Direct Human Impact, Driver of Environmental Change: eDrivers Project for the St.Lawrence System

We used the sum of coastal populations as a proxy of direct human impact. We used Statistics Canada dissemination area population count from the 2016 census to obtain coastal population size around the St. Lawrence. It is possible to access the dataset published on Open Data Canada concerning the Cartographic boundary for dissemination areas of the 2016 Canadian census and the one on Population and dwelling counts, dissemination areas, from 2016 Census.

As the effects of direct human impacts are likely acute mostly in coastal areas we calculated total population in grid cells within 2 km of the coast. Total population was measured in a 10 km buffer around each coastal cell.

It is possible to consult the scientific report of the eDrivers project: Characterizing Exposure to and Sharing Knowledge of Drivers of Environmental Change in the St. Lawrence System in Canada and the additional data. It is possible to consult the application eDrivers.