The importance of continuous dialogue in community-based wildlife monitoring: case studies of dzan and łuk dagaii in the Gwich’in Settlement Area

Arctic Science

article

Rachel A. Hovel¹  Jeremy R. Brammer²  Emma E. Hodgson³  Amy Amos⁴  Trevor C. Lantz⁵  Chanda Turner⁵  Tracey A. Proverbs⁵  Sarah Lord⁴ 

[1] Department of Biology, University of Maine-Farmington, Farmington;National Wildlife Research Centre;Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive;Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board;School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria

关键词: community-based monitoring;    Mackenzie River;    muskrat;    broad whitefish;    Indigenous knowledge.;   

DOI  :  10.1139/as-2019-0012

学科分类：地球科学(综合)

来源: NRC Research Press

【 摘 要 】

Rapid environmental change in the Arctic elicits numerous concerns for ecosystems, natural resources, and ways of life. Robust monitoring is essential to adaptation and management in light of these challenges, and community-based monitoring (CBM) projects can enhance these efforts by highlighting traditional knowledge, ensuring that questions are locally important, and informing natural resource conservation and management. Implementation of CBM projects can vary widely depending on project goals, the communities, and the partners involved, and we feel there is value in sharing CBM project examples in different contexts. Here, we describe two projects in the Gwich’in Settlement Area (GSA), Canada, and highlight the process in which local management agencies set monitoring and research priorities. Dzan (muskrat; Ondatra zibethicus (Linnaeus, 1766)) and łuk dagaii (broad whitefish; Coregonus nasus (Pallas, 1776)) are species of great cultural importance and are the focus of CBM projects conducted with concurrent social science research. We share challenges and lessons from our experiences, offer insights into operating CBM projects in the GSA, and present resources for researchers interested in pursuing wildlife research in this region. CBM projects provide rich opportunities for benefitting managers, communities, and external researchers, particularly when the projects are built on a foundation of careful and continuous dialogue between partners.

【 授权许可】

CC BY