34 years of learning from one another through the implementation of co-management under the Inuvialuit Final Agreement - Billy Archie & Chanda Turner

The Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) established a robust and adaptive co-management framework for wildlife management and research that has been in practice for over 35 years. The Inuvialuit Game Council, which represents the collective Inuvialuit interest in wildlife, has been working with government and academic institutions over this time to ensure that communities and Inuvialuit boards are meaningfully engaged in research and management in the region. The IFA explicitly calls for ‘the relevant knowledge and experience of both the Inuvialuit and the scientific communities [to] be employed in order to achieve conservation,’ which requires harvesters, Inuvialuit traditional and local knowledge holders, co-management boards, regional organizations,academic and other research institutions,and governments all be at decision-making tables. Community involvement is pivotal in ensuring the success of wildlife research projects, especially around highly valued and respected wildlife resources. We will review case studies to explore the range of strategies used by the co-management system for Inuvialuit to provide direction and their traditional knowledge in a respectful and culturally empowered manner. We will also discuss strategies the Inuvialuit employ to address threats to their opportunity to harvest and manage the wildlife in the ISR, often due to external pressures, such as animal rights interests, and climate change. The Inuvialuit have acquired a rich perspective on the challenges and successes of knowledge and power sharing among different ways of knowing through the processes of co-management. We will share best practices and lessons learned over the last 35 years.