The COVABAR represents all the citizens of the territory, from the lake Champlain to the lake Saint-Pierre. The COVABAR has been approved by the quebec ministery of Environnement as part of the national politics in favour of water adopted by the national assembly on the 26th of November 2002. This politics recognized 33 rivers as prioritary, one of them was the river Richelieu.
The COVABAR aims at giving the citizens of the region notions of responsibility and solidarity concerning the protection and the amelioration of water resources. This project is based on a new territorial representation, as it is now question of the basin of the river.
There was already a committee for the valorisation of the valley (the CMVVR), since 1988. But this committee was mainly concerned with the tourist-leisure aspect of the valley. things started to change after a meeting organized by the regional council of Environnement of Montérégie in 1998.
On the 28th of November 2000, the CMVVR was converted into the consultation committee for the valorisation of the basin of the river Richelieu COVABAR, intended to promote the vision of the region as a basin.
The COVABAR is a non-profit-making organization that aims at developing a systemic approach so as to obtain an integrated administration of resources and activities, for a sustainable development of the whole valley of the Richelieu.