NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Sahtu Settlement Area

Tags: social sciences, co-management, resource management

Objective(s): The objectives of this study are to promote organizational learning in resource management in the Sahtu and to identify successful approaches for participatory processes. The project hopes to make insights and experiences from past resource managers available to present and future managers in order to enrich efforts of operating an equitable and effective co-management board.

Project Description: The objective of this study is to promote organizational learning in resource management in the Sahtu and to identify successful approaches for participatory processes. The project hopes to make insights and experiences from past resource managers available to present and future managers in order to enrich efforts of operating an equitable and effective co-management board. Resource management in the Sahtu will be analyzed in a historical context to determine how local participation in resource management activities has changed and developed with time. Literature will be complimented by observations from experienced resource managers who have worked and operated in the Sahtu region. These individuals will be selected from a list of past resource managers known to have worked with the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board. Subsequent subjects will be identified by way of a snow ball method (word of mouth from the selected resource managers). The researcher expects to have six to eight participants. Approximately half of these participants are expected to reside in the Sahtu Settlement Area (Norman Wells, Deline and Tulita). Other subjects have retired from the region and now live in the southern provinces. Interviews will be done in a semi-structured process by means of telephone. There will be two one-hour sessions. The first session will consist of several open-ended questions to establish the level and types of participation that the manager experienced. The second session will be a follow-up to outstanding issues identified from session one, and to clarify information that has been provided. Consent will be obtained by means of email confirmation /verification stating that the subject has read, understood and agreed to the consent form. These emails will serve in lieu of a signature, and subjects will be notified of this distinction. Consent forms will be the property of the subjects, to be used for their records. Interview data will be compiled after use and made available to archive for the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board. For subjects wishing to remain anonymous, data gathered will be destroyed within two months of successfully completing of the Master’s degree. All of the subjects to be approached are expected to have very busy schedules. Accordingly, interviews will be arranged at times of convenience for the subject. Interviewees will be asked for their permission to record the telephone conversation. This data will be treated and disposed of in the same manner as above. Results will be communicated through the Sahtu Renewable Resource Board, and other project stakeholders. This may include the Sahtu Division of Wildlife and Environmental Resources and the various Community Renewable Resources Councils. A copy of the final report and ensuing publications will be made available to the ARI library. This study will be conducted from April 25 to May 31, 2007. There will be no on-the-ground research or specific focus on a site in the Sahtu. Research will involve annotations from past resource managers about their experiences as managers throughout the Sahtu Region. The researcher for this study will be based in Stockholm, Sweden, for the duration of the telephone interviews. Contacts in the Northwest Territories will be located at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Wildlife Division in Norman Wells, and at the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board in Deline and Tulita. These contacts will be reached by telephone.