Indicators bridging Inuit knowledge and western science for improved marine resource management
Across Inuit Nunangat, there is a strong economic, social, and cultural dependence on marine resources.
Under Inuit land claim agreements, Inuit knowledge (IK), western science (WS), and co-produced knowledge are to be used side by side to support decision-making.
WS has thus far dominated decision-making and is seen as a colonial tool that has suppressed Inuit practices and undermined trust between Inuit and western resource managers.
In this paper we demonstrate where boundaries exist and identify ways to overcome them through bridging IK and WS.
Read this open access paper on the Arctic Science website.
We focus on indicators as tools that serves as barometers of change in ocean health and social and economic wellbeing from marine resource use. Indicator development still relies heavily on WS and largely fails to incorporate other knowledge systems.
We argue that for the purposes of managing and monitoring marine resources in Inuit Nunangat, where strong cultural ties exist and extensive data sets are not always available, traditional indicators (e.g. those used in fisheries) might not be suitable to encompass regional needs and local knowledge.
We review cases where IK has been excluded from decision-making resulting in lost opportunities to inform best management practices. We further highlight how indicators can help provide a path forward for capturing benefits from multiple knowledge systems.
We propose that indicators, if developed in an inclusive manner, respecting values and aspirations of end-users, can not only help provide monitoring support but also offer spaces for intersection between knowledge systems, generate new research questions, and lead to improved marine resource management.
Read the paper — Conceptualizing indicators as boundary objects in integrating Inuit knowledge and western science for marine resource management by Melina Kourantidou, Carie Hoover, and Megan Bailey.
