Field Notes: Knauss in Nova Scotia

Two weeks ago, I went on an adventure to the Canadian Maritimes to attend a conference focused on community-based management entitled People in Places: Engaging Together for Integrated Resource Management.  Aside from wanting to learn more about a region that in many ways resembles our own northeastern coast, I am always looking for ways to nurture my own interdisciplinarity and was curious to explore how notions of “integrated” and “community-based” are realized on an international scale.  In addition to spending the week in Halifax, Nova Scotia’s biggest city, I met some inspiring people, learned about how our neighbors handle resource management conflicts, and was exposed to tangible successes around the world. 

First off, this conference was sponsored by what I now realize is essentially the Canadian equivalent to our Sea Grant program, where universities partner with community groups to build capacity and facilitate research projects.  This angle brought a refreshing mix of people representing First Nations, fishing communities, and academia (with government and conservation nonprofits largely absent) and showed me that Canadians struggle with many of the same problems of pollution, marginalization, environmental illiteracy, and overfishing that plague the U.S.   However, two differences were noticeable: (1) that Canadians might be even more disenchanted with their federal resource agencies and (2) that community-based management is more than a buzz word and could be emerging as a viable path for this province and in small countries around the world. 

  

Having limited experience with artisanal fishing, my eyes were opened to a new world after hearing local stories and learning the history of island and coastal villages along Newfoundland and the Bay of Fundy.  (For one thing, I now understand some of the controversies that NOAA faced in sharing it’s fisheries management review and catch share plans with the northeast region a month ago).  I also understand some of the key components of successful community-based management after listening to case studies from around the world, including climate adaptation in Mexico, mapping in the Grenadines, access rights in British Columbia, sea cucumbers in New Caledonia, and fishers in South Africa and Japan.  In all of these countries, people are working very hard to empower communities by integrating traditional and scientific knowledge.  New tools for conducting this work include community-access GIS, a modeling program called “Marxan” that will tell you the pros and cons of certain management choices, and even developing seafood traceability and community-supported fisheries (modeled after the popular CSA farm share model – check out Josh's CSF project and CSF network for more info!).     

Overall, this conference reminded me that the human element is critical and should not be overlooked.  Livlihoods, emotions, storytelling, bankruptcy, cooperation, public works, families, and art all contribute to social contracts and the economy, not to mention community well-being.  After meeting these people, hearing their stories, and cruising the subtly beautiful coastline with my Mom, I feel tied to their resource management efforts and will follow these projects with both intellectual curiosity and compassion.  Stop by my cube any time to chat about the details!