News

Stratégies Saint-Laurent, a network to protect the St. Lawrence River

Stratégies Saint-Laurent is a key player in the governance of the St. Lawrence River. Composed of twelve ZIP Committees (Comités ZIP – Areas of Prime Concern)* in Quebec, it promotes interregional and national cooperation as well as the involvement of local communities along the river to preserve it. An educational component was quickly added to these two main missions, to make all users of the river aware of its strong contribution to the development of Quebec but also of its vulnerability. Jean-Éric Turcotte, Director General of this innovative organization, tells us about the pressures that weigh on the St. Lawrence today and the solutions that are developed to deal with them.

A meeting with Mamoudou Kane, photographer and journalist.

The geographical border between Mauritania and Senegal, the river nonetheless remains an element of the identity of the communities that people its banks, whatever their nationality. Mamoudou Lamine Kane, a photographer, poet and journalist, likes to speak of his country, Mauritania, by following this path of water, meeting the communities who live from farming, livestock breeding and fishing. For Living with Rivers, he accepted to tell us of these meetings and thus offer a narrative on his country.

Exploramer: Another way to discover the St. Lawrence

In the north of the Gaspé Peninsula, Exploramer is not a museum like the others: after having seen the aquarium and the exhibition rooms, leave to discover the maritime St. Lawrence, on foot or by boat, for a total immersion! Meet Sandra Gauthier, director of Exploramer, who explains how the museum has succeeded in creating content and activities for the general public while contributing to scientific and industrial research on the St. Lawrence.

Hamed Diane Semega: “We need to put the river’s resources at the service of regional development”

On the occasion of the 9th World Water Forum hosted by Senegal last March, the Organisation for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS) was awarded the Hassan II Great World Water Prize. This distinction is a recognition of the spirit of the OMVS, which for 50 years has been working to make the river a source of integration and cooperation between the countries it crosses. This unique model, now faced with the new challenges of climate change and demographic pressure. It could serve as an example for other river basins in the world, according to Hamed Diane Semega, High Commissioner of OMVS and member of IFGR, whom we met on the occasion of this major meeting of the world water community.

Discovering the biodiversity of Lake Geneva

Did you know that Lake Geneva and the banks of the Rhone River are home to a wide range of living organisms, in its reed beds and alluvial forests?

Estelle Rouquette: “Without the Rhone, there’d be no Camargue”

The Curator of the Museum of the Camargue is a privileged witness of the history and culture of this region, whose identity is marked by water. Whereas the sea is rising and the discharge of the Rhone is falling, she calls for the resources to continue living in the Camargue. F

“La Route du Rhône”, a documentary along the river

In this documentary series produced by BRUT in 2021, Daniel Fiévet discovers “the Rhône River and those who take care of it". From source to delta, these five episodes propose a journey through very topical issues: the disappearance of the Rhône glacier, hydroelectricity production, maintenance of biodiversity, urbanization of the delta... So many challenges that question the future of this great river shared between Switzerland and the Rhône.