Protected Areas in Québec

Adopted in 2002 by the Gouvernement du Québec and amended in 2021, the Natural Heritage Conservation Act aims to safeguard the character, diversity and integrity of Québec’s natural heritage. The Act defines a protected area as “a clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values". This is the definition adopted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (UICN).

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.

Any activity carried out in a protected area must not alter its basic biological characteristics. In cases of conflict, the conservation of nature has priority.

Importance of protected areas

In 1996, the Gouvernement du Québec adopted an implementation strategy for the Convention on Biological Diversity within its territory. This strategy, whose implementation is coordinated by the Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, has already outlined major objectives related to protected areas. Québec thus emphasizes that protected areas are a key element in maintaining the diversity of species, ecosystems and wild genetic resources, and in achieving sustainable development objectives.

Protected areas provide a wide range of benefits.

From an ecological standpoint, oxygen production, soil regeneration, pollutant reduction, improved climatic conditions, the regulation and purification of watercourses are examples of benefits associated with protected areas.

Protected areas are also recognized as an essential tool for climate change adaptation. They help store carbon. By protecting a sample of all ecosystems and ensuring ecological connectivity among natural environments, a protected area network promotes the resilience of species, ecosystems and human communities in the face of global change.

Protected areas are also one of the key components of sustainable forest management.

They are also natural laboratories. They provide unique data on how minimally disturbed ecosystems function and on species. Comparing natural environments inside and outside protected areas makes it possible to measure the impact of human activities on these natural environments.

From an economic standpoint, protected areas promote the diversification of local and regional economies and provide significant support to the tourism and ecotourism industries. They also help maintain populations of wildlife species of interest for hunting, fishing and trapping.

Lastly, protected areas that are accessible to citizens are recognized as being beneficial to their physical and mental health.

Government guidelines

As early as June 2000, the Gouvernement du Québec adopted principles and strategic guidelines to equip the province with a network of protected areas representative of all of its biodiversity and that would, in total, cover 8% of Québec’s surface area. Over the years, other guidelines were established, in particular to achieve the international targets set out under Aichi Target 11 of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. Accordingly, by implementing a strategy tailored to the regional characteristics of southern Québec, Québec henceforth aimed for the international target of 17% protected areas in terrestrial and freshwater environments by 2020.

With the announcement of Plan Nord in April 2015, Québec undertook to reach a target of 20% protected areas by 2020 in the Plan Nord territory, including at least 12% in the boreal forest north of the 49^th parallel. When the Maritime Strategy was unveiled, also in 2015, a new target was set, in line with the international target relating to the marine environment, namely to establish a representative network of marine protected areas covering at least 10% of the estuary and gulf of the St. Lawrence River, in collaboration and dialogue with the federal government. Québec announced that, as of December 31, 2020, it had achieved the targets it had set.

Following the adoption of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Gouvernement du Québec developed Nature Plan 2030, a framework policy aimed at conserving biodiversity and achieving most global targets. Québec aims in particular to conserve 30% of its continental environments and 30% of its marine environments by 2030, focusing on effective management, representativeness and ecological connectivity of conserved sites, while improving access to nature.

To learn more about data and statistics on the protected area network, see the Register of protected areas and OECMs in Québec (French) page.

Through these guidelines, the government recognizes the importance and benefits of protected areas for all of Québec. By adopting objectives and measures to expand the network, it focuses its efforts on safeguarding representative samples of all biodiversity and on preserving fragile or exceptional environments, as well as habitats of threatened or vulnerable species. It intends to involve the main stakeholders and organizations concerned by the strategy on protected and conserved areas. The participation of Indigenous communities is also sought.

The Ecological Reference Framework

The Ministère adopted, in 1994, the Ecological Reference Framework. It is an ecosystem-based land management tool used, among other things, for planning, assessing and monitoring Québec’s protected area network.

To learn more about the Ecological Reference Framework, see the Ecology and territory (French) page.

See also

• Evolution of the surface area of the territory in protected areas, by natural provinces: Sustainable Development Statistical Portal (French)