500 scientists call to conserve boreal forest in Quebec

Map of Quebec's Boreal north of the 49th parallel.

Thursday 500 scientists and conservation professionals—65 percent of whom have PhDs—sent a letter to Quebec's Premier Jean Charest calling on him to make good on his promise.

According to the letter, the carbon storage and water filtration services from Quebec's forests alone are worth 13.8 times the value of the extractive industries inside.

"Our scientific data confirm that Boreal ecosystems already efficiently store more carbon in their trees, soils and peat than any other environment in the world," said Nigel Roulet, Director of the McGill School of Environment in Montreal. "Development and conservation planning will determine whether this carbon gets released into the atmosphere. When we consider the Plan Nord, it is imperative that decisions made at the political level be based on sound scientific data."


"In protecting northern Quebec's natural environment and ensuring responsible development in the rest of the area, your government will set in motion one of the most ambitious sustainable development and nature conservation projects in North America, and one that could serve as a model for the rest of the world," the letter reads.

According to the letter, northern Quebec houses 340 million birds, more than a million caribou, and among the greatest populations of freshwater fish in North America. However, not all species are thriving: woodland caribou, the wolverine, and the golden eagle are all threatened with extinction.

"Northern Quebec is home to high-value conservation lands, most notably the vast intact forests and habitats for the woodland caribou and for more than half of the world's breeding pairs of the American Black Duck," said Dr. Marcel Darveau, head of boreal research and conservation for Ducks Unlimited in Quebec and adjunct professor at Laval University. "Along with housing a diversity of animals and flora beyond our immediate measure, this land offers indispensible ecological benefits to our society, most notably water filtration and carbon storage. We call for the protection of Northern Quebec's natural capital because, in our world of changing climate, its survival is vital to our own."

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