Ecotourism - Mer Bleue Conservation Area

1. Ecotourism -Mer Bleue Conservation Area Student: Ferencz Jacint - Zoran

2. Table of contents • Ecotourism1.1 Definition 1.2 Characteristics • Mer Bleue 2.1 Localization 2.2 The history of Mer Bleue 2.3 Interesting facts about Mer Bleue 2.4 Hydrology 2.5 Vegetation 2.6 Wildlife 2.7 Ecotourism in Mer Bleue 2.8 Trails 2.9 Facilities 2.10 Management and Protection

3. Research Questions • 1. What is Ecotourism? • 2.Which are the most important characteristics of Ecotourism? • 3. What represents Mer Bleue? • 4.Why is important for the people to have a Conservation Area ?

4. 1.1 Ecotourism a) “That form of environmentally responsible tourism that involves travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas with the object of enjoying, admiring, and studying the nature (the scenery, wild plants and animals), as well as any cultural aspect (both past and present) found in these areas, through a process which promotes conservation, has a low impact on the environment and on culture and favors the active and socioeconomically beneficial involvement of local communities“ - Héctor Ceballos-Lascuráin, 1983, PRONATURA, NGO

5. Conservation Ecotourism Responsible Travel Communities Fig. 1.1 Ecotourism is about uniting

6. b) "Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people" - (TIES, 1990) 1.2 The definition was extended by Martha Honey, 2008, who described the seven characteristics of ecotourism, which are: • Involves travel to natural destinations • Minimizes impact • Builds environmental awareness • Provides direct financial benefits for conservation • Provides financial benefits and empowerment for local people • Respects local culture • Supports human rights and democratic movements

7. 1. Involves travel to natural destinations • These destinations are often remote areas, whether inhabited or uninhabited, and are usually under some kind of environmental protection at the national, international, communal or private level. 2.Minimizes Impact • Ecotourism strives to minimize the adverse affects of hotels and other infrastructure by using either recycled materials or plentifully available local building materials, renewable sources of energy, recycling and safe disposal of waste and garbage, and environmentally and culturally sensitive architectural design.  • Minimization of impact also requires that the numbers and mode of behavior of tourists be regulated to ensure limited damage to the ecosystem.

8. 3.Builds environmental awareness • Ecotourism means education, for both tourists and residents of nearby communities. • This information helps prepare the tourist as The Ecotourism Societies guidelines state"to learn about the places and peoples visited" and "to minimize their negative impacts while visiting sensitive environments and cultures".  • Essential to good ecotourism are well-trained, multilingual naturalist guides with skills in natural and cultural history, environmental interpretation, ethical principles and effective communication. 

9. Mer Bleue Conservation Area

10. 2.1 Localization The Mer Bleue Bog is a Provincial Conservation Area situated in Gloucester, Ontario a few kilometers southeast of Ottawa. It is situated at the eastern end of the National Capital Greenbelt. Fig. 2.1 Localization of Mer Bleue Conservation Area (Source: Google Maps)

11. 2.2 The history of Mer Bleue : • Twelve thousand (12,000) years ago, much of eastern Ontario was under glacial ice. The weight of the ice depressed the Ottawa River valley enough so that, for a time, an arm of the ocean (Champlain Sea) flooded this area. • Once the land surface started to rebound from the weight of the glaciers, the sea gradually withdrew. The retreating ice left a shallow depression. • Over the next few thousand years, the depression was cut off from its water sources, and underlying clay prevented water from escaping. A stagnant lake was created, fed only by precipitation and groundwater.

12. Sediments and dead organic debris slowly filled in the depression. Water plants, such as cattails and water lilies, grew around its perimeter and in the algae-rich waters. • Slowly, sphagnum moss covered over the lake, and dead organic remains, calledpeat, filled in the lake. Sphagnum moss is rootless; it grows on top of the remains of earlier generations that are decomposing into peat. • The accumulation of peat moss at Mer Bleue is more than six-metres deep. This buildup creates a domed shape that rises above the surrounding landscape. • The area was named by French settlers, who witnessing the mist rise over the bog in the early mornings of spring and fall, thought it resembled a ‘blue sea’.

