Quebec's new Aboriginal-led protected areas category: an opening towards indigenous perspectives on conservation?

In this publication, we explore to what extent the Natural Heritage Conservation Act (NHCA), before and after its 2021 reform, offers real consideration of Indigenous conceptions of conservation. During special consultations for the reform of this law in the National Assembly of Quebec, a number of Indigenous actors put forward their relationship to territory, their visions of conservation, and the obstacles caused by the gaps between these and state conceptions. We will examine the opportunities and barriers presented in these interventions, as well as those arising from the new status of Aboriginal-led protected area added to the NHCA as a result of this reform.