Proceedings of the 2007 Georgia Basin Puget Sound Research Conference
Session 3F: Governance in Transboundary Ecosystem Management I
Chair: Rod Dobell
The Forsaken Fjord: Science, Society, and Biological Decline in Puget Sound
Today we see severe and expanding human influence throughout most of the Puget Sound landscape, and multiple, continuing signs of biological decline. At the same time, research and monitoring to understand, protect, and recover Puget Sound is a fragmented, uneven collection of efforts, surprisingly little of which considers Puget Sound in ecosystem and landscape contexts or focuses specifically on the biological effects of human activity. As a result, we have no comprehensive, coherent narrative of how the Puget System ecosystem works, how it has been affected by human activity, and what can and should be done to improve its condition. This presentation briefly reviews the history of environmental research, assessment, and monitoring in Puget Sound; considers the strengths and weaknesses of several historical, ongoing, and proposed efforts; and offers suggestions for improvement.
Economic Development in a Tribal Community: Opportunities and Challenges to Ecotourism in Neah Bay, WA
Coastal communities in Washington State have historically been dependent on natural resource extraction to support and maintain social and economic health. During the past decades many costal communities have experienced economic recessions due to natural resource policies which have increasingly regulated harvest. In turn, tourism is being explored by many as a tool to diversify coastal economies. Ecotourism is of particular interest as a means of economic growth as it has to potential to preserve natural and cultural resources, educate tourists, and employ local people.
Native American tribes have unique obstacles to economic development which includes 150 years of oscillating federal and state policies. The Makah Tribe, located on the Northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, is interested in improving the economic conditions on their reservation by expanding the tourism sector. Currently, the Makah Cultural and Research Center (MCRC), a Makah run non-profit is highly regarded for its leadership in teaching and preserving Makah culture. The MCRC is pursuing opportunities to expand their tourism function by sponsoring forms of coastal and marine ecotourism.
Using the Broker-Local-Tourist sociological model, this paper examines opportunities and challenges that concern ecotourism development on the Makah reservation. Findings emphasize the importance of defining appropriate sociocultural projects, and creating broker-broker partnerships.
Shared Decision Making Across S’aalh Tumuhw (“Our Land”): The Hul’qumi’num Approach Towards The Design of Shared Decision Making Over Land, Water and Natural Resources in Their Traditional Territory
The determination of how decisions are made about the use of resources across First Nation traditional territories lies at the heart of reconciliation between First Nations and other governments. The Hul’qumi’num Treaty group has been working to address this issue over the past two years. An interim strategic land use plan was completed to describe the vision of the Hul’qumi’num mustimuhw (“people”) and how decisions are made about the use and protection of terrestrial and intertidal resources. An analysis of the state of particular resources (e.g. beaches, cultural heritage, rivers, fish, forestry and wildlife) was carried out to provide a status of well-being across the Hul’qumi’num tumuhw (“land”). The way in which the provincial government was organized to administer resource decisions across the territory was studied and evaluated on a sectoral basis. The key land struggles which have taken place in British Columbia over the past ten to fifteen years (Clayoquot Sound, Great Bear Rainforest, and Haida Gwaii) were studied in detail with a view towards identifying successful co-governance models for decision-making on land and resource uses. These studies provided the basis for the preliminary design of a Shared Decision Making Model between Hul’qumi’num governments and with the provincial government in particular. The Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, with the six Hul’qumi’num Member First Nations, are working on developing the internal structure for how the six Hul’qumi’num Member First Nations will work together. The concept is to build the internal capacity of the six First Nations to make effective, efficient decisions collaboratively on land and resource decisions that affect their collective rights and title. It is envisioned this approach will prepare the Hul’qumi’num for inter-governmental discussions on Shared Decision Making across s’aalh tumuhw, working within the principle of Nutsa’maat (“working as one”)
Collaborative Oceans Governance Arrangements in British Columbia
Canada and British Columbia have had a variety of experiences over the past two decades in developing governance arrangements for oceans and coastal resources. Current governance arrangements range from formal, legal agreements between governments, to less formal and more inclusive arrangements among government and non-government parties. For the most part, these arrangements have evolved on an informal, ad-hoc basis to meet the needs of particular circumstances and initiatives. Recently however, more formal structures have evolved. For example, to ensure collaboration between Canada and British Columbia in the implementation of the federal Oceans Strategy, in September 2004, the two governments concluded the Canada-British Columbia Memorandum of Understanding Respecting the Implementation of Canada’s Oceans Strategy on the Pacific Coast of Canada. The MOU provides for additional subsidiary agreements in six specific areas and on other matters that may be identified for future collaboration. To date, five sub-agreements are nearing completion, implementation plans are under development and joint funding agreements for specific projects have been concluded. This activity has also required the development of a more structured and disciplined approach to governance for shared policy development and joint program delivery.
This presentation describes existing institutional and organizational arrangements between Canada and British Columbia to ensure a common understanding of what exists now, and as a contribution to the development of more permanent, practical, and effective governance arrangements for the future. An examination and analysis of existing institutional arrangements for managing coastal and marine resources will aid in the development of processes that ensure a shared vision between governments for sustainable oceans management, enhance cross-border cooperation and facilitate relationships between government and non-government parties.
Transboundary Aggregations as Learning Settings: Exploration of three Cases in the Salish Sea Watershed.
The presentation will outline research in progress aiming at distilling insights useful to organizations engaged in transboundary aggregations dedicated to ecosystem and habitat restoration and stewardship. It will propose turning to the transformative learning perspective, coupled with a social learning model, social representation and multi-actor framing theory, to explore what learning processes and outcomes such settings may bring about. These outcomes may include inventive options for heeding ecological connectivity, increased acknowledgement of differences in perspectives among member organisations, greater capacity to deal constructively with such differences and a sense of collective responsibility. Closer scrutiny may disclose still other outcomes.
The transboundary aggregations proposed as showcases are the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin International Task Force, the International Orca Pass Stewardship Coalition and the Coast Salish Aboriginal Council. Comparative analysis will focus on the representations of the different member organisations north and south of the border regarding what to do together, how these representations evolve over time and in relation to each other and the extent to which different representations are acknowledged in joint statements, agreements or programmes.
Insights regarding overseen or underestimated outcomes of engaging in transboundary aggregations may spur active participation in existing settings or formation of new ones.