Sustainable Development Plan for the Municipality of Saint-Ubalde

Located halfway between Quebec City and Trois Rivières, Saint Ubalde’s economy is based mostly on agriculture, forestry and resorts. The municipality has for a long time aimed at improving its residents’ quality of life, and has undertaken a number of initiatives to achieve this goal. The municipality decided to create a sustainable development plan to meet the desires of its citizens while taking into account the policies and local and regional plans already in place. To prepare this plan, Saint Ubalde created a Municipal Vision highlighting the main environmental, economic and social issues, and held public consultations with all key stakeholders. The municipality also determined the different directions they would take in the various areas of intervention, and established a program of concrete action schedules as well as a cost evaluation. The Sustainable Development Plan will affect territorial development, industrial development, and water, energy, forest and agricultural land management. Saint Ubalde will benefit from this process which includes the actions to date and gives the municipality a logical framework that provides a long-term vision for development. This project can offer a model for any small rural population cluster that wants to establish a sustainable development plan. Because Saint Ubalde’s process is action oriented and based on citizens’ concerns, interested municipalities could use this approach in its entirety.

(Project description from original funding application)