Ecosystem Information

As our knowledge of British Columbia's environment grows every year, information on the original State of the Environment CD-ROM can be updated over time. These pages provide more recent data on a number of issues covered in the CD. Through the links at this site you can also keep updated as more information becomes available.

In keeping with the organization of the CD itself, the updates are categorized according to topic and ecoprovince as shown in the index below.

INDEX

PEOPLE

British Columbia's estimated population as of July 1, 2000 stood at 4,063,760, a 0.9% increase compared with 1.0% growth in 1997/1998. The slowdown in growth rate occurred because of a decline in the net outflow of people who moved to other provinces. Also, the province, which had strong net inflows through interprovincial migration in the early 1990s, experienced its third net outflow (first one being 1998) since 1985/86. This slowdown in growth rate is also seen at the national level for the third year in a row registering a population growth of just under 1%. All provinces and territories except Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and Yukon had a population increase during the 1999/2000 period.

Note: Methodology to translate Regional District data to ecoprovince boundaries may have changed since 1991, therefore % are considered approximate. Where census subdivisions (municipalities) cross ecoprovince boundaries, subdivision was allocated to the ecoprovince where the majority of the subdivision occurred. Source: Statistics Canada, 1997. A National Overview: Population and Dwelling Counts: 1996 census.

According to 1996 statistics, over 3.7 million people (82%) in British Columbia live in urban areas. Between 1991 and 1996, the distribution of urban dwellers in the ecoprovinces has not changed substantially. The largest changes have occurred in the Coast and Mountains ecoprovince where the urban population has dropped from 77% to 62%, and in the Central Interior ecoprovince, where the urban population has increased from 67% to 73%. The Georgia Depression now houses approximately 90% of its population in urban centres, while the Northern Boreal Mountains ecoprovince continues to be 100% rural.

[Source: Statistics Canada 1996. A National Overview: Population and Dwelling Counts, 1996 Census.]

In 1996, British Columbians generated 930kg of solid waste/person. Of this, only 350kg were recycled; all other solid waste was disposed to landfills and incinerators. This represents an improvement over 1991 levels when more than 1000kg of waste were produced per person but a 16% increase since 1994.

81% of the waste generated in British Columbia comes from the Georgia Depression. The next greatest source is the Southern Interior which generates 8% of the province's waste.

British Columbia has set a goal to reduce the weight of solid waste disposal to landfills or incinerators to 430kg/person by the year 2000. Regional waste management plans including recycling programs and landfill tipping fees are among the efforts being made to achieve this goal.

For additional updates, consult BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection's environmental indicator on Solid Waste.

Between 1991 and 1994, the number of households in B.C. with access to curbside recycling has increased by approximately 27%. B.C. still ranks among the top five provinces in Canada in both availability and use of recycling programs. While the majority of municipal solid waste still goes to the landfill (62%), 38% was recycled (1996 figures). This represents an 18% increase since 1990 in the amount of solid waste which is diverted to recycling programs.

[Source: Statistics Canada. 1995. Households and the Environment.; Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. 1996. Municipal Solid Waste Reduction Data Summary Report 1995; BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection Solid Waste environmental indicator.]

For 1995-96, the residential and commercial sectors each consumed about one-third of the electrical energy used in British Columbia. This reflects a gradual rise in the electrical energy consumption of the residential and commercial sectors compared to industry. In 1991-92, industry consumed 43% of BC's electrical energy while the residential and commercial sectors used only 29% and 26% respectively.

Current data for primary energy consumption in British Columbia was unavailable. The trend shown in this graph represents new data based on annual domestic sales of electricity only. Per capita electric energy use in British Columbia increased steadily until 1991, when it began to decline. This decline has continued to present.

A variety of factors play a role in decreasing energy requirements. Over the past decade, warmer than average weather has resulted in a significant decline in electricity consumption in the province. As well, approximately 20% of BC Hydro's electricity sales are to pulp and paper mills. This is over half the amount of the entire residential sector. Therefore, closure or expansion of a single pulp mill can overwhelm the effects of changes in residential use. Taking the warm weather into account, residential electricity consumption, previously growing, has leveled off in the past 10 years. Electricity consumption by the commercial sector has grown steadily, primarily because of increases in electricity intensity which in turn are the result of increased use of electronics and information technology. More commercial activities were required to support the increasing population. Over the last 5 years, electricity consumption by the industrial sector, which is still the largest of the three sectors on a sales basis, has grown at a lower rate than the population growth.

