View the complete CCRN’s Clayoquot Sound Community Story as a PDF

Laura Loucks

Key Messages

• Collective action in an unsustainable social-ecological system can catalyse a shift towards increased community sustainability when supported with financial resources and appropriate local institutions.

• Cross-cultural knowledge sharing and place-based learning are integral to transforming social-ecological systems at the community level.

• Social innovation can assist with transformation when supported by a network of collaborative organizations with a shared set of principles and a united vision to inspire change.

Community Profile

For millennia, the Indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth people have had strong cultural and livelihood connections with the terrestrial, fresh water and marine ecosystems of the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. Within this area, Clayoquot Sound is located primarily in the Nuu-chah-nulth Ha’ huulthii (homelands) of Hesquiaht, Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, encompassing nearly 350,000 hectares of a complex and globally significant social-ecological landscape (Figure 1).

The ecosystems of Clayoquot Sound are rich in biodiversity and characterized by a large contiguous rainforest canopy of old growth western red cedar and western hemlock covering steep-sided coastal mountains throughout six watersheds.

Figure 1: Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere region

Conservation and Livelihood Challenges

Resource extraction, conflict and collective action
Over the last 50 years, local communities have constantly struggled to assert local access rights to Crown resources and shape government policies for more sustainable resource management practices in fishing and logging. In the forestry industry, unresolved Aboriginal land claims and corporate rights to Timber Forest Licenses were at the heart of unsustainable land use. For example, logging companies commonly built roads along steep mountain slopes, despite the high risk of soil erosion and damage to stream and river habitats. Similarly, large tracts of old growth rainforest were clearcut, causing significant ecological damage without the consultation or consent of the Nuu-chah-nulth Ha’ wiih, who carry the traditional responsibility to preside over and protect the Nuu-chah-nulth Ha’ huulthii⁽⁹⁾.

However, in 1982 the affirmation of Aboriginal rights and treaty rights within Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution marked an enormous shift in Canadian Law⁽⁵⁾. These rights were further strengthened in the seminal Meares Island Case, which catalyzed a transformation process still underway in Clayoquot Sound⁽⁵⁾.

In 1984, a coalition of leaders and residents from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and the town of Tofino sought to protect Meares Island, within Clayoquot Sound, from being logged by the MacMillan Bloedel forestry company. The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council claimed the island as part of the traditional territory to which it had Aboriginal title and sought a court injunction against the logging of the Island. Subsequently, the logging company requested their own court injunction against the coalition. In an unprecedented decision, the British Columbia Court of Appeal granted the injunction to the Nuu-chah-nulth based on the irreversible damages of unsustainable forestry practices⁽⁵⁾. In the words of Justice Seaton,

“It appears that the area to be logged will be wholly logged. The forest that the Indians know and use will be permanently destroyed. The tree from which the bark was partially stripped in 1642 may be cut down, middens may be destroyed, fish traps damaged and canoe runs despoiled. Finally, the island’s symbolic value will be gone. The subject matter of the trial will be destroyed before the rights are decided”^{(5, pg.149)}.

The victory of the Meares Island Case also marked the beginning of the Tla-o-qui-aht assertion of rights and title to the Meares Island Tribal Park, and 10 years of conflict⁽⁹⁾. In 1994, in an effort to resolve an escalating environmental campaign, the British Columbia government announced a Scientific Panel for Sustainable Forest Practices in Clayoquot Sound. Through this, the Nuu-chah-nulth principle of hishuk-ish-ts’awalk (everything is one and interconnected) inspired a set of new hybrid protocols designed to respect both traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and scientific knowledge systems^(6). Recommendations of the scientific panel were eventually instituted through watershed management plans that now provide the foundation for adaptive ecosystem management in the region. One plan is in the Indigenous community of Ahousaht, where Chief Maquinna has noted:

“The Ahousaht believe that this is the beginning of a new era, based on recognition and celebration of Ahousaht people and culture, conservation of the world-class forest and marine resources of Clayoquot Sound, and the development of a more diversified, sustainable local economy, including community forestry.”⁽⁸⁾

Community Initiatives

Today, the principles and protocols established by the Scientific Panel are embodied in local community organizations with new governance models based on the shared desire to build a sustainable future on West Coast Vancouver Island. One such example is the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust (CBT), which is led by a voluntary board of directors, representing all local First Nations and communities within the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve, with a vision:

“…to live sustainably in a healthy ecosystem with a diversified economy and strong, vibrant and united cultures while embracing the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations living philosophies of Iisaak, (living respectfully), Qwa’aak qin teechmis (life in balance) and Hishuk ish ts’awalk (all things are connected)”⁽²⁾.

In 2016, a collaboration of the CBT, First Nations, municipal governments, local education organizations and destination marketing organizations, launched the West Coast NEST (Nature, Education, Sustainability, Transformation) to connect people to all current learning opportunities offered in the region, focusing on four key market sectors: university field schools, professional development courses, adult learning and youth learning opportunities.

The vision is to enable all local community members and education-oriented organizations to participate fully in the learning economy, together with visiting learners⁽⁷⁾(Figure 2). By linking learning with tourism, the West Coast NEST is creating a global network of learners who can help catalyze a new local economic opportunity while shifting values towards sustainable livelihoods.

Figure 2: Nuu-chah-nulth Elder Ray Haipee teaching visiting learners.

Nested within the Nuu-chah-nulth values of Iisaak, qwa’aak qin teechmis and hishuk ish ts’awalk, the education tourism initiative is an opportunity to transform conventional tourism to attract a different type of visitor: one who wants to stay longer on the West Coast, learn from local people, experience local culture and contribute to stewardship of this ecologically significant place.

In this manner, local community organizations are working to shift away from an unsustainable tourist ‘consumer’ economy and moving incrementally towards a new ‘conserver’ economy, where broken cultures are restored and damaged SES are re-built. The communities see education tourism as having the potential to support an economic return from visiting learners while expanding local learning opportunities.

Seven principles for education tourism:
1) Attract co-learners: we welcome others to learn with us.
2) Community reciprocity: we share benefits between communities.
3) Local knowledge holders are experts: local people are reimbursed for sharing their knowledge.
4) Learning networks of practice: together, we are creating a culture of learning and collaborative problem solving.
5) Stewardship-in-place: every community has an outdoor classroom and a place to learn from the land.
6) Holistic hands-on learning: we learn best by applied learning and practice.
7) Cultural safety and sharing: we create safe spaces for learning and healing across cultural boundaries.

