THE ECOLOGICAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT NETWORK
SECOND NATIONAL SCIENCE MEETING
January 17-20, 1996
Halifax, Nova Scotia
ECOSYSTEM INITIATIVES
St Lawrence Action Plan and St Lawrence Vision 2000
Raymond Lemieux
Environment Canada, Sainte-Foy, Quebec
On June 8, 1989, the government of Canada and the government of Quebec signed the Harmonization and Co- ordination Agreement respecting the conservation, protection, clean-up and restoration of the St Lawrence River. On April 18, 1994, the two governments ratified a further harmonization agreement called St Lawrence Vision 2000. Below is a brief overview of two of the seven components of this new agreement, "Biodiversity" and "Decision-Making Assistance". These are the components most closely related to the interests of the EMAN.
By virtue of its environmental, social and economic characteristics, this ecosystem is one of the largest on the planet. Its sustainability is now threatened by social and economic development, and our knowledge of the ecosystem is not up to the task of dealing with this threat. A program like St. Lawrence Vision 2000 can help us make up for our knowledge deficit and bring us closer to the objective of sustainable development.
The decision-making assistance component aims to improve our knowledge and provide information to the decision makers. This work will lead to a second report on the state of the St. Lawrence environment. It will determine, for 18 organic compounds and 7 metals, the proportion of chemical contamination that is of atmospheric origin. There are 41 projects in all, representing 6 sectors of activity. Among the anticipated results; publication of technical reports on the state of St. Lawrence and its tributaries, dissemination of information to the general pubic, assessment of the quantity of the contaminants being dumped into the river and their effects on the ecosystems, and monitoring of water quality in the river and in 24 of its tributaries, a network of stations to sample organic and inorganic toxics has been organized. The first three facilities were set up during 1993-95 (at Sainte-Francoise, Saint-Anicet and Mingan).
The biodiversity component aims to Conserve the biodiversity of the St Lawrence. The work will include: protecting 7000 hectares of habitat, implementing a beluga whale recovery plan, restoring the smelt population in the Boyer river, and organizing a network to monitor the condition of the St Lawrence river. So far the project to monitor the St Lawrence River has been finalized; starting in 1996-97, it will cover the entire ecosystem (the River, the Estuary and the Gulf).
The St Lawrence Action Plan was focused on monitoring pollution, whereas St Lawrence Vision 2000 is more oriented toward preventing pollution and conserving biodiversity. The real value of the work will be seen once the results are being used by the decision-makers. That is why we are making it a high priority to disseminate information in a variety of forms to various target groups, so that all parties can play a full role in the pursuit of sustainable development.
