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The Innu of Pessamit, neighbors of the Innus of Essipit, have been trying for years to protect the Pipmuacan reservoir and its caribou population.
The Innu of Pessamit, for example, have been calling for the creation of a protected area at the Pipmuacan reservoir since 2019, but without success. In the Quebec region, the Hurons-Wendat have obtained the province's commitment to create a protected area for sustainable use, but the project is stalling.
Despite everything, the Innu of Essipit intend to move forward. They will soon meet local stakeholders in the hope of obtaining a consensus around the protected area project. Mr. Ross expects to hit a wall in a few places, particularly with the forestry industry and the communities that depend more on it.
On this subject, the Innu are not closed to all logging on the targeted territory, but they are considering designating conservation centers where the rules would be stricter. We're not closed to any concept at the moment, says Michael Ross.
The Innu of Essipit are supported in their project by the Society for Nature and Parks, Quebec section (SNAP Quebec). This organization sees this as respect for all the principles for biodiversity adopted and recognized in the Montreal Agreement concluded at COP15.
One of the main causes of biodiversity loss is the fragmentation of the territory, therefore it is the fact of having isolated environments which lose their functions at the ecosystem level. Not only must we protect habitats, but we must ensure that protected areas are connected, explains Alice de Swarte, senior director at SNAP Quebec.
This organization, which presents itself as a partner to support the Innu, believes in indigenous know-how in achieving territory protection objectives. Indigenous peoples are on the front lines of environmental change, but they are often the ones with solutions and a vision that benefits everyone, underlines Ms. de Swarte.
SNAP Quebec is putting pressure on the Quebec government to deliver on the commitments made at COP15 last year. The Innu project, according to Ms. de Swarte, arrives at a pivotal moment. She sees it as a test to see if Quebec will work hand in hand, from nation to nation. She accuses the province of having delivered few results in this area until now.
It is necessary to demonstrate fairly quickly that ;they are ready to move from words to action.
For its part, the federal government has agreed to support the Innu project of' Essipit. An envelope of $1 million has been allocated by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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