Practical Outcomes

References

Acknowledgements

Support for this story was provided by the Community Conservation Research Network (CCRN) and the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust (CBT).

The traditional foods that our ancestors enjoyed remain a significant aspect of social and cultural events, yet often it’s only our Elders who are experts in how to harvest, prepare, and preserve these foods. Having the knowledge and skills to access good, healthy foods for ourselves and our families is an inherent right that should be encouraged at the community level.

This was part of the motivation behind three harvesting workshops organized and coordinated by Uu-a-thluk this past summer in the three regions (i.e., Southern Region: China Creek and Broken Group Islands, Central Region: Toquaht Bay, and Northern Region: Nootka Sound and Yuquot). Thanks to a Special Projects grant from the Nuu-chah-nulth Employment and Training Program (NETP), Uu-a-thluk was able to launch this pilot project to better equip Nuu-chah-nulth for aquatic-related employment opportunities. 

“Our hope is that we will make these workshops a yearly event and collaborate with Nations who would like to train members on seafood harvesting, preparation, and preservation,” said Michelle Colyn, Uu-a-thluk Capacity Building Coordinator. “This project will allow us to continue to assert our rights for present and future generations to develop fisheries-related opportunities in concert with Nuu-chah-nulth values and rights.”

Community members in the harvesting workshops learned a range of skills and knowledge such as modern ways of harvesting salmon, crab, prawn, groundfish, and kelp; how knowledge of harvesting ocean resources ties into careers in the fisheries and eco-tourism industries; handling, cleaning, filleting salmon, how to prepare kuutchis salmon (Nuu-chah-nulth salmon barbeque over fire), and preservation methods such as canning.

Figure 1: Northern Region Biologist Roger Dunlop leading a seaweed identification activity (harvesting workshop), Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation Science Camp

Participants in the Northern Region workshop canned bull kelp and made bull kelp salsa, while in the Central Region community members learned about the importance of the potlatch for Nuu-chah-nulth governance and for important events. This past summer while the workshop was taking place Toquaht community members were harvesting for a special memorial honouring Bert Mack (Deets–kee-sup), who served as Tyee Ha’wilth (Hereditary Chief) of Toquaht First Nation until 2009. Those taking part in this workshop also learned about how Nuu-chah-nulth would move through the seasons harvesting food during the 13 moons of the Nuu-chah-nulth calendar. Anii-tsa-chist (Larry Johnson), Toquaht fisher and President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Development Corporation spoke about the importance of being familiar with the “Seasonal Round” or Nuu-chah-nulth calendar.  

“To truly get back to traditional foods it’s important to know why and when different foods are harvested. We’ve been removed from the fishing industry and the coastal way of life,” he said, adding that the residential schools and the shutting out of Nuu-chah-nulth from the commercial fishing industry have significantly contributed to this disconnection. 

Defined by the principles of hišukiš c̓awaak meaning “everything is connected,” as Nuu-chah-nulth we understand our sacred duty to foster healthy relationships with the land, waters, plants, and animals that give us our food. With this comes the necessity to respond to our own requirements for safe, healthy cultural foods and the ability to make decisions over how much and what food we hunt, fish, gather, grow and eat to feed our communities. Field-based training opportunities like the harvesting workshops connect food sovereignty and food security with employment on the water, which is crucial to ensuring the long-term success of fisheries and fisheries related businesses. Engaging the next generation in this understanding often begins with something as simple as a first fishing lesson.

Anii-tsa-chist recalled the thrill of catching salmon on a rod for the first time and how he noticed this in the children who he taught to fish at the harvesting workshop in Toquaht Bay. “Adrenalin takes over and that excitement takes me right back to being a little boy and fishing stickleback in the rivers.” Although he added that this should be but one lesson of many. “Being a fisher isn’t something you learn from one course once a year. It’s a lifetime of things you pick up along the way.” 

All information in this post provided by CCRN Researcher Dawn Foxcroft

View the complete CCRN’s Halifax Community Story as a PDF

Sadie Beaton, Miranda Cobb, Will Fawcett-Hill, Marla MacLeod, Laura Mather, Tiffanie Rainville, and Satya Ramen

Key messages

• Collective action in an unsustainable social-ecological system can catalyse a shift towards increased community sustainability when supported with financial resources and appropriate local institutions.

• Cross-cultural knowledge sharing and place-based learning are integral to transforming social-ecological systems at the community level.

• Social innovation can lead to transformation when supported by a network of collaborative organisations with a shared set of principles and a united vision to inspire change.

Community profile 

Figure 1: Map of Select Community Gardens in Halifax

Many communities in Nova Scotia rely on food from large chain grocery stores and discount stores year-round. As a secondary source, and seasonally dependent, there are an increasing number of Farmers’ Markets across the province. However, there are several communities in which grocery stores are physically far away, creating a situation where people rely on what’s available at small convenience stores such as those associated with many petrol stations. These stores typically offer prepared, packaged and convenience foods that tend to be high in sugar, salt and fat, and many do not have facilities to offer fresh foods. This exacerbates economic and social inequalities.

Like the rest of North America, the diet of many Nova Scotians features processed and convenience meals, with trends away from whole foods or home cooked meals. However, there is a strong history of growing and preserving livestock and produce in NS, which has been resurging through the food movement over the past decade.

Conservation and livelihood challenges

Unfortunately, several rural and urban Nova Scotian communities face issues with accessing healthy and sustainable foods. The rate of food insecurity in Nova Scotia is the third highest in Canada at 15.4%^(7,4).

Community initiatives

Since the early 2000s, community-based organizations have been taking a closer look at local food systems and working to improve access to healthy, sustainable food. This community story describes the work of four community groups in Nova Scotia’s capital city, Halifax, towards developing positive food environments: i) the Bayers Westwood Family Resource Centre (BWFRC), ii) the Immigrant Settlement Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS), iii) Mulgrave Park gardens and iv) Common Roots’ Urban Farm (CRUF). These groups are linked through their close relationship with the Ecology Action Centre (EAC), an environmental NGO that has been one of the first in Atlantic Canada to begin connecting food systems and environmental issues.

Bayers-Westwood
The Bayers-Westwood community, of Halifax’s West End, is very diverse, consisting of 358 families, including 60% newcomers. These are mostly single parent families, with many living on disability and income assistance. As one community member described, “The food environment is very challenging. There is never enough food, the food bank runs out, and there are hardly any fruit and vegetables available.”

