Develop an ecological planning tool to help conserve an unknown wealth, the peatlands of the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region

                              
The greater Eeyou Istchee James Bay region is currently going through a period of great change, both through the effects of climate change on the dynamics of its ecosystems and through the acceleration of its development, articulated around an increasing number of industrial projects on the territory. Industry, government and community actors involved in these projects often find themselves lacking the information to meet this challenge. Indeed, the size and difficulty of accessing the northern territory limits the scope and availability of existing data and, consequently, the ability to predict future impacts on the various ecosystems present.This is particularly true for peat bogs, one of the largest ecosystems in the territory in terms of area but also constraints for development. To make up for this lack, a series of projects have taken place in the territory which focus as much on the flora (vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens) as on the fauna (birds, mammals, amphibians) with the aim of characterizing and classifying these environments in depending on the different types of organisms. A project focuses on the priority interests of indigenous communities and their different uses of peatlands, with particular attention to a key species of cultural importance that frequents these environments: moose. The results of the various projects have been used to develop integrated and adapted biodiversity indices that cover several aspects of biodiversity and indigenous values to allow playful planning of the territory. Using proxies derived from remote sensing we will predict the index on the set of wetlands within the study area.

Presenter:
Biodiversity in a Mining Context