Impediments to the protection and recovery of freshwater aquatic species at risk: ultimate causation in perspective

Most aquatic species at risk (SAR) continue to decline because of “impair-then-repair” economics, which focus recovery on habitat restoration rather than stopping ongoing activities that destroy habitat (i.e., ultimate structural drivers). Ultimate causation includes failure to protect habitat on private land (e.g., riparian buffers) or regulate cumulative effects, inappropriate management scales, conflicting governance mandates, absence of long-term planning with a clear vision for future state (i.e., reactive management), and inadequate clarity around socio-economic trade-offs. These are governance rather than science issues, and reflect a failure to regulate the trade-offs between protecting SAR habitat versus the economic benefits of development that ultimately drive SAR decline. Aquatic SAR recovery will remain deficient until (1) any value trade-offs are based on structured and transparent guidance, rather than opaque and discretionary political processes; (2) resource management agencies adopt cumulative effects modelling at landscape scale for routine planning and licensing of future developments; and (3) government agencies integrate planning across resource sectors and jurisdictions to extend no net loss policies beyond freshwater habitat to include riparian and terrestrial ecosystems.