Figure 2: Community Garden at Bayers-Westwood

Since their partnership with EAC, the community garden infrastructure and leadership has grown significantly. Bayers Westwood Family Resource Centre hired a seasonal garden coordinator, implemented a percentage of staff time toward food and garden programs, and established core volunteer roles for the ongoing maintenance and coordination of the garden. As a result, they now have capacity to grow more produce for initiatives like local pop-up markets, making their own garden preserves, and increase garden membership. According to the centre, factors supporting healthy food access include growing space, knowledge and skill, and social support.

ISANS: Glen Forest & Multicultural Community Gardens
ISANS is a community organization that welcomes immigrants to Nova Scotia, offering services and creating opportunities for immigrants to participate in Canadian life. In 2012, ISANS started their first two community gardens; the Glen Forest Garden, followed by the Multicultural Community Garden in 2013. Although vandalism put the gardens at risk, engagement with the EAC has increased the capacity to effectively run the gardens. Community members emphasized the need for social support, indicating a connection between social coordination and food access, such as through the ability to organise seed swaps, bulk food orders and intergenerational language exchanges.

Garden participants often lack basic social supports that affect their well-being, including their mental health and livelihood outcomes. As one participant put it, “In my ideal world… I don’t have to make a decision between chicken and detergent.” As another describes, “I feel better about myself when I am able to buy necessities.”

Mulgrave Park

Mulgrave Park is a vibrant public housing neighbourhood with a rich history, comprised of primarily of African-Nova Scotians, in the north end of Halifax, home to over 250 families. Progress in the park is a community development initiative that seeks to empower the residents through entrepreneurial action that inspires inclusiveness and challenges stigma. One major focus of the initiative is food security, including community gardens. The community has developed 12 accessible raised beds, which were built to address the needs of residents living beside the garden. Due to the multiple intersecting social and economic barriers experienced by the majority of the residents, community members were hesitant to invest in the gardening project. However, the children’s programme, ‘Plants- to-Plates’, was incredibly successful at engaging youth, and many days during the summer kids can be found playing and working in the garden. As a result, 70% of youth involved reported eating more vegetables because of the garden programme which led parents to become more open to the project. One parent had this to say about their children: “They love to help me at the garden, they enjoy watering, and enjoy the veggies that I have ready. :)” and “I have the veggies at the garden so I don’t need to buy. Just pick-up and enjoy and most important, no chemicals!”.

Figure 3: The HUGS Community Garden in Bayers-Westwood.

Common Roots:

Common Roots Urban Farm (CRUF) is a community garden in Halifax, building “a community-built vision of urban agriculture and productive landscapes” (Food Secure Canada, 2014), and along with over 100 individual and community plots, is made up of a market garden, edible landscaping, and places to sit and relax or learn and work together. Unlike the other gardens, Common Roots has a large volunteer capacity and the majority of participants enjoy a mid-range income. Common Roots also engages with newcomers and immigrants, many of who are living on assistance. Through programmes like Deep Roots, they invite newcomers to volunteer on the farm and employ their extensive farming skills in a new climate. In 2017, the first employee hired there came from the Deep Roots programme.

Practical Outcomes

There are, of course, challenges to be met. For example, the ISANS community found that access is also allayed by the availability of culturally appropriate food – that is, food that residents would customarily eat – but food banks don’t often serve culturally appropriate food (or familiar foods). Participants also spoke of lacking skills/knowledge on preparing the different foods. Language and literacy impacted peoples’ ability to buy at the grocery store, and community garden members commented on a lack of transparency in the food system, and an inability to “know what food has chemicals, what is organic, and what is not going to cause harm.”

Government Policy
The policy context for gardens on municipal land in the Halifax region is positive. For example, the proposed Centre Plan for Halifax allows and encourages urban agriculture. There is an Administrative Order within the Halifax Regional Municipality that allows community gardens on municipal land to sell their produce and reinvest the revenue in the garden (i.e. soil). Community development and recreation staff with the municipality may help gardens become established, helping them with the municipality’s application process and facilitating in-kind access to on-site infrastructure such as water or electricity.

Ultimately, food is a topic that connects all of us. Community garden projects and food skills workshops have proven to be great entry points to increased awareness and engagement with food issues. Community food programs are tangible and accessible; they build skills, and enhance a sense of agency alongside social and community connections. “Positive food environments” can also become points of resistance, as community members feel empowered to challenge the status quo⁽¹⁰⁾. Without a doubt, vulnerable populations experience multiple types of marginalisation related to complex power dynamics that create barriers to agency and food security.

Considering a variety of perspectives is beneficial when addressing complex social problems like food security, whether coming from the lens of health, environment, social justice, or even cultural celebration. There is value in linking communities together to explore some of the diverse elements of food security work in an integrated approach, recognising food production as just one variable in a much larger complex system.

This approach has fostered the development and integration of community food programming within various Nova Scotian communities. It has also enabled new cross-sectoral collaborations to emerge, that help address gaps in access to and availability of healthy foods within a more localised food system.

References

Acknowledgements 

Funding for this work was provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada (Innovation Strategy).

Britta Sjöstedt’s presentation will focus on the World Heritage Convention and its application to World Heritage Sites during and after armed conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Elaine Hsiao further explores this and other issues around conservation and conflict focusing on transboundary protected areas of the Greater Virunga Landscape between DRC, Rwanda and Uganda and the Kidepo Landscape between South Sudan and Uganda. Together, in this webinar by Britta Sjöstedt and Elaine Hsiao, we have an opportunity to look at the community dimensions of conflict and conservation in protected areas and to discuss opportunities for conflict transformation and ecological peacebuilding.

View the complete CCRN’s São Luiz Community Story as a PDF

Camila A. Islas, Alice R. de Moraes, Juliana S. African & Cristiana S. Seixas

Key Messages

• Severe land degradation and environmental disasters can act as triggers to new community conservation and development initiatives and as stimulus to existing ones.
• Bridging organizations can foster community initiatives through projects addressing environmental conservation and restoration in parallel to local capacity building and community development.
• Cultural identity plays a central role in engaging communities in projects of nature conservation.