Notes: This trend is compiled only from domestic electric energy sales averaged over annual B.C. population figures and is approximate.

For additional updates, consult BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection's environmental indicator on Green Economy.

LAND

The total protected area in British Columbia as of September 1998 is 10.61% (10.06 million hectares) . Since 1991, the amount of protected area has increased in all ecoprovinces. The largest increases in protected area have occurred in the Northern Boreal Mountains, Sub-Boreal Interior, and Taiga Plains ecoprovinces. Between November 1991 and January 1998, more than 285 new protected areas and /or park additions, totaling more than 4.3 million hectares, were established in British Columbia.

Ecoprovince	Year (% protected)
	1991	1996	1998
Boreal Plains	0.03 %	0.03%	0.32%
Central Interior	7.99%	12.87%	13.60%
Coast and Mountains	5.91%	10.09%	10.70%
Pacific Shelf and Mountains	2.10%	N/A	12.37%
Georgia Depression	9.08%	9.15%	9.68%
Georgia Puget Basin (Marine)	3.07%	N/A	4.69%
Northern Boreal Mountains	9.28%	13.24%	17.81%
Southern Interior	2.48%	6.26%	6.52%
Southern Interior Mountains	11.27%	15.98%	16.10%
Sub-Boreal Interior	1.29%	1.30%	2.21%
Taiga Plains	0.02%	0.02%	2.25%
Total	6.06%	9.16%	10.61%

Source: BC Land Use Coordination Offiec, 1998.

For additional updates on the status of protected areas across BC, consult BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection's Protected Areas environmental indicator.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS

There are currently 234 plant species and 68 vertebrate animals, including 10 mammals, 24 birds and 27 fish which are threatened or endangered in British Columbia. Another 451 plant and animal species are classified as vulnerable. Together with threatened and endangered species their populations are considered to be at risk. The ecoprovinces with the highest numbers of species at risk, are the Southern Interior (410) and the Georgia Depression (334).

For additional updates on the status of threatened and endangered species in British Columbia, see the Species at Risk environmental indicator at the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection's State of Environment Reporting homepage.

[Source: BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, State of Environment Reporting Office, 1996]

This graph shows a 19% annual increase in sea otter numbers determined from census counts taken from 1984 to 1995. Sea otter populations along British Columbia's coasts continue to increase at a steady rate of 18-20% per year. Although sea otters are still considered endangered under British Columbia's Wildlife Act, this trend is a promising sign of recovery. Official data are not yet available for 1996 but it is estimated that roughly 1600 sea otters currently inhabit the West Coast of Vancouver Island with a smaller population of 250 otters on the Central Coast.

This graph represents new data compiled in 1996. It shows the status of stocks of anadromous salmon and trout (genus Oncorhynchus) in British Columbia. Numbers for Yukon stocks have been removed from the analysis. The stocks assessed include chinook, chum, coho, pink, sockeye, steelhead, and sea-run cutthroat trout. Of the 9584 stocks assessed, risk classifications were possible for 5476 stocks (57%) and included all large, commercially important stocks. The risk status of approximately 43% of identifiable stocks was classified as unknown because either data quantity or quality failed to meet criteria for inclusion in a known risk category. The majority of stocks in the unknown category were numerically small and although of no great commercial value are considered important to the maintenance of salmonid biodiversity.

Of the stocks assigned to a known risk category, 624 were considered to be at high risk, 78 were at moderate risk, 230 were of special concern and 142 had suffered extinction in B.C. in this century. However, the majority of classifiable stocks (4402 or 46 % of all stocks) were considered to be unthreatened.

An extinct stock is defined as one known to have persisted in a given location for several decades but for which no returns have been observed in more than a decade. A stock is considered at high risk of extinction when, for large stocks, it is declining or has an escapement of less than 200 fish, or for small stocks, when the mean population in the current decade was less than 20% of the long-term mean and less than 200 fish. A stock which is at moderate risk of extinction has shown serious declines but is not immediately threatened. Stocks of special concern include those that (1) could be threatened by relatively minor disturbances; (2) have insufficient information on population trends, but available information suggests depletion; (3) may interbreed with introduced, nonnative fish; and (4) are not currently at risk but require attention because of unique characteristics.

