The broad goal is to collaboratively document and mobilize local and traditional knowledge (LTK) about social-ecological change in the Mackenzie, Mekong and Amazon and determine its’ role in watershed governance.
The broad goal is to collaboratively document and mobilize local and traditional knowledge (LTK) about social-ecological change in the Mackenzie, Mekong and Amazon and determine its’ role in watershed governance.
Sustainability of River Fisheries and Fishing Livelihoods: The Mackenzie-Mekong and Amazon are vast areas characterized by many kinds of social-ecological change; among the most significant is the dynamic between the sustainability of freshwater fisheries and fishing livelihoods. Fresh water fisheries are changing at an alarming rate due to many kinds of stresses (Fausch et al. 2002 Dudgeon et al. 2006). These ecological changes are having an echoing effect on subsistence fisheries in regions where communities have limited access to other livelihood options (Bene 2003; Allison and Horeman 2006; Baird 2007). LTK holders hold significant insights about many aspects of fish ecology (fish migration patterns, population dynamics and habitat use) (Baird and Begossi 2007). Because of their long-term experience and observations of fish ecology, LTK are anticipated to be able to distinguish between normal variability and change, that could indicate, “something is going wrong” (Ommer et al. 2008: 590). Gathering this kind of LTK underpins our investigation of the socio-economic, cultural and political dynamics of fishing livelihoods (Marschke and Berkes 2006). Informed by these theories, we will explore:
Meaning and Well-being: Well-being is an important lens through which we can understand the meaning of changes being observed and experienced in the Mackenzie-Mekong-Amazon. Human well-being is fundamentally dependent on ecosystem services including those inherent in river systems (MEA 2005; Cooke et al. 2007; Parkes 2010). The concept of well-being is thought to have many attributes in fishing communities considerate of place, spirituality and cultural beliefs – for some it is simply a “way of life” (Parlee et al. 2007; Kral et al. 2011; Parlee et al. 2012). In this research we use this conceptual framework to understand the normative aspects of changes being observed and experienced in river systems. Specifically:
Governance: A third objective is to determine where there is fit between these scales of meaning of change and scales of decision-making (Young 2002; Lebel et al. 2005; von der Porten and de Loë 2013). Problems appear to have occurred in other resource management contexts when the scale of the resource management problems did not match the jurisdiction of institutions involved in problem solving. Evidence points to the value of decentralized but interconnected (polycentric) institutional arrangements rather than centralized governance systems (Andersson and Ostrom 2008; Aligica 2012; da Silveira 2013). Indigenous approaches to governance that reflect the values, rights and responsibilities of First Nations, Métis and Inuvialuit peoples also matter (Wiener et al. 2012; Napoleon 2013). Guided by these literature and theories on governance we will explore:
The project will generate a significant body of knowledge about social- ecological change in the Mackenzie River Basin. Finding a means of securing this knowledge to ensure local ownership control, access and possession (OCAP) will be a key challenge for the research team. Creating a single-window database system through the project may not address the knowledge-access needs of such a diversity of communities and organizations. Nor are technical systems (e.g., online databases) the most ideal means of managing LTK. Unlike technical approaches to monitoring, the systematic generation of LTK is rooted in oral traditions and these oral traditions must be maintained to ensure the continuance of LTK generation. However, innovations in social media and digital communications (e.g., Isuma TV), have the potential to be transformative for many communities (Ginsburg 2002; Litton-Cohn and Croeser 2013):