Community Profile

São Luiz do Paraitinga (hereafter São Luiz) is a municipality with about 10,000 inhabitants, located in Eastern São Paulo State of Brazil, near the Atlantic coast (Figure 1). The municipality is situated within the Paraíba Valley, which links the two largest metropolitan areas in Brazil (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro). Out of the ~730 km² of the municipality’s area, 10% are encompassed by Serra do Mar State Park, a protected area, and 13% are in its buffer zone. The main land uses/cover are pasture (53%) and fragmented forests (37%), while cattle breeding for dairy, forestry and agriculture are the main economic activities⁽²⁾. The municipality is also embedded in the Atlantic Forest biome – a hotspot for biodiversity conservation, i.e. one of the highly threatened biomes in the world⁽⁵⁾.

Figure 1. A) The State of São Paulo highlighted in the Brazilian map. B) São Luíz do Paraitinga Municipality highlighted in the State of São Paulo map.

The landscape of São Luiz has been shaped by specific material and immaterial cultural features that were strongly influenced by coffee plantations from the early 20^th century and by the Caipira way of life, a local designation to a rural livelihood which involves typical food, music, tales, dances and festivities (see Figure 2).

The city’s architectural ensemble is the largest historical collection of the State’s architectural heritage, and its population proudly keeps alive several displays of immaterial culture⁽³⁾. The local economy currently depends on public services, and the Human Development Index (HDI = 0.690) is among the lowest of the State’s municipalities. In this context, cultural tourism and eco-tourism are promising alternatives for economic development.

Rural communities in Brazil are important SES, specifically in south-eastern states such as São Paulo, where landscapes are highly fragmented and urbanised. Landscapes there sometimes have patches of native vegetation that are especially important to wild animals, serving as habitat and ‘stepping-stones’, which generate various ecosystem services and are also home to human communities and their livelihoods⁽³⁾. The vast majority of rural properties (96%) in the municipality of São Liuz are owned by smallholders⁽²⁾.

In this context lies Catuçaba, a rural district in São Luiz comprising a village with around 1,000 inhabitants and its surrounding rural neighbourhoods. Most inhabitants make their living from small-scale animal husbandry and other smallholding activities⁽³⁾.

Figure 2: Traditional dance presentation at the central square, in front of the main church, during the festivity of the Holy Spirit in São Luiz do Paraitinga, 2016.

Until a few decades ago, the village was partially isolated from the urban center due to poor road access. However, the road connecting the village to downtown was paved by the year 2000, facilitating outsiders’ access and products transportation, and improving the access of villagers and rural inhabitants to infrastructure, education and health. Tourism-related activities have been modestly flourishing in the territory, supported by its beautiful landscape, pleasant climate and historical farms.

Conservation and Livelihood Challenges

Land degradation is longstanding in the region. Agriculture has been practiced since the settlement of the first colonisers in the late 17^th century, in spite of the hilly landscape and low nutrient availability and permeability of the soil⁽²⁾. Economic cycles (cotton, coffee, agriculture and cattle), along with poor soil management techniques, contributed to land degradation, impoverishing the soil, and most recently covering the land with Brachiaria, an invasive exotic grass that feeds the cattle and worsens soil permeability. As a result, cattle productivity has declined and many landowners fell back on other activities to complete their income.

Meanwhile, due to the promises of better job and education opportunities in urban centres, rural out-migration hampered the availability of rural workers and lowered social cohesion. Currently, land degradation in such social context threaten most of the traditional livelihoods.

On January 1st, 2010, São Luiz suffered from a flood of great magnitude, when the river crossing the downtown area raised over 11 meters above its regular level in a matter of hours, largely damaging the historical buildings and affecting the whole population, both urban and rural. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. Other than the high precipitation registered in end-2009, this flood was caused by factors linked to land degradation in rural areas, such as soil compaction in degraded and poorly managed pastures, fires commonly used to clear land, scarcity of forests near watercourses, and human occupation of floodplains.

Community Initiatives^*

In the face of the disaster’s intensity and tremendous material losses, the population of São Luiz showed a remarkable capacity to self-organize in order to cope with the emergency situation and, later, to rebuild and restore the functioning of the city⁽⁵⁾. Since the floods, the territory as a whole has been targeted by diverse projects focusing on forest restoration, agro-ecological production and capacity building.

The 2010 disaster stimulated new and ongoing community initiatives, mostly with the help of local and regional NGOs and government organizations. During the post-disaster reorganization phase, the community actively participated in decisions regarding the reconstruction of historical buildings and other issues. In addition to engineering work conducted at the government initiative, most post-disaster initiatives focused on keeping the vibrancy of local cultural manifestations⁽⁵⁾.

Figure 3: The scenic landscape around Catuçaba district: degraded pastures and patches of biodiversity-rich Atlantic forest covering its hills and valleys.

The community also showed a remarkable sense of place and attachment to both São Luiz, similarly to Catuçaba and its surrounding area (Figure 3). The tragedy seems to have reinforced this sense of place and local people’s capacities of coping and recovering their community life with their own hands, and at the same time acknowledging and being grateful for all the solidarity and help they received from external people and institutions⁽⁵⁾.

One of these community initiatives working to improve conservation and livelihoods was the Comunidade da Vila (Village Community). In 2012, the Learning Community initiative began in Catuçaba. The main goal of the project was to promote an environment for reflection about nature conservation and local development, and to facilitate the planning of collective actions^(1,3). Together with local people, the initiative planned and organised several cultural events and community actions over three years⁽¹⁾. Although the project ended in 2015, the community continued to meet until 2017, focusing on a street market with local products, tourism-related activities and festivities ^(3).

A local NGO, Akarui, has been developing projects for nature conservation integrated with socio-economic development in the region since 2003. After the 2010 flood, their prominence increased as Akarui members’ attachment to and knowledge about the territory, in addition to their technical expertise, led efforts to sustainable development of rural areas of the municipality. Akarui has carried out projects regarding socio-environmental characterisation, forest restoration, agro-ecological transition, pasture management and improvement of farmers’ income. The NGO is still working in the territory, currently expanding their initiatives to encompass environmental education and food security and sovereignty.

After the extreme events of 2010 (flood) and 2013/2014 (severe drought), more community members got interested in taking part in restoration projects, and a growing number are willing to adopt agro-ecological principles to their production chain. An Agenda 21 plan, built through participatory methods for the watershed, including guidelines for its sustainable development, is a featured product of Akuri. The NGO acknowledges rural communities as their main partners⁽²⁾.

