Nature is our best ally to combat climate and biodiversity crises

Over the past few months, many citizen groups, Indigenous communities, municipalities and academics across Quebec have joined forces to identify, document and protect exceptional natural environments and tackle the dual crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss. The impetus for this conservation action is the Nature alliée project, coordinated by SNAP Québec and Nature Québec. This large-scale initiative aims to protect more than 2 million hectares of carbon-rich forests and wetlands and to inform the Quebec public about the importance of conservation as a tool to combat and adapt to climate change.

Exceptional ecosystems that deserve our full attention

We are fortunate in Quebec to have vast expanses of natural environments that, in addition to being of great cultural value to First Nations, are home to thousands of animal and plant species, bring many benefits to the physical and mental health of Quebecers and play a vital role in regulating the global climate. Every year, Quebec forests capture the equivalent of double the greenhouse gases (GHGs) released by all of the province’s vehicles, totalling more than 58 million tonnes of CO₂eq.¹ In addition to actively capturing carbon from the atmosphere, our natural environments are huge pools containing more than 20 gigatonnes of carbon.² It’s difficult to comprehend such a quantity, which, if converted into emissions from our vehicles, would take more than 2,000 years to emit!³

Interestingly, nearly 80% of all the carbon stored in our natural environments is found in the soil, which acts as a sort of sponge over time.⁴ By keeping these huge amounts of carbon trapped, our natural environments are unconditional allies in the fight against climate change. What’s even more interesting is that it is often the most carbon-rich environments that are home to the greatest biodiversity. So, our old-growth forests, which are ideal refuges for thousands of animal and plant species, are also places where there is more carbon compared to young forests disturbed by the forestry industry. Similarly, intact wetlands are much richer in carbon and species than wetlands that have been drained or disturbed. That’s why we need to do everything we can to protect what’s most valuable to us. 

An unprecedented initiative with many actors

Protecting our natural environments is possible and realistic in the short term, and Quebecers have a great deal of influence to save them. This is why the Nature alliée project intends to mobilize the population and support the protection of more than 40 sites with the help of local actors, Indigenous communities, RCMs and municipalities in southern and northern Quebec. These sites, currently threatened by logging, mining, urban sprawl or road network expansion, have been documented and studied by several research teams working on the project to demonstrate the potential climate and ecological benefits from their protection. Nature alliée’s main scientific partners include the Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Université Laval, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) and Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT).

Ultimately, the objective of this ambitious project is to help Quebec reach its target of 30% protected areas by 2030. Through the mobilization of conservation actors across Quebec, the acquisition of new knowledge on carbon dynamics and the documentation of dozens of sites covering more than 2 million hectares, the Nature alliée project is a golden opportunity for the Government of Quebec to protect these carbon-rich ecosystems of great ecological and biocultural value for the benefit of all.

Solutions are within reach! To follow our progress or view our informative content on carbon, visit www.nature-alliee.org and follow Nature Québec and SNAP Québec on social media.

The science behind the climate benefits of conservation

The climate crisis is mainly fuelled by the increasing levels of carbon in the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and methane. These greenhouse gases (GHGs) come mainly from burning fossil fuels and the destruction of ecosystems. The big challenge we face in curbing this crisis is finding a way to drastically reduce GHG emissions and quickly remove carbon from the atmosphere to prevent climate change from worsening.

The good news is that there is a revolutionary technology that can capture carbon from the air, release oxygen, filter water and serve as a critical habitat for thousands of animal and plant species. And that technology is nature!

When left in their natural state, forests and wetlands are veritable factories that capture carbon and offer myriad other environmental and social benefits. Thanks to photosynthesis and energy from the sun, trees and vegetation capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to convert it into sugars and store them in their branches, leaves, trunks and roots—one of nature’s true marvels that we cannot ignore.

Thus, over time, forests left alone contain 30% to 50% more carbon than those exploited or degraded.⁵ Similarly, intact wetlands, like our large boreal peatlands, have been storing carbon for millennia and contain some of the world’s largest concentrations of terrestrial carbon.⁶

Conversely, cutting down forests and destroying carbon-rich environments accelerates global warming by precipitating carbon back into the atmosphere and preventing trees and vegetation from continuing to act as carbon sinks.⁷

Even taking into account emissions avoided by using wood as a substitute for other materials with a high carbon footprint, such as concrete, the carbon debt caused by forest disturbance and the decomposition of these products will take almost a century before being offset by growing trees.⁸ Given the urgent need to take action to counter the climate and biodiversity crises, we unfortunately cannot sit on our hands for decades to come.

