Section 3: Canada's environment in the international context
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Every country has natural endowments. Table 3.1 and Map 3.1 place Canada's environment in the international context using a few basic statistics. As can be seen, Brazil—with its rainforests containing more plant and animal species and habitats than any other nation—is the most biologically diverse country in the world according to the Global Environmental Facility biodiversity index (Table 3.1). It is followed by the United States and Australia. These countries all have broad ranges of plant and animal species and supporting habitats.
Canada, due to a colder climate, offers a more challenging habitat for plants and animals and supports fewer species as a result. Despite having the world's 2nd largest land area, Canada ranks 17th in terms of biological diversity potential.
Another important environmental stock is arable land, or land fit for the cultivation of crops. Arable land provides a nation with the capacity to provide food and other key materials. The United States has the world's largest supply of arable land with 12.3% of the global supply. In contrast, Canada, despite its larger land area, has 3.2% of the global stock.
Forests provide a wide variety of ecosystem services. Thirty-one percent of the earth's land area is covered by forest. The Russian Federation has the largest area of forest with 20% of the world's stock. Canada has approximately 8% of the world's forest land.
Table 3.1 also provides World Bank estimates of the value of natural wealth per capita for a selection of countries for the year 2000. According to these estimates, Canadians had the highest per capita natural wealth of any country in the world with U.S. $34,771 per person in 2000.
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