Finally, another initiative named Rede para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável do Alto Paraíba (Upper Paraíba River Sustainable Development Network), or REDESUAPA, began their work after the 2010 floods. The network encompasses diverse stakeholders including local leaders, local and state government, local and regional NGOs and researchers, who met voluntarily in the municipality. In addition to project development, REDESUAPA created synergies among ongoing efforts and aimed at influencing public policy based on a systemic view of the territory, promoting ecological restoration, sustainable farming and community-based tourism. For instance, in 2016, REDESUAPA wrote an open letter addressed to the candidates running for Mayor asking for their commitment to priority guidelines for urban and rural sustainable development in the municipality. The network played a key role in the efforts to bring investments of a big project to the region, which is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The Recovery and protection of climate and biodiversity services in the Paraíba do Sul Basin of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil project is based on Payments for Environmental Services (PES) and other incentives for sustainable land management and conservation in private lands. The members of REDESUAPA are still in touch with each other, but the network itself is on ‘standby mode’. However, the synergies created by REDESUAPA are reflected in a number of other initiatives concerning local development, conservation and ecological restoration.

^*The data and analysis on the social-ecological system of São Luiz and Catuçaba refer to the period 2012-2017. The authors acknowledge that changes have occurred in the system since then. Although they are not analysed here, we have added some information about the current situation, based on non-systematic observation.

Practical Outcomes

The development of initiatives is neither easy nor fast, but they have certainly been flourishing and creating arenas for community learning, empowerment, and development in São Luiz do Paraitinga (including Catuçaba). Although the 2010 flood was an important trigger to various initiatives, it is still unclear how successful they will be in terms of self-maintenance and mitigating the risk of floods in the future.

These bottom-up initiatives have valorized rural livelihoods and fostered opportunities for people to remain in rural areas. Inhabitants have been self-organizing to strengthen the Caipira identity, preserve local traditions (e.g., festivities and foods), and promote local development, with an overall understanding that their good quality of life depends on nature conservation⁽³⁾. Small, low-cost initiatives triggered improvements in the community capacity to organize and act collectively for a common goal⁽⁴⁾, although leadership and broader participation of community members in such initiatives remains a challenge.

Bridging organizations, such as NGOs and university teams, play a crucial role in linking local stakeholders with one another and with outside institutions (i.e. State Environmental authorities and funding agencies), facilitating learning opportunities, fundraising and providing access to technical advisory⁽¹⁾. In the course of creating environments where diverse local and outside stakeholders can interact and collaborate (Figure 4), the initiatives have generated a feedback loop, which is attracting more and more initiatives.

Figure 4: Caipira meeting in January 2017, where members of Catuçaba community and their external supporters discussed local development, nature and culture.

Until 2017, several stakeholders were joining efforts to work synergistically, for instance through REDESUAPA, to positively transform the region’s landscape at the watershed level. The efforts were benefitting from both bottom-up and top-down initiatives, taking into account both local knowledge and technical/scientific expertise, and involving stakeholders with different levels of political power. Above all, these efforts involve a diverse array of individuals who believe in a more sustainable and just society, and struggle year after year to accomplish their vision.

In face of socio-ecological change over the last decade, various community initiatives towards conservation and social development have emerged in São Luiz do Paraitinga^{(3, 4)}. Many tourism-related activities have been developing, especially those regarding ecotourism (e.g., farm hotels and rafting) and cultural tourism (e.g., religious, art and local food festivities). More recently, other community initiatives were established as local markets of agro-ecological products and craft fairs. After the 2010 floods, the municipality drew the attention of many governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) favouring the emergence of new environmental and social initiatives. The success of these initiatives has depended on population engagement and participation, as well as aligning to local demands and inherent dynamics of the local SES. The question ahead may be if and how these initiatives will thrive or perish in the long term, and which factors will determine their course.

References

Acknowledgements

We thank the population of São Luiz do Paraitinga and, in particular, of Catuçaba community, the NGO Akarui, and REDESUAPA for their commitment and availability for our projects. We also thank SSHRC/CCRN, CAPES, CNPq, PREAC/UNICAMP and FAPESP for funding. The project also received a strong support from our entire CGCommons Team (The Commons Conservation and Management group at University of Campinas, Brazil).

During the summer of 2016, the Alberta-based natural gas company AltaGas diverted a section of the Sipekne’katik River to create a mixing channel. AltaGas aims to dump mine waste in the Sipekne’katik River, drill salt caverns, and store natural gas on land belonging to the Mi’kmaw First Nation. This project threatens the river ecosystem and poses a risk to the health and livelihood of the Mi’kmaw communities in this area. The Peace and Friendship Treaties signed between the Mi’kmaw and colonialists indicate that this land belongs to the Mi’kmaw. Additionally, the treaties guarantee the right for the Mi’kmaw to hunt and fish as usual.

During the summer of 2016, a truckhouse was built on the banks adjacent to the Alton Gas site and eel traps were placed in the diverted section of the river. The purpose of these constructions is to ensure that access to the river, which is protected in the Peace and Friendship Treaties, is available to everyone. Further, these additions act to demonstrate that the Mi’kmaw people and allies are resistant to the Alton Gas project but hope to explore how everyone can come together in peace and friendship.

Featured image was taken by Sadie Beaton

View the complete CCRN’s Bolivia’s Northern Amazon Community Story as a PDF

Alison Macnaughton

Key Messages

• Introduced fish species in the Bolivian Amazon could provide Indigenous communities with livelihood opportunities, but may also be a threat to their critically-important subsistence fisheries through predation and territorial exclusion.

• Local fishery organizations can be strengthed through ongoing dialogue, leadership training, and technical assistance.

• Engaging with local, regional and national level actors and promoting open spaces of dialogue (workshops, round table groups) can help identify common interests, resolve conflicts and support discussion on future planning.

Community Profile

Figure 1: Map of Bolivia showing the Pando and Beni departments(10)

Conservation and Livelihood Challenges

Figure 2: Traditional houses in Baketi community, TCO Cavineño, 2015), and low returns to producers.

Community Initiatives

Since 2011, indigenous communities have worked with researchers from the Asociación Faunagua, World Fisheries Trust, and the University of Victoria (Canada), to better understand the fisheries situation, and identify pathways to improve livelihood and food security in the region.

