditions.
Keep vehicles on designated roads and trails to reduce habitat disturbance and the spread of invasive species.
Take conservation action
Learn about local ecosystems and share your knowledge with others.
Volunteer with conservation and habitat restoration organizations.
Support biodiversity initiatives through conservation covenants, ecological gifts, or land donations.
We gratefully acknowledge that our Vancouver office is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, who have been stewarding this land since time immemorial. Our work and conservation areas encompass many lands throughout the province, and we humbly acknowledge the First Nations communities who live on and steward these lands.
Stay connected to the landscapes you help protect. Receive updates from the field, stories of conservation in action, and opportunities to support and experience BC’s natural places.
Stay connected to the landscapes you help protect. Receive updates from the field, stories of conservation in action, and opportunities to support and experience BC’s natural places.