A focus on ecosystem-based management and the completion of
the protected areas network
Québec, December 14, 2004
– The Commission for the study of public forest management
in Québec, which tabled its report today, recommends
that an ecosystem-based approach to the management of Québec’s
forests be adopted. The Commission also asks the government
to promptly identify protected areas so that the target of
having 8% of Québec’s land area under protection
can be met by the end of 2006.
“Currently, public forest management
is primarily geared toward wood production, while ensuring
all the same a certain protection of other resources,”
pointed out André Bouchard, one of the Commission members.
“In light of our consultations and analyses, we are
convinced that Québec must definitely lean toward ecosystem-based
management. This way of managing forests clearly appears to
be more beneficial, not only because it will protect the environment
and better balance management priorities, but also because
it will ensure the long-term viability of wood processing
companies.”
Overall, ecosystem-based management aims
to maintain the ecological processes required to preserve
the composition, structure and functions of ecosystems. This
approach therefore means biological diversity is protected
and all forest-related values, whether environmental, economic
or social, are better taken into account. In this sense, when
it comes to forest land that is as immense and diversified
as it is in Québec, the ecosystem-based approach is
one of the cornerstones in achieving sustainable development.
“The challenge issued by the Commission
is to get Québec to go from a somewhat sector-based
forest management to a more complex ecosystem-based management.
It is therefore necessary for the ministère des Ressources
naturelles, de la Faune et des Parcs to provide greater flexibility
so that management decisions are better adapted to the variety
of local social, economic and environmental conditions. This
will require the active and responsible participation of forest
professionals,” stated Jean Huot, the Commission vice-chair.
As for protected areas, the Commission found
that Québec lags behind when compared with other Canadian
provinces and with its own target. It therefore highly recommends
that the government maintain its objective to protect at least
8% of the area in each of Québec’s natural provinces
by the end of 2006. Furthermore, the Commission reached the
conclusion that for the natural provinces in the boreal zone,
this proportion of protected areas should be 12% and recommends
that this objective be met by 2010.
“There is a twofold reason for this
network of protected areas – the protection of and the
contact with nature,” said Commission member André
Bouchard. “If it is important to prohibit industrial
activities in these areas and preserve ecosystems that are
representative of the biological diversity of each natural
province, it is also important for people to be able to benefit
from a substantial portion of these areas for their leisure
activities and to be close to nature. The current boom in
the eco-tourism industry is a testament to this need. Québec’s
public forests, boasting an area similar to that of Italy,
are an invaluable heritage because of their landscapes and
the various species they contain. They have also made Québec
a player on the international scene and have created an obligation
to protect this heritage.”
The Commission also recommends an enhanced
role for the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement
(BAPE) so it can broaden its public hearings and keep the
population’s trust when it comes to the environmental
aspect of public forest management. In this respect, the Regulation
respecting sustainable forest management, which the Commission
proposes replace the current Regulation respecting standards
of forest management for forests in the domain of the State,
would be submitted, every five years, to a generic BAPE hearing.
Moreover, it proposes that the forest development plans prepared
in each region also be gradually the subject of BAPE hearings.
The recommendations regarding the changes
needed in the area of conservation, protection and integrated
management of forest resources are mainly outlined in Chapters
4 and 7 of the Commission’s report.
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