Figure 3: Explaining local fishing areas, catch and effort, community workshop, TCO Chácobo, 2015

Much of this work has focused on the paiche; providing key information on abundance and impacts, as well as potential for development. So far, these efforts have provided important information on:

• Nutritional status and food security of rural and urban populations and key determinants, including the contributions of fish⁽¹⁾;
• Fisheries and other livelihood activities, and local perspectives about paiche; and
• Fishery value chains, and mechanisms to improve transparency and promote greater economic equity between fishers, middlemen and markets^(7,5)

Figure 4: Mapping the spread of the introduced paiche fish, community workshop, TCO Chácobo 2015

There have also been a range of practical initiatives including:

• Pilot initiatives for value-added fish production, for example the establishment of a cooperative in one of the indigenous communities, where paiche fillets and skins (for leather production) are produced and sold at improved prices;
• Strengthening local fisheries organizations through ongoing dialogue, leadership training, and providing technical assistance, e.g. consolidation of the regional fishers association; and
• Engaging with local, regional and national level actors and promoting open spaces of dialogue (workshops, round table groups) to identify common interests, resolve conflicts and discuss future planning^(8).

Practical Outcomes

Figure 5: Preparing roasted tucunaré (peacock bass), a traditional dish, TCO Cavineño, 2015

• Capacity-building for communities and local organisations to identify and articulate local needs and priorities for development and conservation.
• Development and implementation of resource management plans and other governance tools at a local level.
• More effective engagement in regional planning.
• Support for greater transparency, communication and cooperation between agencies responsible for regulating fishing and fish markets.
• Improving returns to fishers, for example through value-added opportunities or improved pricing structure.

Figure 6: Returning with the day’s catch, TCO Cavineño, 2015

References

Acknowledgements

View the CCRN’s Tanzania Community Story as  PDF

Key Messages

Activities are underwayin the Saadani National Park area intended to result in:

• Involving communities in alternative, environmentally compatible livelihood activities that improve well-being for local residents.
• Improving the relationship between the management of Saadani National Park and the surrounding communities.
• Improving land management to arrest deforestation and ensure conservation of critical resource features both within and outside the national park.

Community Introduction

Tanzania’s Saadani National Park, established in 2005 with an area of 1,100 km2, is a coastal strip along the Indian Ocean north of Dar es Salaam. Within the national park system, Saadani is the only coastal park and is especially important for protecting rapidly diminishing coastal forests, the Wami River estuary and mangrove environments, along with a marine component of offshore coral reefs and turtle rearing beach(1).

Figure 1: Map of the Saadani Natinal Park in Tanzania

Four ecozones make up Saadani National Park: the marine environment of the Indian Ocean; the fresh water ecosystem of the major river courses; the coastal forests; and the humid savanna. The marine environment includes the breeding areas and habitat for over 40 fish species and significant populations of gastropods, echinoderms and corals. Mangrove forests and salt pans are located in the central and southern Saadani. Additionally, nesting beaches of the threatened green turtle are protected within the park. The Wami River and its corridor along the southern border of the area remains an important natural freshwater system especially in the river’s lower reaches. The coastal forest zone is critical for regulating the water cycle and provides habitat for a wide variety of mammals including elephants, leopards, kudu, suni, duiker, bush babies and Colobus monkeys. The humid savanna, including long grass, short grass and black cotton plains, supports grazers and browsers such as hartebeest, waterbuck, buffalo, and reedbuck.

Figure 2: Hippos in the Wami River, Saadani National Park (Photo Credit B.K. Downie)

The park was created from three major components of crown land which together comprised approximately 500 km2 of the total land area. Negotiations with villages of the area resulted in the remainder of the park being composed of former village lands(2,3). However, community residents do not believe that the benefit commitments made by the Tanzania National Parks Agency (TANAPA) in exchange for the land, such as employment and community services, have been realized(4). Furthermore disputes over the actual boundary of the park continue and remain extremely contentious(5). TANAPA wants to retain existing lands and believes that more land needs to be added to the park to ensure integrity of key resources(6).

The Saadani Community

The villages bordering Saadani National Park are small and subsistence livelihood based, with fishing dominating along the coast and agriculture taking over in inland communities. Services remain limited and public infrastructure is poor. The economies of the villages are very small and dominated by micro enterprises linked to and supplementing the production from subsistence agriculture and fishing.

Salt production is the only industrial activity in the immediate area although sisal plantations exist to the north and a sugar cane plantation is proposed in the southwest corner of the area. Tourist lodge facilities pre-dated the park and have expanded since park establishment, although by comparison to other national parks in Tanzania, both numbers of sites and park visitation remain relatively small(4).

Figure 3: Small business enterprise in Saadani village (Photo Credit B.K. Downie)

Conservation and Livelihood Challenges

Although relatively close to major population centres, the infrastructure of the Saadani, including water and power systems, transportation and communications, are not well developed due to the small and dispersed population. Local village economies remain very small with limited wage, employment, and public services such as education and health care.

The interaction between resource extraction and environmental change is the biggest challenge facing the Saadani. Species that have supported both human need and ecosystem function are being diminished or lost due to overharvesting, resulting in the associated impact on other species. For example, as fresh water fish stocks decline in the Wami River, the dependent bird and reptile species diminish as well. Population pressure leads to increased conversion of land to agriculture, which diminishes the coastal forest cover and impacts the water regime, which in turn impacts agricultural productivity.

Figure 4: Fisher in dhow off the coast (Photo Credit B.K. Downie)

Sensitive and vulnerable landscapes present significant challenges for conservation and management in the context of the Saadani and have been the focus of some of the conflict between the park and the communities. Coral reefs, as an example, have experienced considerable degradation. With the establishment of the park, a key reef and island complex was closed to community harvest. Mangroves, also highly impacted by human activity, are a priority for protection within the park and additional areas currently outside the park are a priority for acquisition.

Incompatible land uses also illustrate the conflict between conservation and community needs. A private sector salt producer currently operates in an enclave within the park and park management wants the operation closed and the area added to the park. However, the salt company is one of the few employers in the area and closing the operation would seriously impact potential wage employment for local people. Similarly, the most severe environmental impact in the area is the diminishing forest land which is being converted to agriculture or simply removed for the production of charcoal. This land use pattern will have an inevitable negative impact on the viability of the park unless the trend is reversed, yet land for agriculture and the energy and income resulting from charcoal production will be extremely challenging to replace.

Community Initiative

Given the above situation, there are great needs for:

• Community led activities that foster long-term sustainability of community based conservation and development initiatives.
• Support for local communities, both rural and urban, to understand the conservation values of the environment in which they live.
• Support for communities to implement development interventions that are compatible with and build on those natural resource values.
• Support for protected areas management agencies to work with local communities in the cooperative achievement of both protected areas and community objectives.

