Government Biological Diversity Guidelines 2013

Conserving Québec’s biological diversity for our collective future!

Background: the Aichi Targets

The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 of the Convention on Biological Diversity that was adopted in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010, identifies 20 concrete objectives that are collectively known as the Aichi Targets. It expired in December 2020. The plan and the Aichi Targets formed the background for Québec’s efforts in the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity) on its territory.

In 2013, the Gouvernement du Québec adopted the Government Biological Diversity Guidelines (French, PDF, 1 MB) to be implemented by various government ministries and organizations, but also aimed at influencing civil society in positive ways.

Shared responsibilities and the Biological Diversity Steering Committee

In accordance with their individual areas of competence, Gouvernement du Québec ministries and organisations covered by these guidelines are responsible for the activities they intend to undertake to help conserve biodiversity. However, some emerging or multi-sector issues require additional cooperation and dialogue.

The government has therefore created a Biological Diversity Steering Committee. The ministries with specific biodiversity responsibilities are represented on the Biological Diversity Steering Committee, which is composed of Assistant Deputy or Associate Deputy Ministers and coordinated by the Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MELCC). In particular, the steering committee is responsible for ensuring that government guidelines are taken into account and incorporated into ministerial and organizational activities.

Report on Gouvernment du Québec 2011-2020 biodiversity action

The Gouvernement du Québec carried out more than 370 biodiversity conservation measures and other actions on its territory between 2011 and 2020. The Report on Québec’s Contribution to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Targets (French, PDF, 3,8 MB), reveals that Québec has made significant progress in a number of fields and stands out in particular:

• For its major progress on the size of its protected areas since 2011, the quality of its protected natural habitats and the strong protection ensured by the many categories of protected areas used in Québec (Aichi Target 11);
• For its acquisition and sharing of quality biodiversity information that ensures Québec’s leading position in this field (Aichi Target 19).

In spite of major progress achieved, the report confirms that none of the Aichi Targets were fully achieved, neither in Québec nor elsewhere in the world. Québec must therefore leverage its existing policies and practices to build on its achievements, with a view to increasing its biodiversity efforts in the coming decade.

Documentation

• Québec Government Biological Diversity Guidelines 2013 (French, PDF, 1 MB)
  • Summary (PDF, 455 KB)
• Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Québec (1992 – 2010) (French, PDF, 441 KB)
• Report on Québec’s Contribution to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Targets (French, PDF, 3,8 MB)
• Report on Québec’s Contribution to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Targets – Summary (French, PDF, 910 KB)
• Information Sheet: Status of biological diversity in Québec (2011-2020) (French, PDF, 1,1 MB)
• Information Sheet: Overview of Québec biological diversity Québec in 2020 (French, PDF, 600 KB)