Finally, compared to an intact forest left undisturbed, one hectare of cleared forest will have removed approximately 76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent less from the atmosphere than the forest in its natural state.⁹ Preventing the destruction of ecosystems is therefore becoming an increasingly important issue and a natural solution to the fight against climate change. By protecting our natural environments, we can achieve three things:

1. We avoid releasing millions of tonnes of carbon stored in trees, vegetation, plant litter and soils

2. We allow trees and vegetation to continue to actively capture carbon from the atmosphere

3. We help ecosystems maintain habitats for animal and plant species while providing greater capacity to withstand and adapt to ongoing climate change

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¹  Banque de données des statistiques officielles sur le  Québec. Transport routier. https://bdso.gouv.qc.ca/pls/ken/ken213_afich_tabl.page_tabl?p_iden_tran=&p_lang=1&p_m_o=SAAQ&p_id_raprt=3372#tri_age=1&tri_tertr=0
“Forest related greenhouse gas fluxes in Québec, Canada”. Accessed on 29/01/2025 from www.globalforestwatch.org.

² Garneau, M., & Van Bellen, S. (2016). Synthèse de la valeur et la répartition du stock de carbone terrestre au Québec. Rapport final présenté au Ministère du Développement durable, Environnement et Lutte contre les changements climatiques du Québec.

Margolis HA, Nelson RF, Montesano PM, et al. (2015) Combining satellite lidar, airborne lidar, and ground plots to estimate the amount and distribution of aboveground biomass in the boreal forest of North America. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 45: 838-855. 

Nelson R, Boudreau J, Gregoire TG, et al. (2009) Estimating Quebec provincial forest resources using ICESat/GLAS. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 39: 862-881.

³ Banque de données des statistiques officielles pour le Québec. Transport routier. Gouvernement du Québec. Consulté le 16 janvier 2025.  https://bdso.gouv.qc.ca/pls/ken/ken213_afich_tabl.page_tabl?p_iden_tran=&p_lang=1&p_m_o=SAAQ&p_id_raprt=3372#tri_age=1&tri_tertr=0

⁴ Sothe, C., Gonsamo, A., Arabian, J., Kurz, W. A., Finkelstein, S. A., & Snider, J. (2022). Large soil carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems of Canada. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 36, e2021GB007213. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GB007213   

⁵ Noormets, A., Epron, D., Domec, J. C., McNulty, S. G., Fox, T., Sun, G., & King, J. S. (2015). Effects of forest management on productivity and carbon sequestration: A review and hypothesis. Forest Ecology and Management, 355, 124-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.05.019

⁶ Sothe, C., Gonsamo, A., Arabian, J., Kurz, W. A., Finkelstein, S. A., & Snider, J. (2022). Large soil carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems of Canada. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 36, e2021GB007213. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GB007213

⁷ James, J.; Harrison, R. The Effect of Harvest on Forest Soil Carbon: A Meta-Analysis. Forests 2016, 7, 308. https://doi.org/10.3390/f7120308 

Moreau L, Thiffault E, Beauregard R. (2023). Assessing the Effects of Different Harvesting Practices on the Forestry Sector’s Climate Benefits Potential: A Stand Level Theoretical Study in an Eastern Canadian Boreal Forest. Forests. 2023; 14(6):1109. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14061109 

Noormets, A., Epron, D., Domec, J. C., McNulty, S. G., Fox, T., Sun, G., & King, J. S. (2015). Effects of forest management on productivity and carbon sequestration: A review and hypothesis. Forest Ecology and Management, 355, 124-140. Soimakallio, S., Böttcher, H., Niemi, J., Mosley, F., Turunen, S., Hennenberg, K. J., Reise, J., & Fehrenbach, H. (2022). Closing an open balance: The impact of increased tree harvest on forest carbon. GCB Bioenergy, 14, 989–1000. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12981

⁸ Moreau L, Thiffault E, Beauregard R. (2023). Assessing the Effects of Different Harvesting Practices on the Forestry Sector’s Climate Benefits Potential: A Stand Level Theoretical Study in an Eastern Canadian Boreal Forest. Forests. 2023; 14(6):1109. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14061109 

Brown, Michelle L., Charles D. Canham, Thomas Buchholz, John S. Gunn, and Therese M. Donovan. 2024. “ Net Carbon Sequestration Implications of Intensified Timber Harvest in Northeastern U.S. Forests.” Ecosphere 15(2): e4758. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4758 Soimakallio, S., Böttcher, H., Niemi, J., Mosley, F., Turunen, S., Hennenberg, K. J., Reise, J., & Fehrenbach, H. (2022). Closing an open balance: The impact of increased tree harvest on forest carbon. GCB Bioenergy, 14, 989–1000. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12981

⁹ Giasson et al. 2023.  Carbon balance of forest management and wood production in the boreal forest of Quebec (Canada). Front. For. Glob. Change, Sec. Forests and the Atmosphere. Volume 6 – 2023. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2023.1242218