Wetlands: a wealth to be preserved!

Strictly speaking, these are places that are frequently flooded, or places where the soil contains so much water that the species living there are adapted to these conditions. These areas include marshes, swamps, peat bogs, wet meadows of our latitudes, but also deltas, rice fields and mangroves. Although they represent only 6% of the earth’s surface, wetlands are home to 40% of all plant and animal life (1).

Despite their rarity on a global scale, Quebec’s wetlands occupy approximately 18 million hectares or 180,000 km2, or about 11% of the entire Quebec territory. The hydric environments include about 3.6 million freshwater bodies, which cover an area of nearly 21 million hectares or 210,000 km2. In addition, there are tens of thousands of rivers that stretch over millions of kilometers (2).

They are therefore formidable ecosystems rich in biodiversity. They also provide ecosystem services to human activities such as water regulation, flood control and water purification, which are estimated to be worth several thousand dollars per hectare per year (3).

It is therefore necessary to preserve healthy wetlands. Better management has been done on the Quebec territory for a few years now through the Regional Wetland and Water Management Plans (PRMHH), carried out under the responsibility of the MRCs. These plans aim to establish a strategic reflection that integrates the conservation of wetlands and hydric environments in the planning of the territory, by promoting a sustainable and structuring development.

In concrete terms, developments are created to make wetlands and waterways accessible to visitors without harming the ecosystem. Examples include the Strasbourg Marsh in Candiac and the Marais de la Rivières aux Cerises in Magog.

When implementing our adaptation plans, we make sure to highlight the wetlands, with the support of the PRMHH.

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