Threats to salmon and trout stocks include habitat destruction by human activities associated with forestry, urbanization, dams, dyking and filling, mining, agriculture, road and rail construction, effluent discharge, hatchery propagation, aquaculture and overutilization through fishing. In most cases, risks to stocks are the result of the interaction of several factors. Most of the extinctions were the result of urbanization and hydroelectric development.

The Central Coast had the greatest number (153) of stocks at high risk, while southwest Vancouver Island had the greatest proportion of stocks at high risk (17%). High proportions (>14%) of stocks classified as high risk were also found in Johnstone Strait and the Vancouver Island side of Georgia Strait.

[Sources: Slaney, T.L., K.D. Hyatt, T.G. Northcote, and R.J. Fielden. 1996. Status of Anadromous Salmon and Trout in British Columbia and Yukon. Fisheries, 21(10): 20-35.]

For additional updates, consult BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection's environmental indicator on Fish.

Snorkeling surveys to monitor summer steelhead in the Gold and Heber Rivers on Vancouver Island, indicate that the numbers of fish returning to these rivers in the summer and fall have remained relatively stable since 1986. Both rivers are considered to have healthy steelhead populations. The average number of fish returning yearly to the Heber River between 1992 and 1998 was 270, which compares to an average of 400 between 1980 and 1985 and 140 between 1975 and 1979. Counts in the Gold River were slightly lower than expected in 1998, likely due to drier than normal spring and summer conditions, which caused fish to be trapped in the canyon below the survey area. Increased ocean survival appears to be the main factor responsible for the high returns of steelhead to these two rivers. The survival of steelhead at sea is dependent on variables such as commercial fishing effort, the availability of food, upwelling conditions, and climatic factors such as El Nino.

[Source: B.C. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Fisheries Branch, 1998.]

Source: Environmental Protection Branch, Environment Canada, Pacific and Yukon Region, 2000.

Sanitary shellfish closures have increased steadily since the 1970's. Up to January 2000, there were approximately 105,000 hectares (about 1,050 square km.) of coastal shellfish habitat in British Columbia closed to shellfish havesting. This is nearly double the area covered by sanitary shellfish closures before 1976. The recent rise in shellfish closures may be partly a result of increased monitoring of shellfish growing areas, in particular, surveys of new areas on the North Coast of British Columbia.

The majority of sanitary shellfish closures continue to be attributed to a combination of sources, including urban run-off, sewage discharges and agricultural drainage.

For additional updates on shellfish closures check Environment Canada's regional shellfish indicator.

WATER

Since 1993 when 90% of the water samples met established water quality objectives, the status of water quality has been assessed for 124 water bodies throughout the province, including lakes, streams, marine areas and groundwater aquifers. Each body of water is ranked using an index based on certain water quality objectives and is then rated as excellent, good, fair, borderline or poor. The overall water quality rating for all the waterbodies in 1995 showed that 50% are ranked as having fair water quality and 35% have good water quality. Over 90% of all the waterbodies are in the excellent to fair category.

For additional updates, consult BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection's Water Quality environmental indicator.

Since 1995, the number of boil water advisories issued by the British Columbia Ministry of Health have remained relatively constant with a 6% decline occurring in 1997. This trend has occurred largely because the majority of problem areas have now been identified through provincial monitoring efforts. It is expected that the number of advisories will continue to decline as water quality problems, now identified, can be addressed through enforcement and education. Many areas have already been removed from the boil water advisory list because improved treatment practices have resulted in cleaner water.

[Source: Ministry of Health. Public Health Protection Branch,1998.] For updates consult the BC Ministry of Health Services website.

Seabirds are good indicators of contaminants in marine environments. PCB concentrations in Double-Crested Cormorant eggs taken from Mandarte Island off the East Coast of Vancouver Island have decreased since 1992. However, levels are still well above zero. Strict controls on the use of PCBs were imposed in the early 1970's and their manufacture was banned. The persistence of PCB contamination in certain seabird populations suggests that large amounts of PCBs still remain in the environment.

Source: W. Knapp, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Vancouver, 1998. The closure areas are for eight coastal pulp and paper mill locations.

