From Montreal to its northernmost point in Nunavik, Quebec and its 8 million inhabitants has the particularity of extending over nearly 18 degrees of latitude. On this vast territory of 1,667,712 km2 the vegetation ranges from temperate forest to tundra, with a majority of coniferous forests. There are thousands of ecosystems here, which are home to more than 40,000 species of flora and fauna.
In terms of protected areas, Quebec has made great ties since the year 2000 by establishing a network of protected areas aimed at representing all of its biological diversity. In 2021, this network covers 16.7% (252,597 km2) of terrestrial and freshwater environments and 12.2% (18,971 km2) of marine and coastal environments. The vast majority of protected areas are under the jurisdiction of the Government of Quebec (public lands) and classified in categories I to IV of the IUCN. Less than 1% of Quebec’s protected areas are on private land.
