Protected Areas in Québec

• What Are Protected Areas?
• Why Are Protected Areas Important?
• The Network of Protected Areas in Québec
• Government Guidelines
• The Ecological Reference Framework
• Reference Documents

What Are Protected Areas?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 1994) defines protected area as follows:

" an areas of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means ".

In December 2002, the Government of Québec passed the Natural Heritage Conservation Act in order to contribute to the objective of safeguarding the character, diversity and integrity of Québec's natural heritage. The definition of protected area set out in the Act is:

• “a geographically defined expanse of land or water established under a legal and administrative framework designed specifically to ensure the protection and maintenance of biological diversity and of related natural and cultural resources.

However, in Québec, any territory that meets one of these definitions is considered a protected area.

Protected areas are primarily designed to preserve species and their genetic variability as well as maintaining the natural processes and ecosystems that sustain life in its various expressions.

All activities carried out within their perimeter or a portion there of must leave the basic biological characteristics of protected areas intact.

Why Are Protected Areas Important?

In 1996, the Québec government adopted a Strategy for the Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity within its borders. In this strategy, for which the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs is the coordinator, the major aims pertaining to protected areas are already outlined. With the strategy, Québec emphasizes that protected areas are a key element in maintaining the diversity of species, ecosystems and wild genetic resources as well as for attaining the objectives of sustainable development.

On an environmental, ecological, scientific, educational, social, cultural, spiritual and economic level, protected areas have many advantages.

Protected areas have the utmost to offer in terms of the ecology, such as the production of oxygen, the creation and protection of soil, the absorption and reduction of pollutants, the improvement in local and regional weather conditions, the conservation of groundwater aquifers, and the flow control and purification of watercourses.

Protected areas are laboratories in nature. At any given time, they can provide us with unique data on how ecosystems function and on the species that live there. They are also a prized setting for people’s recreational and outdoor activities that contribute to our physical and mental well-being.

In terms of economic benefits, protected areas are a boon for the diversification of local and regional economies. They help preserve a biological potential that constitutes a renewable natural resource on which certain activities depend, such as is the case with hunting, fishing and trapping. They contribute to the tourist industry in a very significant way, particularly ecotourism, which is gaining rapidly in popularity.

These days, protected areas represent one of the major components for the sustainable management of forests.

To learn more on the subject, consult the document entitled: Protected Areas in Québec - Context, Statements and Challenges for the Future (French).

The Network of Protected Areas in Québec

There are about 1,800 natural sites in Québec that meet the definition of protected area. All these natural sites are regulated and administered according to the 17 different judicial or administrative designations. These designations are:

1. Exceptional forest ecosystem (3 types of EFE)

   • Old-growth forests

   • Rare forest

   • Shelter forest

2. Habitat of a threatened or vulnerable plant species
3. Wildlife habitat (8 types of habitat)
   • Water fowl gathering area
   • White-tailed deer yard
   • Habitat of a threatened or vulnerable wildlife species
   • Cliff inhabited by a colony of birds
   • Island or peninsula inhabited by a colony of birds
   • Muskrat habitat
   • Heronry
   • Salt lick
4. Protected marine environment
5. Natural environment voluntary conservation
6. National Capital Commission park (Canada)
7. National historic site of Canada
8. Canada’s national park and national park reserve
9. Quebec’s national park
10. Migratory bird sanctuarie
11. Wildlife preserve
12. Aquatic reserve
13. Proposed aquatic reserve
14. Biodiversity reserve
15. Proposed biodiversity reserve
16. Quebec’s national park reserve
17. Ecological reserve
18. Proposed ecological reserve
19. National wildlife area
20. Recognized nature reserve
21. Man-made landscape
22. Proposed man-made landscape

    

Government Guidelines

On June 21, 2000, the Québec government set out a series of principles and strategic guidelines the objective of which is to designate somewhere near 8 % of Québec's land in the form of protected areas.

The government thereby acknowledges the importance, on the ecological, economic and social levels, of protected areas and their benefits for all of Québec. By adopting objectives and strategies with a view to expanding the present-day network of protected areas, it focuses on the preservation of representative samples of our biodiversity, both on land and water, and in lakes and rivers alike. It also targets the preservation of sensitive areas or exceptional settings as well as the habitats of threatened or vulnerable species. Lastly, the government intends to encourage the participation of the major stakeholders and concerned organizations in the drafting of a strategy on protected areas. Native communities will also be called upon to contribute to this project.

To learn more on the subject, consult the document entitled: Government Guidelines with a View to Adopting a Québec Strategy.

The Ecological Reference Framework

The Ecological Reference Framework is a scientific method that serves as the basis to the definition of Québec's biological diversity. In the context where protected areas must be representative of biodiversity, the Ministère de l'Environnement has developed a method that allows for the assessment of Québec's biodiversity according to different levels of perception and to plan future interventions.

To define the nature, diversity and spatial distribution of ecosystems, the Ecological Reference Framework relies on a geographical approach where the territory is delineated according to an ecological logic, itself set within a larger North American framework to mesh with existing land planning and resources management mechanisms.

To learn more on the subject, consult the documents entitled: 

• Québec's Ecological Reference Framework (French)
• Protected Areas in Québec - Natural Provinces - Level 1 of Québec's Ecological Reference Framework (French).

Reference Documents (sold at the Publications du Québec)

• Répertoire des aires protégées et des aires de conservation gérées au Québec (1999)

• Portrait synthèse des données sur les aires protégées au Québec (1999)

• Aires protégées au Québec : contexte, constat et enjeux pour l’avenir

• Carte sur les aires protégées au Québec (Les Publications du Québec)

• Aires protégées au Québec : les provinces naturelles