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Highlights
The 2004 forum on integrated management of the St. Lawrence (IMSL)
In the wake of the National Water Policy adopted by the Government of Quebec two years earlier, some 150 experts and representatives of governments, industries and communities came together in the spring of 2004 at Longueuil, to consider the possible nature, in practical terms, of integrated management of the St. Lawrence.
Organized by Stratégies Saint-Laurent, coordinator of the ZIP (area of prime concern) committees, the Vers la gestion intégrée du Saint-Laurent forum followed up on the commitment expressed by the Government of Quebec in its policy to implement integrated management of the St. Lawrence. The goal of the forum was to promote a shared vision of integrated management by highlighting the vital role of riverside communities in this initiative.
Several local or regional initiatives already putting into practice various types of integrated management were presented to the participants. Specifically, the ZIP committees explained how they incorporate a number of integrated management principles into their specific activities by consulting the public and bringing together various local players and decision-makers.
The speakers included Quebec Environment Minister Thomas Mulcair and federal MP Clifford Lincoln, a former Quebec Minister of the Environment who has headed Canadian delegations to many international conferences on the environment. The facilitator of this forum was André Beauchamp, former president of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) [bureau for public hearings on the environment], who chaired the Commission d’enquête et d’audiences publiques [commission of inquiry and for public hearings] on water management in Quebec.
Date modified: 2008/08/05 – Important Notices
