颁补苍补诲补鈥檚 (COSEWIC)
has the daunting task of assessing the risk of extinction of every creature in the country 鈥� from insects to whales 鈥� to recommend conservation status under the federal Species at Risk Act.
At that table are several Dal faculty members, bringing their expertise to bear on helping identify which species deserve special protection.
The committee meets twice a year to assess between 30 and 40 species and provide advice to the federal Minister of the Environment. Each year, one of these meetings is outside of Ottawa to give the public in different regions a chance to attend and observe the process.
Last month, the committee hosted its meeting in Halifax 鈥� convenient for Marty Leonard, a professor of Biology at Dal who serves as chair of COSEWIC. (She鈥檚 also chair of the Birds Sub-Committee.)
Science, not politics
The committee bases its decisions on science and Aboriginal traditional knowledge.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 consider economic impacts. That can be factored in, but it鈥檚 at a different part of the process. It鈥檚 separate so as to not muddy the waters of science,鈥� explains Dr. Leonard.
This is an important point for the scientists involved. As the committee is often the part of the endangered species process that鈥檚 most visible to the public, there can be confusion about its role. As Dr. Leonard clarifies, the committee鈥檚 scientific assessment is not the only factor in what is and is not listed under the Species at Risk Act at the end of the day. 聽
鈥淲e provide the science, but that is just one step. After COSEWIC provides its advice to the Minister of the Environment, there is a period of public consultation, a recommendation to the Governor In Council and, ultimately, the cabinet can choose to list, not list, or return a species to us for further review.鈥�
In other words: when the committee recommends that species be added to the list it鈥檚 on a scientific foundation, not a political agenda.
Dal contributions
Dr. Leonard is one of many of AV俱乐部鈥檚 Biology faculty who have played an important role in the committee. Jeff Hutchings, has also contributed to the committee as a COSEWIC chair, and Daniel Ruzzante and Paul Bentzen contribute as members of the Marine Fishes Specialist Subcommittee. Dr. Hal Whitehead has also contributed to the assessments of marine mammals in the past.
鈥淭he committee has a lot of credibility in the science community,鈥� says Dr. Leonard. 鈥淚t can be very exciting and rewarding work.鈥