The Canadian Arctic and the Oceans Act: the development of participatory environmental research and management

In recent years in the Canadian Arctic, participatory and pluralistic approaches have become common in several areas of environmental management relevant to the resolution of multiple-use conflicts: fish and wildlife, protected area planning, integrated coastal zone management, ecosystem health monitoring, contaminants research, environmental assessment, and climate change. This paper analyzes the emergence and development of aboriginal participation in resource management in each of these areas, with emphasis on the Canada Oceans Act. Policy change seems to parallel the emergence of aboriginal land claims and the general political movement towards greater self-government. Increasing political power of northern populations in general, and aboriginal groups in particular, have led to a modification of the environmental decision-making process, and to the incorporation of local values, priorities, and traditional environmental knowledge in environmental research and management. Especially important in this process has been the emergence of traditional environmental knowledge as a mechanism by which participatory approaches can be implemented.