Since 1988, dioxin and furan contamination from pulp mill effluents have made shellfish harvesting closures necessary in British Columbia. However, the implementation of regulations for pulp mill effluent and pollution abatement initiatives have brought about a decline in dioxin contamination in shellfish such as crab and allowed the re-opening of harvesting areas. Since February 1995, over 550 km2 or 46% of the maximum area closed to shellfish harvesting has now had their harvest restrictions lifted.

High levels of dioxins (reported as congener 2,3,7,8-TCDD) in eggs of great blue herons and double-crested cormorants collected from a colony near the bleach kraft pulp mill at Crofton during the 1980s reflect intense mill productivity and emissions. During the early 1990s, levels declined after the mill implemented changes to its bleaching process, and subsequent government regulations restricting the amount of chlorinated contaminant allowed in mill effluent were established. This continuing decline shows that efforts by industry and government are working to reduce the discharge of chlorinated contaminants into the marine environment and that TCDD is rapidly cleared from heron and cormorant food chains. Current 2,3,7,8-TCDD concentrations are below levels of toxicological significance.

Mercury levels measured in crabs near a decommissioned mercury-cell chlor-alkali plant in Howe Sound have remained relatively constant since 1991. Levels remain well below Health and Welfare Canada Guidelines. Additional sampling is currently underway in marine and terrestrial environments near the site to assess mercury levels in the soil and in a variety of animal and plant species.

[Source: D.G. Regan and Associates Ltd. 1998. Canadianoxyl Industrial Chemicals Limited Partnership Squamish BC Chlor-Alkali Plant: 1997 survey. A report prepared for the CanadianOxy Industrial Chemicals Limited Partnership Squamish BC Chlor-Alkali Plant, Squamish BC, File No. 2691.]

AIR

Average global temperatures continue to set records. Nine of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1990 and 1998 was the warmest since 1861 both globally and in British Columbia. Since modern record-keeping began, 2001 ranks as the second warmest year globally ( Environment Canada, News Release, December, 2001).

For the status and trends of B.C.'s impact on climate via greenhouse gases see the B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection's Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change indicators.

For up-to-date trends on the stratospheric ozone thickness over BC check Environment Canada's environmental regional stratospheric ozone indicator.

For trends in potential health risks from fine particulates check Environment Canada's Smog Indicator for the Fraser Valley. For the status and trends for fine particulates in B.C.'s air check BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection's indicator on Air Quality.

Georgia Depression

This pie chart summarizes sources of wastewater flows to the Fraser River Estuary during the period 1990-1992. When compared to the data compiled in 1987, total wastewater inputs to the estuary increased by almost 20%. Most of this increase came from sewage treatment plants (3%) and urban runoff (8%).

The problem with wastewater flows in not the volume of inputs to the estuary, but the contaminants carried within the wastewater. Urban stormwater runoff is considered the major pollution issue facing managers in the region, once upgraded treatment systems are provided at the municipal wastewater treatment plants. The major pollutants in urban stormwater runoff can be attributed to transportation sources such as contaminants from vehicle corrosion, wear, exhaust, and leaks. Stormwater runoff is one of the major sources of suspended solids and associated contaminants (hydrocarbons and trace metals) to the estuary. The agricultural pollution contribution to surface and groundwater is mostly in the form of pesticides and nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and ammonia. The Annacis and Lulu sewage treatment plants discharge the largest loading of pollutants, such as biochemical oxygen demand, fecal coliforms, ammonia, copper, and oil and grease, to the Main Arm of the Fraser River.

Water quality conditions in the Fraser River Estuary can also be affected by pollutants discharged from outside the region. Sources of pollutants upstream of the estuary include the six pulp mills at Prince George, Quesnel, and Kamloops, wastewater treatments plants of the municipalities in the Lower Fraser Valley, and agricultural runoff form the intensive agriculture operations in the valley.

[Source: Fraser River Estuary Management Program. 1996. The Fraser River Estuary: Environmental Quality Report. FREMP: Chapter 5.]

This graph represents a ten year ground level ozone trend compiled by the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) in 1998. The data was collected between 1987 and 1996 at six stations located within the GVRD. Two measures were used to evaluate changes in ground level ozone. The regional mean is the mean of all values of ozone measured over the six stations combined. The highest-level mean is calculated in the following way. A daily maximum 1-hour level of ozone is recorded at each of the six stations every day. Of these six maxima, the highest is selected. The highest level mean is the mean of all of these selected maxima.

