COP15 in Montreal | A compass to “better follow” the evolution of biodiversity in Quebec

Who says COP15 says biodiversity. And to “better follow the evolution” of the different ecosystems in Quebec, the University of Sherbrooke, the Center for Biodiversity Science of Quebec and the Ministry of the Environment are launching a new compass of the “state of nature ” in the province.

Let’s talk more about biodiversity

Very young, the project already promises to evolve in the coming years to become a reference tool. Dominique Gravel, professor in the biology department at the University of Sherbrooke and researcher at Biodiversité Québec, is behind the new compass, designed at a cost of approximately 1.7 million. He says that it was created in particular to respond to a “general communication deficit on biodiversity issues, compared to climate change”. “We often see that it’s a double standard: the climate crisis is an integral part of election campaigns, for example, while biodiversity, we hardly talk about it, except since the arrival of COP15 in Montreal. . We want to change that,” he said.

Close to 17%, but…

According to data from the platform, the network of protected areas across Quebec covers 272,337 square kilometers (km^⁠2), the equivalent of 16.3% of the territory of Quebec. This is an increase “of 152,906 km^⁠2 since 2013 “. Thus, “Quebec is approaching the 17% target for the protection of the territory for the purpose of biodiversity conservation as set in the Aichi Objectives”, note the researchers. However, they recall that “the distribution of protected areas is uneven within the territory: protection is greater in the north where climate change will be the fastest, but lower in southern Quebec where species in a precarious situation are concentrated” .

A thousand more in urban areas

Between 1992 and 2020, the area of ​​areas considered “urban” in Quebec jumped by 983 km^⁠2, and today represents 0.2% of the entire terrestrial territory of Quebec. In their report, the researchers note that “forest and wetland environments” still include “the largest proportion of non-artificialized terrestrial habitats in Quebec”, but that these “are shrinking in particular due to urban expansion”. In other words, the phenomenon of urban sprawl often occurs to the detriment of nature protection in general.

Still few documented species

According to compass data, Quebec has so far identified 2,223 animal species on its territory. While this figure may seem high, it is in fact probably marginal compared to reality, with nearly 40,000 species being “estimated to be present on the territory” of the province at the present time. While “certain groups such as invertebrates are little known in Quebec, with less than 17 observations on average per species, others are widely inventoried, such as bats with nearly 3,000 observations on average per species”, reads we also in the report.

What future for the compass?

Dominique Gravel hopes to “continue the development” of the compass in the coming months, with the mandate of his research team expected to last at least another three years. “We follow, among other things, the displacement of distribution areas, more particularly birds, colonization and local extinctions. These will certainly be indicators that will be added soon,” he explains, also saying he wants to “follow the arrival of new species” in Quebec more closely. The professor also plans to “quantify” certain ecosystems such as forestry, maple syrup production or pollination.