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Sud-de-l'Estuaire ZIP Committee
Integrated management plan
for Isle-aux-Coudres
Since June 2007, the people of Isle-aux-Coudres have been better equipped to manage their island environment in harmony with and with respect for the environment. The Integrated management plan for Isle-aux-Coudres is a document that assembles everything that is currently known about the island, describes the main environmental, social and economic issues affecting it, and suggests a series of actions to promote its sustainable development.
Prepared over the course of the past four years, the management plan is the product of an initiative by the Sud-de-l’Estuaire ZIP Committee. It represents one of the concrete achievements of the integrated management project for the St. Lawrence estuary’s inhabited islands, introduced by the Committee in 2003 with the contribution of St. Lawrence Action Plan's Community Interaction programs, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the UQAR's Centre de recherche en développement territorial [UQAR's Research Centre Land Use Management].
Public meetings held in preparation for the Integrated management plan for Isle-aux-Coudres confirmed the interest and concerns of residents and brought out the main issues of concern. This led to the establishment of the Isle‑aux‑Coudres coastal committee, which then assumed responsibility for developing the Plan.
Five issues, six major objectives and no less than eighty action items to achieve the objectives on three levels of priority—the coastal committee mapped out a full agenda for itself for the integrated management plan. Certain action items considered of high priority have already been completed; e.g., a study of silting in the marina and possibilities for its dredging. Floodplains and areas undergoing erosion that threaten highway infrastructures and homes have also been identified and mapped.
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As in both these cases, several proposed action items involve improving knowledge of the environment and awareness and education activities for residents. According to Françoise Bruaux, Director of the ZIP committee, this is because the management plan brought out an alarmingly inadequate level of knowledge about the environment of the island.
“For example,” she points out, “there is no comprehensive inventory of natural resources (flora, fauna, geology), which means that people could make decisions without realizing the implications for the environment. It also does little to highlight the important elements of the natural heritage.” Establishment of an inventory of the biophysical components of the island’s coastal zone was therefore added to the long-term action items.
Another example is the significant impact that the lack of knowledge about drinking water can have on this limited island resource. In fact, several concerns expressed by residents while the Plan was being developed had to do with the scarcity of drinking water. Groundwater depletion, the impact of pesticides, septic system compliance and water use will be the focus of several action items to be initiated in the short, medium and long term, with regard to both knowledge acquisition and to awareness and education.
Other action items in the Plan include developing trails that are better suited to all-terrain vehicles to minimize destruction of the natural environment, creating community composting activities, planting trees, inventorying illegal dumps and organizing nature interpretation and observation activities. Many actions also target young people, including awareness activities in the schools and clean-up operations for banks and ditches.
Finally, on the economic and social front, a study is planned on the reconversion of the peat bogs in the centre of the island, where harvesting is winding up. There are also plans to enhance the built heritage, develop parks and create off-season activities to extend the tourist season. Various action items are also planned to address the exodus of young people from the island, another major concern among the population.
It is the coastal committee that will implement the Plan, under the auspices of the municipality. Nevertheless, throughout its implementation, many partners will be called upon to participate because, as its name implies, it is an integrated management plan which, by definition, represents an ongoing process of collaboration among all parties concerned.
For more information:
Josée Boudreault
1026, Des Coudriers,
Isle-aux-Coudres (Qc)
G0A 3J0
Tel.: 418-438-2583
Fax: 418-438-2750
Email: joseeb@municipaliteisleauxcoudres.ca
Françoise Bruaux
Sud-de-l’Estuaire ZIP Committee
188 De l’Évêché West, 2nd Floor
Rimouski, QC
Tel.: 418 722-8833
Email: zipse@globetrotter.net
Date modified: 2008/04/30 – Important Notices