Figure 5: Fishers in Saadani village going to fish (Photo Credit B.K. Downie)

These activities have been undertaken by the Kesho Trust, a Canadian charitable organization (registered 2005) and also registered as a Tanzanian NGO (2006). The Kesho Trust has a long term commitment to the Saadani area and is involved in a variety of initiatives in the area. As part of their ongoing work, the Kesho trust initiated a project called Promoting Environmental Conservation and Cooperation (PECC) in the Saadani in 2013. The purpose of this project was to help improve the relationships between villagers and the Saadani Park management through understanding and discussion. The project established, and works with, 10 person committees in each of the six communities in the area (Buyuni, Gongo, Matipwili, Mkange, Mkwaja, Saadani).

In September, 2015 a series of meetings was held in three out of the six PECC communities and then a workshop was convened with two representatives from each of the community committees to review the progress of PECC. Participants were asked to explain what was working effectively and why and how they felt the project was affecting their relationships with the park. The outcomes were positive and people were keen to continue the work of the committees in each village(7).

Practical Outcomes

A recent review of PECC identified four key project activities as being the most beneficial to the Saadani area communities.

Communication

The opportunity to have important issues heard and discussed with park staff was critical for village participants, even if solutions were not immediately possible.

Community Collaboration

Meeting with other village communities was important in understanding that others experienced similar issues and that there were potential collective solutions.

Observing other Conservation Organisations

Visits to conservation organisations and agencies in Dar es Salaam provided new information and ideas about ways to work with designated conservation areas. Visiting the Wildlife Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources was considered to be especially valuable.

Education

Developing, and using songs, drama and poems helped people in their villages learn about the process and benefits of conservation.

Figure 6: PECC workshop with representatives from all six participating villages (Photo Credit B.K. Downie)

References

1. Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA). (2009). Saadani National Park: general management plan 2010-2020 (p. 168). Arusha, Tanzania: TANAPA.
2. Baldus, R. D., Roettcher, K., & Broska, D. (2001). An introduction to Tanzania’s future 13th national park (Tanzania Wildlife Discussion Paper No. 30). Dar es Salaam: GTZ Wildlife Programme in Tanzania.
3. Bloesch, U., & Klötzli, F. (2004). Coastal forests of the Saadani National Park (Tanzania Wildlife Discussion Paper No. 37) (p. 30). Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Tanzania Wildlife Discussion Paper.
4. Downie, B. K. (2015). Conservation influences on livelihood decision-making: A case study from Saadani National Park, Tanzania. PhD Thesis. Victoria: University of Victoria.
5. Orozco-Quintero, A. (2014). Uvinje Village and Saadani National Park, Tanzania. Retrieved from http://www.justconservation.org/uvinje-village-and-saadani-national-park,-tanzania
6. Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA). (2014). Research priorities for national parks (p. 46). Arusha, Tanzania: TANAPA.
7. Downie, B.K. (2016). Towards the resolution of a conservation and community conflict: A Tanzania case study. Policy Matters. 20. (p. 66-80).

Acknowledgements

The commitment and support of the people of the Saadani area villages has made the work possible. Funding support beyond the ongoing donations to the Kesho Trust by private individuals has come from two donor organizations: 1) initial stages of the PECC project were funded by the Tanzania Foundation for Civil Society; and, 2) a recent project review and subsequent workshops, focused on community based tourism as an alternative livelihood activity, was supported by IUCN.

See below for the Swahili language abstract for this community story, “Hifadhi ya Taifa ya Saadani, Tanzania: Kukuza Uendelevu wa Muda Mrefu wa Uhifadhi wa Kijamii na Maendeleo.”

A video concerning the Kesho Trust  project Promoting Environmental Conservation and Cooperation (PECC)

View the CCRN’s Nuu-chah-nulth Community Story as a PDF

Dawn Foxcroft, Don Hall and Lissa Cowan Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, Canada; info@uuathluk.ca

Key Messages

* Since the 2009 Ahousaht et al. vs. Canada decision, recognizing the rights of five Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations to fish and sell fish, Nuu-chah-nulth have been developing fishing plans in accordance to their principles, Hishukish Tsawalk (everything is one) and ?iisaak (respect with caring).

* Nuu-chah-nulth’s strong conservation ethic is demonstrated in their successful efforts to protect the herring stocks from commercial harvest along the west coast of Vancouver Island since 2014.

* Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations have been forced to utilize legal actions to protect their resources and

Community Introduction

The west coast of Vancouver Island is a culturally rich and ecologically significant area for the more than seventy-four thousand(1) who call it home. Since time immemorial, Nuu-chah-nulth people have occupied the lands and waters of this coast, hunting, fishing, and gathering the abundant aquatic resources that thrive in the ocean, inlets, bays and rivers. Nuu-chah-nulth territory spans the coast from Brooks Peninsula in the north to Nitinat Lake in the south. Today there are over nine thousand(2) Nuu-chah-nulth people from fourteen First Nations. Before contact with Europeans, Nuu-chah-nulth communities depended solely on this rich environment for their survival, conducting both economic and subsistence fisheries across broad areas of the coast and inland waters.

Figure 1: Map of Nuu-chah-nulth Ha-houlthee (traditional territory)

Conservation and Livelihood Challenges

Following contact with Europeans and the development of commercial fishing fleets, the Nuu-chah-nulth continued to participate in marine and freshwater fisheries. In some communities, as many as 90% of the men fished for their livelihood(3). However, devastating events contributed to a shift in this way of life, severing the relationship between the Nuu-chah-nulth people and their aquatic resources. Significant among these events were Canadian fisheries policies and regulations that diminished and excluded Nuu-chah-nulth participation in Vancouver Island’s west coast fisheries. Today, in most Nuu-chah-nulth communities, only a handful of fishers remain – although as will be described below, Nuu-chah-nulth efforts continue to reverse this situation and to restore fishing as an important part of their economies.

Figure 2: One of the T’aaq-wiihak fishers on the water.

Ahousaht et al vs. Canada

In June of 2003, Nuu-chah-nulth Nations filed a Writ of Summons against Canada and British Columbia seeking recognition of their Aboriginal fishing rights. The trial began in 2006, and included testimony from expert witnesses including Shawn Atleo, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, anthropologists, former staff of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and Nuu-chah-nulth fishers and knowledge holders.

