Quebec awards $3.3M to the Quebec chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society for the establishment of protected areas and conservation corridors in collaboration with municipalities

Quebec, 21 October 2021 – The Government of Quebec will award $3.3M, over the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 fiscal years, to the Quebec chapter of the Canada Parks Wilderness Society of Canada (CPAWS Quebec) to support its “There for municipalities” conservation initiative.

The announcement was made on Thursday by Mr. Benoit Charette, Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change.

The grant awarded to CPAWS Quebec will enable it to financially support municipalities achieving natural habitat protection and enhancement projects on their lands. As a result, the organization and municipalities will help to strengthen the representative character of the protected areas network, particularly in southern Quebec, where biodiversity is the richest and most threatened.

CPAWS Quebec’s initiative will equally enable local municipalities and RCMs to benefit from numerous other tangible advantages, such as:

  • Enhanced knowledge pertaining to the natural environments located on municipal lands and a better understanding of the importance of ensuring their protection.
  • The achievement of natural habitat protection projects of interest, including the protection of the habitats of species at risk, as well as the protection of wetlands and riparian lands.
  • The expansion and strengthening of Quebec’s network of protected areas, including the strengthening of parts of the areas purchased within the framework of previous private stewardship grant programs.
  • The establishment of conservation corridors enabling to further the resilience of fauna and flora populations, as well as that of the network of areas protected against climate change.
  • Better life quality for citizens living in the municipalities benefiting from the “There for municipalities” conservation initiative, since they will reap the benefits of the various protected natural habitats.

Quotes:

“Protecting and ensuring the long-term resilience of natural habitats are actions that must be taken to adapt to climate change and continue to enjoy the benefits nature has to offer. Thanks to the grant awarded to CPAWS Quebec for the achievement of its “There for municipalities” program, the Government of Quebec is taking concrete means to pick up the pace in terms of protecting biodiversity in southern areas, where the largest portion of the population resides and can benefit from them.”

Benoit Charette, Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, Minister Responsible for the Fight against Racism, and Minister for the Laval Region

“CPAWS Quebec is proud to put its shoulder to the wheel to expand the protection of lands in southern Quebec. Thanks to the Government of Quebec’s investment, we will work with key municipal and regional stakeholders and a wide array of land users, to establish new protected areas and conservation corridors south of the 49th parallel. Now more than ever, it is indispensable to protect our neighbouring natural habitats for the benefit of our health and that of the other species with whom we share the land.”

Alain Branchaud, Executive Director of the Quebec chapter of the Canada Parks and Wilderness Society

Highlights:

  • The grant awarded to CPAWS Quebec stems from the $50M reserved to strengthen support for biodiversity, as announced during the 2020-2021 budget presentation.
  • Declaring that it has been bound by the Convention of Biological Diversity since 1992, Quebec considers protected areas as fundamental elements in the preservation of the diversity of species, ecosystems, wild genetic resources, and the attainment of sustainable development targets.
  • CPAWS Quebec’s mission is to protect nature. It works to expand and strengthen Quebec’s network of protected areas.

Related link:

To know more about Quebec’s protected areas, go to: www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/biodiversite/aires_protegees/.  

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CONTACTS

Ingrid Cornec
Communications Coordinator, CPAWS Quebec
Mobile phone: 514-378-3880
[email protected]

Rosalie Tremblay-Cloutier
Press Agent, Office of the Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change
Phone: 438 777-3777