What's on the horizon for community-based conservation? Emerging threats and opportunities

Community-based conservation can support livelihoods and biodiversity, while reinforcing local and Indigenous values, cultures, and institutions. Its delivery can help address cross-cutting global challenges, such as climate change, conservation, poverty, and food security. Therefore, understanding trends in community-based conservation is pertinent to setting and implementing global goals. We undertook a horizon scan to prioritize 15 emerging threats and opportunities expected to impact the future effectiveness of community-based conservation. Topics relate to global biodiversity policy; human rights; shifting human geography; inclusion, diversity, equity, and access; conservation finance and income; and economic reforms. Our findings offer guidance on strengthening community-based conservation to achieve global environmental and development goals

Indigenous Contributions to Arctic Biodiversity Conservation

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2021A significant percentage of the earth’s surface is owned, used, and managed by Indigenous peoples, securing Indigenous communities a critical role in current and future biodiversity conservation efforts. Within the Arctic, Indigenous communities are already contributing knowledge, labor, resources, and time to research, management, and conservation governance. This dissertation research examines the contributions of Indigenous knowledge and communities to biodiversity conservation in the Arctic in three areas, (1) how the evolution of conservation planning and knowledge co-production facilitates the ability of Indigenous communities to contribute to current research and conservation efforts, (2) to what extent Indigenous communities use lands, waters, and species within Arctic protected areas and to what extent they are invited to engage in management efforts, and (3) how forwarding a new framework for co-productive conservation supports partnerships with Indigenous communities, knowledge, and governance can aid in the development of ethically, conscious, culturally-relevant, and fully knowledge-based conservation efforts. Results show that Indigenous communities are critical partners in conservation, bring valuable knowledge and information to the creation of shared evidence bases, and are prepared to lead new and innovative conservation efforts when there are opportunities to support both subsistence and conservation targets and goals

Alaska Native Perspectives on the Governance of Wildlife Subsistence and Conservation Resources in the Arctic

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2017-08Wildlife resource management in the Arctic is a collaborative effort across many governments, agencies, extractive industries, environmental organizations, and Indigenous communities. Many governments and environmental organizations recognize a need for wildlife conservation as the landscape undergoes rapid environmental change, but some conservation practices burden Indigenous communities that rely on access to wildlife as a means of subsistence and food security. Despite a collective desire for the continued proliferation of endemic species and sustainable population dynamics, many Indigenous Peoples continue to experience the failures of management efforts through inadequate consideration of their perspectives, needs, concerns, and strengths within the decision making process. Using several case studies and previous work done in collaboration with Alaska Native communities and other Indigenous Peoples, this study recognizes the widely-held perspectives of these groups in contrast with western environmentalism and typical natural resource management. Within the Alaska Native context, the five major challenges to the inclusive management of wildlife are, (1) cultural differences in definition and approach to natural resource issues, (2) disregard for the place of Indigenous knowledge alongside western science, (3) distribution of environmental impacts and the burden of conservation, (4) power imbalances, and (5) lack of trust and respect. Characterizing differences between these groups’ perspectives on environmentalism, decision making, and policy approach show clear evidence of a cultural divide and of shortcomings in current wildlife science and policy. In order to give Alaska Natives greater voice in wildlife decisions that impact their communities, management strategies must find a way to reconcile these differences and foster inclusive and engaging solutions that are both place-based and landscape-scale

Vulnerability assessment of selected key sites in Aasivissuit – Nipisat UNESCO World Heritage Area, West Greenland. Nipisat, Arajutsisut, Innap nuua & Itinnerup Tupersuai

