Local concerns provide a real opportunity for Canadians to contribute to ecological knowledge. Schools, local volunteer groups including, naturalist societies, youth groups, etc., are actively involved in EMAN's the Ecowatch program. Well established networks such as those concerned with climate, airborne pollutants, forest pests and diseases, hydrology, etc., are actively participating in EMAN activities, and in addition, new networks are starting up, for example the North America Mercury Network. Besides the plan for the species diversity assessments mentioned above, a number of other environmentally-related assessments are planned, the one on the effects of ozone depletion being due in 1997. The solutions to environmental problems facing us today can be found only by taking a holistic approach.
Current problems are complicated, overlapping, and have unexpected effects.
They often provoke conflicts among those using natural resources. EMAN, now that its basic structure is in place, is poised to provide some of the information and understanding needed for policy makers and natural resource managers to determine future policies and standards for the sustainable use of Canada's natural resources and help ensure that environmental protection programs are both economically and environmentally effective. The robustness of the ecological framework and the ability to select the appropriate scale for comparison and synthesis of diverse data sets, make it an essential tool in achieving network goals. EMAN expects that it will enable scientists to recognize ecological changes more quickly than in the past by revealing subtle but important differences in the patterns of impacts. Recent studies of sugar maple and other hardwood species in eastern Canada show that there has been a general improvement in the condition of the species since the early eighties, although there may still be cause for concern in some areas.