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When everyone works together… |
Through information on the Park’s history, purpose and partnership approach, this columns promote what has become a unique marine conservation area in Quebec. The columns will also describe how the marine park meets its conservation and presentation goals, encouraging public participation in future development initiatives.These articles will be published in local weekly newspapers such as L’Hebdo Charlevoisien, Journal Haute-Côte-Nord, Saint-Laurent Portage, Progrès-Dimanche and Quebec Chronicle Telegraph.
What happens when 27 interest groups from the Saguenay, Charlevoix and North Shore cooperate to save a small white whale? In 1998, that cooperation led to a historic meeting in the village of Tadoussac, creating the International Forum for the Future of the Beluga. Representatives from the new whale-watching industry, scientists and various environmental groups agreed that protection of the beluga required a marine park at the mouth of the Saguenay River.
A first in Quebec
Following that historic meeting, the federal and provincial governments signed an agreement to establish the first marine conservation site in Quebec. In 1998, the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park was born. Its mission is to increase the level of protection of the Saguenay River and a portion of the St. Lawrence estuary while encouraging its use for educational, recreational and scientific purposes.
| Photo : Parks Canada/Alain Dumas
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Beluga whales have become a symbol of environmental protection. Their declining numbers in the St. Lawrence River sparked the creation of a unique marine park – the first in Quebec and one of the first in Canada. |
The Marine Park is the result of a tight-knit partnership between governments and communities in the Saguenay, Charlevoix, North Shore and Lower St. Lawrence regions. This public success serves today as a model for cooperation in an exceptional effort to protect a unique marine environment. Read our upcoming columns to learn how the cooperation evolved at each step in implementing the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park.
Doing my part!
It is widely known that the contaminated waters of the St. Lawrence River threaten the beluga whale. Several products that we dispose of daily at home make their way to the belugas’ habitat, causing serious damage.
You can help by choosing environmentally friendly cleaning products – for the whales’ health and for yours! |
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