Biodiversity Conservation and Protected Areas in British Columbia

of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), provincial ‘Red-listed’ species, endemic species, and potentially rare and endangered invertebrates in British Columbia, together with similar data on all species of butterflies, Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), small mammals and vascular plants. From these data rarity and richness hotspots in British Columbia were determined to identify areas with high numbers of species at risk and areas of high biological diversity. The coincidence of the top 5% of the rarity hotspots with the protected areas within the province was then computed. Overall, there was found to be a marked lack of coincidence between the current protected areas and the occurrence of large numbers of the endemic species, federal COSEWIClisted species, provincially Red-listed species, and potentially rare and endangered invertebrates in the province. In the top 5% of the rarity cells for the groups considered, there was on the whole, relatively little protected area coincidence. Based on the available data, it would appear that a significant number of BC’s rare and endangered species are located outside BC’s protected areas. The same would appear to be true for richness hotspots (areas of high biological diversity), although the precise numbers were not computed in this case. Further study is however needed on species rarity and richness within protected areas in the province. Because of the general lack of coincidence between biodiversity rarity and richness hotspots with current protected areas, it is evident that the 12% of the land area currently designated as protected area in the province, does not provide adequate protection for the very rich and rare biodiversity in British Columbia. Clearly, there needs to be more inventory of rare and endangered species undertaken in BC’s protected areas and other areas with biodiversity conservation potential. It is noted that because the South Okanagan, south-east Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland are not only biodiversity rarity and richness hotspots, but also alien species hotspots with increasing threats from human impacts, these areas of the province should become the focus for increased and integrated biodiversity conservation planning in the province, preferably at the ecosystem level.