13. 2.3 Interesting facts about Mer Bleue • The Mer Bleue Bog in Ottawa is one of the most outstanding natural features of the Greenbelt. • The 3,500-hectare conservation area has a northern eco-system and is the largest bog and natural area in Canada’s Capital Region. • It’s also the second largest bog in southern Ontario ( after the Alfred Bog – 4,200 hectares).

14. 2.4 Hydrology • Mer Bleue is the headwater for tributaries of Green’s Creek and Bear Brook. • The bog is fed primarily by precipitation and groundwater sources. Rainfall levels usually exceed evaporation. • This creates a low-nutrient environment that cannot support much plant life. A wet zone, called a lagg, surrounds the edge of the bog. This mineral-rich buffer helps to maintain the bog’s water level.

15. A view of Mer Bleue’s hydrology

16. 2.5 Vegetation • The bog contains two main types of vegetation: black spruce forest and open heath vegetation. • The black spruce: larch, trembling aspen, and grey or white birch. • Heath vegetation sphagnum moss, Labrador tea, leatherleaf, small cranberry, bog laurel, and sheep laurel, tamarack, bog rosemary, blueberry, and cottongrass. • A number of carnivorous plants are found in the bog. Species such as sundews, and pitcher plants have adapted to the bog’s poor nutrient environment by digesting living creatures, mostly insects, for nourishment.

17. Labrador Tea Small Cranberry Source: http://berezinsky.by/content/fr/fgal/labrador_tea.html Source: http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/9165083.jpg Bog Laurel Leatherleaf

18. Sundews Pitcher Plants Source: http://www.sarracenia.com/photos/drosera/droseburma001.jpg Source: http://www.carnivorous--plants.com/graphics/pitcher-plant.jpg

19. 2.6 Wildlife • beaver, deer, fox, coyote, and raccoon. • Provincially significant yellow rail, black tern, sandhill crane, great grey owl, hawk owl and Fletcher’s dragonfly. • Endangered spotted turtle.

20. Raccoon Coyote Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32045944@N02/5685997071/in/pool-403986@N23/ Source: http://www.ndesign.net.au/DiversityExhibition/content/bin/images/large/CoyoteMedium_MG_0061.jpg Black Tern Spotted turtle Source: http://www.hawar-islands.com/blog/media/blogs/kuwait/Black-Tern.jpg Source: http://www.reptilechannel.com/images/reptile-news/spotted-turtle-1-500.jpg

21. 2.7Ecotourism at Mer Bleue • Over 20 kilometres of trails • You can take a self-guided tour along the Mer Bleue Bog Trail, a 1.2 km interpretive boardwalk. • Photography and bird watching are also popular activities at Mer Bleue.

22. 2.8 Mer Bleue Trails Fig.2.2 Mer Bleue Trails , 1991 Source: National Capital Comission Fig.2.3 Mer Bleue Trails, 2012 Source: http://sixtyrising.com/2012/12/28/ottawa-cross-country-skiing-mer-bleue/

23. 2.9 Facilities There are outhouses by trail 51 and the Mer Bleue Bog Trail. Washrooms Free, year-round parking is available at the P20, P21, P22 and P23 parking lots. Parking There are unsheltered picnic areas at the P20 and P21 parking lots and a sheltered picnic area by the Mer Bleue Bog Trail, at the P22 parking lot. Picnic Areas The Mer Bleue Bog Trail has a boardwalk that is universally accessible. Universal Accessibility

24. Fig. 2.4 The facilities of Mer Bleue Source: The National Capital Commission (NCC)

25. 2.10 Management andProtection • The National Capital Commission (NCC) is managing the Greenbelt. • The Greenbelt is a symbol of Canada’s rural landscape, as well as a place where nature is able to flourish and evolve with surrounding urban lands. • natural environment and participate in a range of recreational activities. • The Greenbelt is a special place, one that the NCC is committed to present and protect for future generations.

