montreal

Canada's federal government has announced that eight further scientists are being added as voting members to the committee that identifies which species are assigned to the country's endangered list.

The move comes in the wake of a letter written by more than 600 scientists to the prime minister, Jean Chrétien, complaining that political considerations prevented scientific principles from being followed in determining which species should be listed as endangered (see Nature 398, 9; 1999). It said the government had abandoned habitat protection as an en element of the legislation.

“In effect, [they are] restoring the vote that was taken away. That's great news,” says Jamie Smith, of the University of British Columbia's Centre for Biodiversity Research, who helped draft the letter.

The eight scientists whose votes are restored will chair specialist groups on the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, which includes representatives from federal, provincial, territorial and private agencies along with independent experts.

Christine Stewart, Canada's environment minister, said she believes that the change to the committee will “ensure its continued scientific integrity”.