The biosphere reserve

Manicouagan-Uapishka has been a UNESCO area with international designation status since 2007, but the biosphere reserve essentially emerged as early as in 2002, driven by the local greater community. The reserve is part of a vast network of sites, including four in Quebec, 18 in Canada and over 700 worldwide. The Manicouagan-Uapishka World Biosphere Reserve (MUWBR) is not a protected area per se, as its name may suggest, but the outcome of an extensive joint effort by the development leaders of our region.

What is a biosphere reserve?

A biosphere reserve is a UNESCO international designation (MAB program) that recognizes the potential and efforts of stakeholders in a territory likely to become a site of excellence in terms of sustainable development. “Working Together” is a top priority. The network currently has 701 sites in 124 countries.

A Short Story of Great Vision

In 2002, several Manicouagan stakeholders met in Baie-Comeau with the goal of obtaining the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status. The project promised to be as uncertain as it was interesting. On the one hand, the consultation process meant was a major challenge given the diversity of users on the territory. On the other hand, very few reserves in the world had managed to get large industries involved in such a challenging process, which was unavoidable in Manicouagan.

A territory of 54,800 km² to discover

The entire Manicouagan area, including the City of Baie-Comeau and all the villages along the St. Lawrence River, from Pessamit to Baie-Trinité, are part of the biosphere reserve. “Uapishka” refers to the Groulx Mountains and means “white summits” in Innu-aimun.

The Eye of Quebec

Some 214 million years ago, a meteorite eight kilometres in diameter struck the Earth where today Quebec’s largest ecological reserve is located, on René-Levasseur Island. Visible from space, the resulting “Eye of Quebec” is a crater about a hundred kilometre wide and one of the largest astroblemes in the world.

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The Sea

Local residents call it “the river” or even “the sea.” The mixing of fresh water from the great rivers and the salty water of the gulf is suitable to the proliferation of phytoplankton—the first link in the food chain. The St. Lawrence Estuary is a very rich and productive marine environment and home to an abundance of species, including one of the largest mammals on the planet—the rorqual.

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The Land of Giants

The Daniel-Johnson (Manic 5) Dam is the world’s largest multiple-arch buttress dam. It dominates the surrounding area and has become a symbol of Quebec’s modern technical ingenuity. The system of dams built on the Manicouagan-Uapishka’s powerful rivers accounts for close to a quarter of the province’s hydroelectricity production.

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The Big Industry

The region’s modern economic development has been closely tied to its abundant natural resources. Forests first brought McCormick to the area with his paper mill and hydroelectric power plant. Later came an aluminum smelter, drawn by the energy potential of the nearby rivers. Pulp and paper, hydroelectricity and aluminum smelting are still the three pillars of the local industry.

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The Nitassinan

The MUWBR is entirely located within the traditional territory of the Innu community of Pessamit, known as Nitassinan. For the Innu, their territory has no specific borders, but it is generally recognized as covering the north shore of the St. Lawrence, between the Portneuf and Trinité Rivers and into the backcountry past the Uapishka and Otish Mountains. Nitassinan means “our land” in Innu-aimun.

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The Uapishka Mountains

The Innu name for the Groulx Mountains is Uapishka, meaning “white summits,” since snow covers them nine months a year. The massif forms a five-thousand-square-kilometre island of alpine arctic tundra rising out of the surrounding Boreal Forest, more than ten times the size of the Island of Montréal.

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The biosphere reserve

What is a biosphere reserve?

« Since receiving international designation, the Manicouagan-Uapishka Biosphere Reserve has demonstrated innovation and empowerment to mobilize partnerships: It has become an inspiring model for the entire world network. »

A Short Story of Great Vision

A territory of 54,800 km² to discover

The Eye of Quebec

The Sea

The Land of Giants

The Big Industry

The Nitassinan

The Uapishka Mountains