26. The best way to protect the ecological integrity of the bog is by maintaining its natural diversity. To do this, the NCC: • manages the bog as a core natural area with the primary objective of conserving natural resources; • assesses opportunities to enhance the natural area buffer that surrounds the bog’s core natural area. • Enlarges the size of Mer Bleue by acquiring adjacent wetlands; • works with public agencies to ensure future developments near the bog do not result in negative ecological and social impacts

27. Fig.2.5 Greenbelt visitors Source: Statistics from The National Capital Commission (NCC)

28. This area is protected by the Ramsar Convention since 1995, when it was designated as a Wetland of International Importance. • The Convention, created in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for international cooperation to conserve the world’s wetland habitats. • As of mid 1995, 84 countries had sign the convention. • With the 1995 designation of Mer Bleue Bog, Canada now has 33 Ramsar sites, accounting for close to 30 per cent of the worldwide wetland area designated under the Convention.

29. Bibliography Books: • 1. Brunton F.D., The vegetation and flora of the Mer Bleue Conservation Area, Ottawa, Daniel Brunton Consulting Services, 1984. • 2. Fennel, D., Ecotourism : An introduction, Second edition, London ; New York : Routledge, 2003. • 3. Honey Martha, Ecotourism and sustainable development : who owns paradise?, Washington, DC : Island Press, 1999. • 4. Honey Martha, Ecotourism and sustainable development : who owns paradise?,Second edition, Washington, DC : Island Press, 2008. • 5. Wearing, S., & Neil,J., Ecotourism : Impacts, Potentials and Possibilities, Oxford, UK : Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2009. Figures: • Fig. 1.1 Ecotourism is about uniting • Fig. 2.1 Localization of Mer Bleue Conservation Area, Source: Google Maps • Fig.2.2 Mer Bleue Trails, 1991, Source: National Capital Comission • Fig.2.3 Mer Bleue Trails, 2012, Source: http://sixtyrising.com/2012/12/28/ottawa-cross-country-skiing-mer-bleue/ • Fig. 2.4 The facilities of Mer Bleue, Source: The National Capital Commission (NCC) • Fig.2.5 Greenbelt visitors, Source: Statistics from The National Capital Commission (NCC)

30. Websites: • 1. “Mer Bleue”. www.canadascapital.gc.ca. Retrieved on June 3,2013, from http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/places-to-visit/greenbelt/mer-bleue • 2. “Mer Bleue Bog – A Special place”. www.canadascapital.gc.ca. Retrieved on June 3,2013, from http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/sites/default/files/pubs/NCC-Mer-Bleue-Bog-Special-Place.pdf • 3. “Mer Bleue Conservation Area”. www.en.wikipedia.org . Retrieved on May 21,2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mer_Bleue_Conservation_Area • 4. “Ecotourism”. www.en.wikipedia.org . Retrieved on May 23,2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotourism • 5. “Mer Bleue Bog Conservation Area”. http://www.flickr.com . Retrieved on May 27,2013, from http://www.flickr.com/groups/403986@N23/pool/ • 6. Matt,H. (2012, June 7). “Trip to Mer Bleue”. http://globalgeology.blogspot.ca . Retrieved on June 11,2013, from http://globalgeology.blogspot.ca/2012/06/trip-to-mer-bleue.html • 7. “A Virtual Tour of The National Capital Region”. http://www.satelliteimpressions.com . Retrieved on June 11, 2013 from http://www.satelliteimpressions.com/ncrmerbleue.html • 8. Jane, S. (2012, December 28). ”Cross-Country Skiing in Ottawa: 1.Mer Bleu” http://sixtyrising.com . . Retrieved on June 25, 2013 from http://sixtyrising.com/2012/12/28/ottawa-cross-country-skiing-mer-bleue/

31. Thank you !