Anticosti mayor wants island designated UNESCO heritage site

The mayor ofAnticostiwants the island to be listed as aUNESCO World Heritage Site, which he believes could help preventoil and gas exploration from going ahead.

JohnPineault describes the island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as"the Galapagos of the north," but it is also possibly the site of rich hydrocarbon deposits.

Anticosti Hydrocarbons a joint venture between the Quebec government and severaloil companies is seeking to begin exploratory drilling on the island in the near future.

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"Obviously, if this can help put anend to that, fine and dandy," Pineaultsaid, referring to his application for World Heritage status.

But he added the application wasn'tmotivated solely by the prospective drilling projects.

"Even if there wouldn't have been any oil and gas exploration on the island ... we still would have taken the occasion to present ourselves as a candidate to UNESCO," PineaulttoldQuebec AM.

Island's geology is unique, mayor says

The federal government announced earlier this month that it is accepting, for the first time in 10 years,applications for World Heritage Sites.

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Pineault points to the island's geology as a prime reason why Anticostishould be considered.

"You have an island that comes out of the water 450 million years ago," he said.

"That happens to be a period where there was a mass extinction on Earth, and it's a period that the geologists don't understand why."

The mayor said the applicationhas the fullsupport of the municipalcouncil.

Heritage status could boost tourism, too

Pineaultbelieves the designation, which sits in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, could also help promote the island's tourism industry. Anticosti already has a provincial park where visitorscan fish, hikeand camp.

"We want to assure that industry on the island. So when you look at other sites that are protected by UNESCO, well, it assures that you can do that development," saidPineault.

Based on the applications it receives, Ottawa will draw up a list of candidates. It is up to UNESCOthe United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture to decide if any of the candidates receive World Heritage status.

There are nowtwo World Heritage Sites in Quebec: theHistoric District of Old Qubec andMiguasha National Park.

• How Anticosti became the centre of a debate over oil and gas exploration