Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region
Tags: social sciences, co-management, wildlife, beluga whale, wildlife management, resource management, marine environment
| Principal Investigator: | Berkes, Fikret (2) |
| Licence Number: | 14549 |
| Organization: | University of manitoba |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2009
|
| Issued: | Jul 03, 2009 |
| Project Team: | John-Erik Kocho-Schellenberg (Master's student field researcher, University of Manitoba) |
Objective(s): This project aims to understand how co-management helps the people of Tuk to deal with environment and resource problems. The researcher hopes to look at the role of the FJMC, and the exchange of knowledge between the Inuvialuit and government scientists.
Project Description: This project aims to understand how co-management helps the people of Tuktoyaktuk to deal with environment and resource problems. The researcher hopes to look at the role of the FJMC, and the exchange of knowledge between the Inuvialuit and government scientists. Through meetings with Burton Ayles and Sheila Nasogaluak as well as a joint FJMC/DFO meeting, the Husky Lakes beluga entrapment issue has been identified as a good case to study. This is because it is a current issue and the time-frame of the issue is of smaller scale than other options such as the Marine Protected Area. The smaller time scale will allow the researchers to understand the issue more fully. Using this management issue as an active case study will allow them to understand how the co-management body functions in a real situation. The researchers will be using participatory methods, including individual and group interviews, and participant observation while in Tuk and at Husky Lakes. They will also develop a questionnaire which will consist of a series of questions about the network of knowledge and information exchange. Interviews with Tuk HTC members will allow them to document local knowledge and perceptions of the entrapment issue, and local understanding of the role of co-management. Participant observation will allow the researcher to get a closer look at how traditional and scientific understanding of the issue is turned into action. After completing questionnaires and interviews, the researchers will draw a picture of the whole social network (HTC-FJMC-DFO-Others.) The main focus of the project is local involvement in management of Natural Resources. The local Hunters and Trappers Committee is involved with Fisheries Joint Management Committee and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the researchers will be working with all three to understand the co-management institutions better. The researchers will also provide a project summary and report to the community after the work is done, for educational purposes. The researchers plan on creating a research largely visual results and analysis booklet that is written in an easy-to-read format. The researchers will consult community members as to how this can be made in a way that is useful to them for archival and/or educational purposes. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from July 03 to August 28, 2009, in Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk.