Harmsen, H., Hagen, D. & Buschman, V.Q. 2022. Vulnerability assessment of selected key sites in Aasivissuit – Nipisat UNESCO World Heritage Area, West Greenland. Nipisat, Arajutsisut, Innap nuua & Itinnerup Tupersuai. NINA Report 2168. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. This report details an assessment of vulnerability of the four key sites of Nipisat, Arajutsisut, Innap nuua and Itinnerup Tupersuai in West Greenland’s UNESCO Heritage Area, Aasivissuit – Nipisat, Inuit Hunting Ground Between Ice and Sea (inscribed 2018). The work was performed in August 2021 by researchers from the Greenland National Museum and Archives (NKA), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR) and National Museum of Denmark. This current study is part of a broader effort to develop a suite of baseline data for identifying current ‘weak spots’ in the terrain and provide metrics by which changes to the cultural heritage, wildlife, and vegetation can be measured in the coming years. The data produced from this report will also facilitate the future drafting of Site-Specific Guidelines at these localities by informing tourists, cruise operators, and community members of the location of protected ancient cultural remains, vulnerable vegetation and sensitive wildlife in the area. This assessment serves as a prerequisite for ensuring Aasivissuit - Nipisat remains a unique and sustainable cultural landscape and that the area’s Outstanding Universal Values (OUV) are protected for the future.Uuma Nalunaarusiap imarivaa Sisimiut eqqaata Aasivissuit-Nipisat UNESCO-up allattorsimaffianut 2018-imi ilanngunneqarsimasumi sumiiffiit pingaarnerit Nipisat, Arajutsisut, Innap Nuua aamma Itin-nerup Tupersuai qanoq ilisukkut innarlerneqarsinnaaneri nalunaarsussallugit. Suliaq august 2021-imi Nunatta Katersugaasivianiit (NKA), Norsk Institut for Naturforskning (NINA), Pinngortitalerif-fimminngaaniit (GINR) aamma Danmarkimi Katersugaasivissuarminngaaniit suliarineqarpoq. Mas-sakkut suliaq ingerlasoq tassaavoq, sumiiffinni nunap innarlerneqarsinnaaneranut ulorianartorsiorne-rusut, taamatuttaarlu kulturikkut eriagisassat uumasut, naasoqassutsillu misissornissaat. Nalunaaru-siami misissuinerup inerneri siunissami sumiiffinni takornarianut, takornariartitsisartunut, innuttaas-ullu allat mianerinninnissaannut innersuussutinik tikkuussinissamut atorneqarumaassapput. Innar-litsaaliinissamut nalilersuineq Aasivissuit – Nipisat siunissami kulturikkut kingornussatut immikkuul-larilluinnartut inissisimajuarnissaanut illersortuarnissaanullu tikkuussisuullunilu iluaqutaassaaq.I denne rapporten vurderes sårbarhet for de fire nøkkellokaliteter Nipisat, Arajutsisut, Innap nuua og Itinnerup Tupersuai i området Aasivissuit - Nipisat, Inuit Hunting Ground Between Ice and Sea, som i 2018 ble tatt inn på UNESCOS’s verdensarvsliste. Arbejdet ble utført i august 2021 av forskere fra Grønlands Nationalmuseum og Arkiv (NKA), Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA), Grønlands Naturinstitut (GINR) og Nationalmuseet. Undersøkelsen er en del av en bredere innsamling av grunnlagsdata, som kan identifisere sensitive (eller ‘svake’) steder i terrenget med bruk av kvantifiserbar metodikk. Resultatene fra sårbarhetsvurderingen vil bidra i fremtidige retningslinjer for ferdsel i terrenget på og omkring nøkkellokalitetene. Sårbarhetsvurderingen vil informere turister, reiselivsoperatører og lokalbefolkningen om plassering av fredede kulturminner, sårbar vegetasjon og dyrearter i området. Sårbarhetsvurderingen skal bidra til å sikre at Aasivissuit - Nipisat forblir et unikt og bærekraftig kulturlandskap og at områdets enestående verdier er beskyttet for fremtiden

Vulnerability assessment of selected key sites in Aasivissuit – Nipisat UNESCO World Heritage Area, West Greenland. Nipisat, Arajutsisut, Innap nuua & Itinnerup Tupersuai

Harmsen, H., Hagen, D. & Buschman, V.Q. 2022. Vulnerability assessment of selected key sites in Aasivissuit – Nipisat UNESCO World Heritage Area, West Greenland. Nipisat, Arajutsisut, Innap nuua & Itinnerup Tupersuai. NINA Report 2168. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. This report details an assessment of vulnerability of the four key sites of Nipisat, Arajutsisut, Innap nuua and Itinnerup Tupersuai in West Greenland’s UNESCO Heritage Area, Aasivissuit – Nipisat, Inuit Hunting Ground Between Ice and Sea (inscribed 2018). The work was performed in August 2021 by researchers from the Greenland National Museum and Archives (NKA), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR) and National Museum of Denmark. This current study is part of a broader effort to develop a suite of baseline data for identifying current ‘weak spots’ in the terrain and provide metrics by which changes to the cultural heritage, wildlife, and vegetation can be measured in the coming years. The data produced from this report will also facilitate the future drafting of Site-Specific Guidelines at these localities by informing tourists, cruise operators, and community members of the location of protected ancient cultural remains, vulnerable vegetation and sensitive wildlife in the area. This assessment serves as a prerequisite for ensuring Aasivissuit - Nipisat remains a unique and sustainable cultural landscape and that the area’s Outstanding Universal Values (OUV) are protected for the future

Slides of 2018 UW GIS Symposium Lightning Talk Presentations

PowerPoint slides from the 2018 UW GIS Symposium Lightning Talk presentations on May 17, 2018