Plan St-Laurent - Pour un développement durable

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Backgrounder

	Background
	The cornerstones
	A new mode of governance
	Selected areas of intervention
	Committed partners

The St. Lawrence Plan For A Sustainable Development 2005-2010

Background

The St. Lawrence Plan For A Sustainable Development Approach is aimed at achieving concrete results in each targeted area to strengthen sustainability. It also outlines what action needs to be taken to achieve those objectives. The plan’s implementation will foster increased community engagement and a better understanding of the complex interactions in the St. Lawrence ecosystem in order to maintain its ecological integrity and monitor its health more closely. In addition, the federal and provincial government partners involved in this plan have agreed to join forces to develop an integrated management approach for the St. Lawrence River basin and the tools to implement it.

The cornerstones

The St. Lawrence Plan has four cornerstones:

• The development of a new system of governance: the integrated management of the St. Lawrence.
• Support for riverside communities in their commitment to protect and develop the resources and uses of the St. Lawrence.
• Better understanding of the complex interactions of the St. Lawrence in order to maintain its ecological integrity.
• Actions to promote environmental sustainability in targeted economic activities related to agriculture, navigation and shoreline accessibility.

A new mode of governance

The departments and agencies involved in this plan have agreed to build on what has been achieved, by pooling their skills and resources to develop an integrated management approach for the St. Lawrence. It will take into account, for example, Quebec’s National Water Policy, one of whose commitments is the implementation of integrated management for the St. Lawrence. The integrated management approach takes into account Canada’s Oceans Strategy and the Policy and Operational Framework for Integrated Management of Estuarine, Coastal and Marine Environments in Canada.

Targeted results

• Develop a joint concept for the integrated management of the St. Lawrence and tools to implement it.
• Take account of the visions, concerns, suggestions and recommendations of other players with a stake in the integrated management of the St. Lawrence.

Selected areas of intervention

Six areas of intervention were selected, with objectives and outcomes being established for each of them:

1. Community involvement and awareness
2. Ecological integrity
3. State of the St. Lawrence Monitoring
4. Agriculture
5. Navigation
6. Access to Riverbanks

1. Community involvement and awareness

The government partners involved in the St. Lawrence Plan will continue to support the co-ordinated action being taken by riverside communities on local environmental issues by providing them with the financial, scientific and technical support they need. The Area of Prime Concern committees, which are known by their French acronym ZIP, have existed along the St. Lawrence since 1989 and are well positioned to encourage riverside communities to increase consultation on local issues. The committees will continue to receive support for the implementation of their Environmental Remedial Action Plans (ERAP).

Citizens and decision-makers need to know the whole picture in order to make informed decisions and identify priority actions. To meet their needs, new information technologies, such as an Internet portal, will be used to disseminate information about the St. Lawrence and its environmental issues on a large scale.

Targeted results

• Support the coordinated action of riverside communities on local environmental issues, including the priorities set out in the Environmental Remedial Action Plans.
• Support the implementation of 150 community and environmental projects.
• Provide riverside communities with scientific and technical support.
• Make more young people aware of sustainable development by implementing tools and educational programs with the Biosphere’s local partners.
• Adapt scientific information and knowledge to the needs of stakeholders, decision-makers and citizens and make it available through traditional and electronic means, such as an Internet portal.

2. Ecological integrity

The health of the St. Lawrence ecosystem can be measured by its ecological integrity, which is defined as the environmental conditions essential for sustaining species and habitat diversity and allowing it to develop in a dynamic manner.

Ecological integrity will be maintained and promoted, in part, by acquiring knowledge about the species and their habitats and by drawing up conservation plans. Action will also be taken to achieve a better understanding of the impact of stresses on the ecosystem, such as urban pollution, climate change, water level fluctuations and the introduction of exotic species.

