Northern Spaces: Resource Governance in the Southern Northwest Territories

Régions: Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region

étiquettes: social sciences, governance, socio-economics, resource management

chercheur principal: Cohen, Alice (3)
Nᵒ de permis: 15796
Organisation: Acadia University
Année(s) de permis: 2016 2015 2014
Délivré: déc. 14, 2015

Objectif(s): To highlight the northern dimensions of resource governance in environmental geography and to understand and theorize the relationship(s) between ecosystem governance and political and scientific uncertainty.

Description du projet: The objectives of this project are to: 1) highlight the specifically northern dimensions of resource governance in environmental geography; 2) contribute to ongoing resource governance development in southern NWT; 3) further geographic (and specifically, scalar) scholarship on the political dimensions of ecosystem governance; and, 4) understand and theorize the relationship(s) between ecosystem governance and political and scientific uncertainty. The Principal Investigator (PI) anticipates carrying out a total of approximately 15 interviews during that time. Interviewees will be identified through snowball sampling methods, facilitated by contacts made during a December 2013 research trip. Interviewees will consist of government employees: In Yellowknife and Hay River the PI will be interviewing NWT government employees, and in Fort Resolution, Akaitcho Territory Government employees. Potential interviewees will be contacted by email. If they are amenable to participating, an interview will be set up at a time and location convenient for them. The PI expects that interviews will take place during normal work hours in participants’ offices. Interviews will be semi-structured, and will last approximately one hour. The interviews will be recorded, and will be transcribed by a research assistant. The assistant will be made aware of confidentiality issues. The purpose of the interviews is not to collect quantitative data; it is to give a sense of the current legislative, political, and economic landscape as per the research questions identified above. As such, data analysis will consist of seeking trends across interviews. The PI will conduct follow up interviews by telephone, and anticipate a follow up trip. Local involvement at this stage is limited to meetings and interviews that will allow the PI to better understand the environmental governance 'landscape' in the Territory and to identify local research priorities. As the project progresses, the PI anticipates that opportunities for local involvement will include hosting workshops, participatory mapping, and data collection. Any publications (academic or otherwise) arising from the research will be shared with those participating in the interviews, and the PI anticipates ongoing contact with individuals interested in ongoing collaboration. As the project advances in future years, the PI will co-hosting workshops, giving community presentations, and establishing a project website. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.