Text Size
News release
Biodiversity Portrait of the St. Lawrence: a Virtual Expedition of the River
Ste Foy, August 8, 2000 –The partners of the St. Lawrence Vision 2000 Action Plan are today launching the Biodiversity Portrait of the St. Lawrence, an electronic tool that provides an overview of what has been learned about the plant and animal life in the St. Lawrence River over the past 30 years. The work is the only one of its kind in Canada and is a useful decision-making tool for resource conservation and sustainable development along the St. Lawrence.
This compendium of knowledge was produced by a multidisciplinary team of 40 scientists who analysed an enormous amount of information over a five-year period. The Portrait Internet site contains more than 150 pages of text, 350 figures, 2,500 maps and species lists for some 700 sectors. The information is organized around four major themes: the ecological framework of the St. Lawrence, the state of the river’s natural habitats, the biological diversity of the St. Lawrence and the distribution of plant and animal species. You can consult Biodiversity Portrait at the following address: http://www.qc.ec.gc.ca/faune/biodiv
The Biodiversity Portrait is an exceptional educational tool and an indispensable reference for anyone interested in the river and its many plant and animal resources. It is designed for researchers, decision-makers, environmentalists, nature lovers, land managers and representatives of municipal organizations.
Environment Canada and the ministère de l’Environnement du Québec teamed up to produce the work using data obtained from various partner associations, agencies and departments involved in the St. Lawrence Vision 2000 Action Plan. The participating departments were Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Parks Canada, the ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec and the Société de la faune et des parcs du Québec.
St. Lawrence Vision 2000 is an action plan that brings together the Canadian and Quebec provincial governments and is aimed at protecting, conserving and enhancing the St. Lawrence River. The Biodiversity Portrait of the St. Lawrence is a contribution from the Biodiversity component, whose objectives are to conserve and enhance priority habitats, protect and re-establish species in difficulty and provide decision makers and the general public with information about the state of the St. Lawrence.
An information brochure on the Biodiversity Portrait is available. Copies can be obtained by calling the toll-free numbers of Environment Canada’s Inquiry Centre at 1 800 463-4311 or the Quebec government’s Environment Information Referral Centre at 1 800 561-1616.
Source and information:
Nathalie Turgeon
Environment Canada
(514) 283-9994
Raymonde Goupil
Ministère de l’Environnement du Québec
(418) 521-3823, ext. 4912
Jean-Luc DesGranges
Canadian Wildlife Service
Environment Canada
Québec Region
(418) 648-7225
Jean-Pierre Ducruc
Direction du patrimoine écologique et du développement durable
Ministère de l’Environnement du Québec
(418) 521-3907
Également offert en français
Date modified: 2000/08/08 – Important Notices