The case was argued that Nuu-chah-nulth have Aboriginal rights to fish and sell fish by their preferred means and in their preferred locations, because fishing provided an economic basis for their communities before contact with Europeans. On November 3, 2009, after 123 days of trial and many months of deliberation, the BC Supreme Court issued its judgment, saying, “At contact, the Nuu-chah-nulth were overwhelmingly a fishing people. They depended almost entirely on their harvest of the resources of the ocean and rivers to sustain themselves.” The decision added that Nuu-chah-nulth people were able to prove a long history of trading and selling fisheries resources, and that this translated into a modern right to “fish and sell all species of fish in their territories.” Through this decision, Ahousaht et al vs. Canada (2009), Nuu-chah-nulth Nations established Aboriginal rights to harvest any species of fish (other than geoduck) from their territories and to sell that fish in the commercial marketplace.

The five First Nations involved in that court decision have been developing fishing plans since 2009. For more than six years, the Nations have submitted these plans to DFO as a part of negotiation efforts toward a Nuu-chah-nulth fishery based on aboriginal rights (referred to as a rights-based fishery). In addition to reflecting Nuu-chah-nulth values, the fishing plans would benefit coastal communities by providing employment, a local source of seafood for consumers, and much needed new revenue into the local economy. Unfortunately, DFO has not accepted Nuu-chah-nulth plans for sustainable, community-based fisheries and has instead offered minimal access, largely through existing commercial fishing regulations and policies. These are the same regulations and policies that the Courts found had cumulatively infringed Nuu-chah-nulth rights. They are also the same regulations and policies which have contributed to the current state of depleted ocean resources.

Community Initiative

Today, the five Nations are negotiating with Canada to design Aboriginal rights-based fisheries that exemplify conservation in their design; they are small-scale fisheries, not heavily capitalized or intensive industrial fisheries. The negotiating body is called T’aaq-wiihak, which means “fishing with the permission of the Ha’wiih (hereditary Chiefs).” Through this body, negotiators are working to reinstate Ha’wiih as decision makers and rights holders in their ha-houlthee (traditional territories). Nuu-chah-nulth Ha’wiih and leaders continue to exemplify a conservation ethic through recommendations and requests to DFO.  This is seen clearly through the efforts of Nuu-chah-nulth Nations toward rebuilding herring on the west coast of Vancouver Island. To this end, the Nations proactively met with DFO to recommend strategies, including maintaining closures to commercial gill net and seine herring fisheries.

Figure 3: Ua-a-thluk Associate Biologist, Sabrina Crowley, shows the thin layer of herring roe during Herring Assessment Training, Barkley Sound.

Unfortunately, in 2014, DFO chose not to implement this recommendation and instead allowed a 10% harvest. In response, Nuu-chah-nulth Nations wrote to the fishing industry urging fishers not to fish for herring on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The Nations called for a meeting with Canada’s Fisheries Minister to discuss their concerns. Ultimately, it was an injunction successfully obtained by five Nuu-chah-nulth Nations that stopped the commercial harvest of herring along the west coast of Vancouver Island for the 2014 season.

Figure 4: Nuu-chah-nulth Nations, host Nations and supporters gather on the steps of Vancouver Law Courts for song, prayer and a few words on the first day of the Justification trial (Ahousaht et al), March, 2015.

In 2015, still seeing a persistent lack of herring, Nuu-chah-nulth Ha’wiih and leaders again advised DFO not to open a commercial herring fishery in their Ha-houlthee for the 2015 fishing season. However, DFO and the commercial herring industry chose an adversarial path like that of the previous year. The Nations again went to court but were unsuccessful in obtaining an injunction, so the herring fishery took place. However, as has been predicted by Nuu-chah-nulth knowledge holders, the herring remained in low abundance and the few commercial herring vessels that came to Nuu-chah-nulth territories to fish left with their holds empty.

Prior to the 2016 herring season, Nuu-chah-nulth Nations and the commercial herring industry reached an agreement through a Letter of Understanding to not fish the west coast of Vancouver Island. This letter of Understanding was presented to the new Fisheries Minister and the Minister eventually agreed to the no-fishing recommendation of the Nations and industry. Nuu-chah-nulth Nations continue to encourage DFO and industry to work collectively on a Herring Rebuilding and Management Framework with long term fishery objectives that all parties can support.

Practical Outcomes

Although the Ahousaht decision has not been implemented fully due to stalling from Canada’s government, the Nuu-chah-nulth are still seeing positive results of rights-based community fisheries from the five T’aaq-wiihak Nations that, since the court decision, have been selling sustainably caught suuḥaa (chinook salmon), caʔinwa (gooseneck barnacles) and p̓uuʔi (halibut) on Vancouver Island’s west coast. Ha’oom, the Nations’ wild seafood brand, is recommended “ocean friendly” by Ocean Wise, and is purchased by conscientious consumers that are mindful of local and global conservation issues.

The Nuu-chah-nulth Ahousaht decision, once implemented to its full extent, will allow the Nuu-chah-nulth, who have protected and harvested on the west coast of Vancouver Island for thousands of years, to strengthen their relationships with these resources. The result will be increased economic opportunities not only for Nuu-chah-nulth communities but also for neighbouring coastal communities. The Nuu-chah-nulth, along with communities in remote coastal areas, are reliant on the ocean for food and transportation. Being a constant watchful eye along the coast, Nuu-chah-nulth elders, fishers, and leadership have an important role in monitoring the ocean resources. Despite this, Nuu-chah-nulth Nations have found that the Canadian government, with Federal management authority over the ocean resources, has not always valued the requests and advice from Nuu-chah-nulth communities.

However, the success of 2016, when the Canadian Federal government agreed not to open the commercial herring fishery, is seen by Nuu-chah-nulth and other coastal Nations as a sign of change from the Canadian government. There is hope of coming closer to the goal of the government acknowledging the authority of Nuu-chah-nulth Ha’wiih and leadership over the resources within their territories, and working collaboratively with Nuu-chah-nulth communities to develop sustainable relationships valuing conservation and livelihoods with their shared sea resources.

References

BCStats. 2013. Sub Population Estimates (used population amounts for Alberni Clayoquot and Strathcona). Accessed December 5, 2016 from: http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Demography/PopulationEstimates.aspx

British Columbia. 2014. First Nation Negotiations. Accessed December 5, 2016 from: http://www.gov.bc.ca/arr/firstnation/nuu_chah_nulth/default.html

Benson Nookemis. 2008. Benson Nookemis testimony from Ahousaht et al. vs. Canada, June 12, 2008.

A short documentary on fishing rights and traditional livelihoods among the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations.