Title | Use of traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) in natural resource management plans within North America, with emphasis on Canada, and options for incorporating TEK into CEMA's work |
Publication Type | Report |
Year of Publication | 2003 |
Publication Language | en |
Keywords | natural resource management, traditional environmental knowledge |
Abstract | The authors of this report were engaged to provide the recent history of the incorporation of Traditional Environmental Knowledge into natural resource management plans, case studies exemplifying strategies for incorporation, and recommendations to CEMA on how best to incorporate TEK into their own natural resource management plans. Specific questions that the authors set out to address in the report, through research and consultation with Aboriginals and members of CEMA, included: How does TEK compare to Western Science? When, where, and why did TEK begin to be used in natural resource management plans in Canada? What laws or policies encourage or compel the use of TEK in natural resource management plans in Alberta specifically and in Canada more generally? What methods exist to monitor the appropriate use of TEK in natural resource management plans? What are "Sharing Agreements"? and, How has TEK been incorporated into natural resource management plans in Canada and North America? Each of these questions is answered and supplemented with additional relevant information in turn in the body of the report. Chapter 3, "The Treatment of TEK in Law and Policy," for example, first examines TEK in the context of international law by explaining the relationship between domestic law and international law; the importance of international declarations, international treaties and conventions; and by exemplifying specific international policies like the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Migratory Birds Convention. A lengthy discussion and analysis of TEK in the context of the Canadian constitution and the Treaty to which many Aboriginals in the region are signatory, Treaty 8, follows. The chapter also surveys the extent to which Canadian statutes acknowledge the importance of TEK, and finally, it analyzes federal and provincial government policy statements regarding the use of TEK, including a variety of departmental consultation guidelines.The report authors conclude by acknowledging the significant challenge facing CEMA in successfully incorporating TEK into natural resource management plans. They note that "Despite all the recent attention and rhetoric, [Traditional Environmental Knowledge, Traditional Knowledge, and Indigenous Knowledge] have arguably made very little impact on environmental resource management. Even though the integration of TEK … continues to be one of the key considerations around which cooperative management processes and regimes are constructed, Aboriginal peoples remain frustrated by the lack of their meaningful involvement, and the failure to meaningfully incorporate their knowledge and values…." The authors recommend CEMA follow the model of the two-row wampum, in order to emphasize equality and mutual respect, as the best method for successfully integrating TEK into their own natural resource management plans. The option is discussed in some detail and contextualized with other options that are not recommended by the authors. |
Notes | Consulting firm commissioned by CEMA |
Locational Keywords | Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo |
Group | CEMA |
Citation Key | 25007 |