Between 1987 and 1996, the ground level ozone air quality generally improved, with a decline in higher concentrations and significantly fewer hours above the Maximum Desirable objective (the level which defines the long-term goal for air quality). However, mean ozone levels experienced a slight upward trend, especially during the last four years. The regional mean increased 13% from 11.1 ppb in 1987 to 12.5 ppb in 1996. This upward trend occurred mostly during the last four years. The higher ozone levels decreased 8%, on average, as the highest-level mean decreased from 36.7 ppb in 1987 to 33.9 ppb in 1996. This downward trend occurred mostly between 1987 and 1993. Between 1993 and 1996 the higher ozone levels experienced a small upward trend.

Ground level ozone production results when nitrogen oxides and reactive volatile organic compounds (VOC) react under the presence of sunlight. These substances are discharged from motor vehicles, fossil fuel combustion sources, area sources, and industrial processes. Because ozone production depends on sunlight intensity and temperature, ozone concentrations are highest during sunny days in summer, with daily levels peaking in the afternoon.

[Source: Greater Vancouver Regional District. 1998. Trends in Ambient Air Quality in Greater Vancouver 1987 to 1996.]

For trends in potential health risks from ground-level ozone in the Fraser Valley check Environment Canada's Smog Indicator.

Coast and Mountains

Levels of zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead in Buttle Lake peaked in 1980/81; thereafter improved treatment and collection systems at the mine site (Westmin) have resulted in steadily decreasing metal levels throughout the lake system. The increase in metal concentrations in the lake was accompanied by increased metal tissue levels in salmonid muscle and liver tissues, by elevated levels of hepatic metallothionein, and by declines in both species diversity and population for phytoplankton, zooplankton, and periphyton.

As the metal concentrations have decreased, hepatic metallothionein, an indicator of biological stress upon fish has been reduced to levels believed to be representative of minimal biological stress. Concentrations of metals in rainbow trout muscle tissue indicate that levels have returned to background. In liver tissue, cadmium has decreased significantly, while only copper remains elevated. The apparent health of the fisheries resource is illustrated by a dramatic improvement in angler success and catch statistics. The zooplankton and phytoplankton community have also shown significant improvement as several sensitive species have returned to prominence.

While metal levels have been significantly reduced throughout Buttle Lake, it appears that the concentrations have stabilized. Concentrations of zinc, copper and cadmium occasionally exceed the provincial criteria, particularly at depth. Water quality continues to be monitored by both the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks and by the mine. The mine is continuing its efforts to improve the quality of the discharge from the mine site. It just removed an historic tailings impoundment from beside Myra Creek and is currently investigating potential improvements to the active tailings impoundment area.

Southern Interior

Central Interior

Southern Interior Mountains

In 1997, average blood lead levels measured in children (age 6 to 60 months) in Trail fell 23% from the previous year. This decrease is most likely due to the installation of a new smelter in May 1997. This smelter, which uses state-of-the-art technology, was projected to reduce lead emissions by 75-80%. Dramatic improvements in ambient air quality were already noted during the summer of 1997.

Between 1991 and 1996, blood lead levels for children in Trail have declined by an average 0.6 ug/dL per year, while blood lead levels in North America appear to have leveled off after about 1991. For more information on the decline in blood lead levels in Trail from 1991-1996, see the February issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. The following URL is a direct link to the abstract of the related article:

In1992, an experimental program was initiated to restore productivity in Kootenay Lake by artificially fertilizing the lake with phosphorous and nitrogen. The population of kokanee salmon in the lake has recovered to pre-1975 numbers, increasing from approx. 270,000 in 1991 to 2,145,000 in 1998. While soluble phosphorus concentrations have shown a slight increase, the increase is not as dramatic as the rise in kokanee numbers because the nutrient is added in low concentrations and is quickly taken up by biota in the lake. Research biologists are now gradually reducing the amount of phosphorus added to the lake each year, in an attempt to find an equilibrium point where kokanee salmon numbers can be maintained with a bare minimum level of artificial phosphorus fertilization.

UPDATES

INDEX

PEOPLE

LAND

PLANTS AND ANIMALS

WATER

AIR

Georgia Depression

Coast and Mountains

Southern Interior

Central Interior

Southern Interior Mountains

Sub-boreal Interior

Northern Ecoprovinces