In the Media
Canada: Charest announces conservation plan for Quebec’s north
February 05, 2012
Toronto Sun
Quebec will turn 20% of its vast northern territory into internationally recognized protected areas, a plan Premier Jean Charest said is one of the largest conservation projects in the world.
The proposed protected area includes 12% of Quebec’s boreal forest, a geographically continuous blanket of trees crucial to the fight against global warming as the forest soaks up carbon emissions. The project is called the Plan Nord (Northern Plan).
Charest said he expects its northern region, equalling roughly 1.2 million square km – a little more than twice the size of France – will receive about $80 billion in investments over the next 25 years for the exploitation of mining, forest and energy resources.
Fifty per cent of that land will be “protected from industrial activity by 2035,” Charest said Sunday. The activity that will be permitted on the extra 30% of land not considered an official “protected area,” has yet to be determined, he said.
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Keywords: Canada, Carbon market, GHG, North America, Northern Plan, Plan Nord, protected area, Quebec, WCI