Implement a biodiversity monitoring program in and around protected areas

Context and project description

How effective are conservation and protection measures taken in certain areas in helping maintain biodiversity over the long term in those areas? That is what St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP) partners want to find out by implementing a biological diversity monitoring program in and around protected areas. Their objective is also to determine what actions that are needed to improve the situation, as required.

This is a long-term project that includes several stages. The undertaking will be based on inventories of species or groups of species chosen based on their representative value in relation to the main types of habitats found in the areas being studied and in adjacent areas. Those areas will be chosen based on a plan for representative sampling of protected areas along the St. Lawrence, and the inventories will follow standard protocols. This monitoring program will be added to those already implemented in other protected areas along the St. Lawrence (Canadian and Quebec national parks).

Results

An ecological monitoring program for the eight national wildlife areas (NWAs) in Quebec has been developed , including the indicators and survey methodologies to be used. The first part of this program will soon be published on the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP) website. A program for monitoring biodiversity in Quebec is also being developed. It will include indicators, methodologies and survey sites covering the major ecosystem types in Quebec. Joint implementation strategies will set out the measurements to be taken on sites that will benefit both programs, thereby optimizing the use of resources to maximize benefits for both programs. Among the common indicators to be evaluated are the abundance and distribution of invasive exotic species and species at risk.

The second part of the program will be developed during the 2016–2021 phase of SLAP. It will include sampling strategies, thresholds (desired states) for the selected indicators, and selection of survey sites. Once the entire program is implemented, it will be possible to monitor biodiversity in Quebec, which will contribute to effective management of the NWAs and other protected areas in Quebec.

The implementation in the years 2000 of the federal-provincial program to inventory protected areas greatly increased our knowledge of the presence of plants and animals in dozens of protected areas in southern Quebec. The proposed biodiversity monitoring program will therefore use this data as reference points for several of the proposed survey sites.

Participating departments

Government of Canada

• Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Parks Canada

Government of Quebec

• Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs