Plan St-Laurent - Pour un développement durable

• The St. Lawrence
  River in good hands
  • Governmental
    actions
  • St. Lawrence Plan
  • Phase IV 2005-2010
  • Principles of the St. Lawrence Plan
    • Integrated management of
      the St.Lawrence
      • Publication
    • Social commitment
    • Ecological integrity
    • Environmentally responsible economic activities

Integrated management of the St.Lawrence

All stakeholders connected with the management or use of the St. Lawrence River and its resources, including civil society, users and government decision-makers, must commit to protecting the ecosystem and ensuring its sustainable development. Integrated management gives everyone the opportunity to take concrete action in keeping with their capacity, share resources and make the most of positive impacts for Canadians and the ecosystem. In establishing the St. Lawrence Plan, the governments of Canada and Québec intend to develop a concept of integrated management.

Intergovernmental synergy

To lay the foundations of this process, and because concertation is essential to its success, both government partners created the Intergovernmental Working Group on Integrated Management of the St. Lawrence (IWG-IMSL) in fall 2003. The group’s mandate, renewed in the St. Lawrence Plan, is to develop a joint integrated management concept and the tools to implement it. The group is made up of representatives of a number of departments: Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Transport Canada, Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs du Québec, Ministère des Transports du Québec, and Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec.

Photo: René Clovis Babin, @ Le Québec en images, CCDMD

Importance of a common vision

Developing a common vision, based on social consensus, is the first step toward achieving integrated management of the St. Lawrence. This requires an in-depth understanding of the project and extensive knowledge of the bio-physical and socio-economic environments. This vision also needs to be based on principles that safeguard respect for the environment, our collective heritage, the free flow of information, government expertise and the representativeness of the groups involved.

Benefits of integrated management

Integrated management facilitates dialogue and enhances understanding of issues, quality of services and overall performance. It also promotes the creation of partnerships, which results in savings of both money and time. Furthermore, because stakeholders participate fully in the development of a common plan, they feel responsible and therefore show greater respect for the ecosystem.

The project’s success depends on the participation of all stakeholders in the decision-making process, the strength of the links between management mechanisms, and steady consensus-building on broad issues. Improved performance in protecting, conserving and enhancing the St. Lawrence is another measure of success.

Objective

Develop the concept of integrated management of the St. Lawrence and tools to implement it.