Targeted results

• Identify and assess populations of wildlife species potentially at risk and implement concrete measures to protect priority habitats.
• Develop and implement conservations plans for the St. Lawrence, including the riverbanks, littoral zone, flood plains, wetlands and aquatic habitats.
• Implement concrete action for the recovery of species at risk based on existing recovery plans and develop or update others.
• Assess, consolidate and improve the network of protected and developed areas and territories along the St. Lawrence River.
• Acquire, integrate, and share with decision-makers, researchers and communities new knowledge of the biodiversity of the St. Lawrence, including the river’s physical environment.
• Study the effects of stresses on ecosystems, particularly urban pollution, climate change, water level fluctuations and the introduction of exotic species in order to help safeguard ecosystems while ensuring the St. Lawrence is used to its fullest.

3. State of the St. Lawrence Monitoring

To learn more about the St. Lawrence ecosystem, a tool was developed to measure ecosystem health and any changes in the condition of the ecosystem. This tool, the State of the St. Lawrence Monitoring Program, uses environmental indicators to monitor and report on the main components of the ecosystem, its health and the changes it is undergoing.

Targeted results

• Determine the state of the St. Lawrence River and the changes it has undergone according to the area under study and in relation to the Great Lakes, using scientific information generated by the State of the St. Lawrence Monitoring Program.
• Regularly inform decision-makers and riverside communities about the health and changes to the St. Lawrence River using means of dissemination tailored to their needs that facilitate access to information.

4. Agriculture

Moving agriculture towards integrated management will lead to a better understanding of causal relationships. Emphasis will be placed on developing scientific knowledge about the impacts of new agricultural management practices. There will also be better monitoring of the state of sections of the St. Lawrence and its tributaries.

Targeted results

• Reduce the impact of agricultural activities on sections of the St. Lawrence and its tributaries.
• Increase knowledge to develop new agricultural management practices and improve monitoring of sections of the St. Lawrence and its tributaries.

5. Navigation

A Sustainable Navigation Strategy for the St. Lawrence was developed during the previous plan and will be implemented under the current St. Lawrence Plan. It is aimed at reducing the environmental impact of navigation, while promoting the benefits of this type of transportation, in particular, by instilling in shippers and boaters the need to always behave responsibly. Awareness and engagement form the cornerstone of this strategy.

Targeted results

• Maintain co-operation among shipping and boating stakeholders in relation to broad issues affecting the St. Lawrence.
• Raise the awareness of the public and decision-makers about the pros and cons of commercial and recreational navigation.
• Implement integrated management of dredging and sediments.
  Evaluate the adaptation options for commercial shipping in the event of a drop in water levels.
• Prevent the impact of wave action created by ships and watercraft in sensitive areas of the St. Lawrence River.
• Improve the management of wastewater discharges and cargo wastes.
  Reduce the risk of introducing exotic species for all types of ships.
• Encourage riverside communities’ cooperation with emergency response specialists in case of dangerous goods spills.

6. Access to riverbanks

To improve public access to riverbanks and recreational activities on the river, support will be provided for the creation, development and restoration of public access points (scenic viewpoints, parking lots, launching ramps for watercraft, and interpretation sites). Carrying out such projects will foster alliances between the municipalities and various other stakeholders.

Targeted results

• Support five municipal projects aimed at improving access to the St. Lawrence River
• Repair marine infrastructure that provides access to the St. Lawrence.

Committed partners

The governments are working together and with other partners to implement the St. Lawrence Plan.

• Canadian Space Agency
• Parks Canada Agency
• Agriculture and Agri-food Canada
• Environment Canada
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada
• Transport Canada
• Public Works and Government Services Canada
• Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs du Québec
• Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec
• Ministère des Transports du Québec

Non-government partners:

• Stratégies Saint-Laurent, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been active since 1989 in building consensus among the riverside communities along the
• St. Lawrence, coordinates all the ZIP committees.
  The ZIP Committees are the driving force behind local initiatives to protect, conserve and enhance the St. Lawrence River.
• The Biosphere’s ObservAction Network, which is part of Environment Canada, promotes contact among its partners, including young people committed to protecting the water quality of aquatic ecosystems, such as the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes.