Kelly Vodden

Second growth: community economic development in rural British Columbia.

Community Economic Development (CED) is a development approach that assumes a communitys problems are best understood and solved endogenously. For decades it garnered no interest from policymakers as a mainstream development approach. However, that changed during the 1980s. Amidst the growing perception that conventional regional development policies and programs were ineffective, both federal and provincial levels of government in Canada began looking for alternative development approaches ones that were more inclusive and capable of integrating both economic and social objectives.

A Comparative Analysis of Three Modes of Collaborative Learning in Fisheries Governance: Hierarchy, Networks and Community

This chapter discusses three different ways of using collaborative learning in fisheries governance, all of which have been applied in the Coasts Under Stress (CUS) project in Canada. The three modes are: hierarchy; networks; and community. The hierarchical mode entails top-down computer modelling techniques, in which the experiential knowledge that is gathered from fishers’ haul data is integrated with scientists’ survey data into management plans. The networks mode entails developing an understanding of complex marine ecosystems by sharing knowledge between individuals and groups interacting in discussions about ecosystem structures and recovery strategies. The community mode entails the involvement of local communities in knowledge sharing. Our finding is that, in whatever mode it occurs, collaborative learning is of inestimable value in improving fisheries governance, especially by removing mutual misunderstandings. But techniques of collaborative learning cost time and money, and governments must be willing to devote the necessary resources to make them work.

Opportunities and Barriers for Adaptation and Local Adaptation Planning in Canadian Rural and Resource-Based Communities

This chapter describes various forces that influence the ability of decision-making and institutional structures in Canadian rural and resource-dependent communities to manage, plan for, and respond to future risks and uncertainties resulting from climate change. The context within which such communities make decisions related to capacity building is the outcome of historical development trajectories, interactions with higher levels of government, and macro-level economic structures and processes. The success of future capacity building and planning will be strongly influenced by such factors as improved coordination across different levels of government, the provision of locally geared information about environmental and climate change, economic diversification and the ability to adjust to and take advantage of rapidly changing demographic patterns in such communities.

Local ecological knowledge and the impacts of global climatic change on the community of seaweed extractors in Pisco-Perá

Global climate change implies difficulties for coastal communities where activities are highly influenced by climate. This paper examines the case of seaweed harvesting in the community of Pisco-Peru. Aspects of environmental change that impact seaweed harvesting include global warming, ldquoEl Nintildeordquo events, pollution of marine space, declines of marine species, and the rupture of ecological cycles. We look for relationships between local ecological knowledge (LEK) related to climate and other environmental change and strategies for coping with and adapting to current and anticipated change. This project is developed through a participative methodology, with the participation of university researchers and the community of seaweed extractors, and builds on an ongoing study of collaborative approaches to research and development of the algae industry in this region. Research questions include: the nature of the LEK held and shared; the extent to which LEK includes: the effects of climate changes on resources, harvesting and communities; and the contribution of LEK to industry resilience, harvester livelihoods and community well-being. The results of the research provide insight into LEK accumulation about algae species, management, and impacts of global environmental change. Documenting methods of collecting, analyzing and sharing harvester knowledge is an additional contribution.

The capacity gap: Understanding impediments to sustainable drinking water systems in rural Newfoundland and Labrador

This article outlines the results of a two-year research project that examined drinking water challenges in rural and small-town Newfoundland and Labrador. A mixed-methods approach was used, including literature review, media scans, a driver-pressure-state-impact-response analysis, policy workshops, community surveys and consultations, case studies and key informant interviews. This interdisciplinary study examined four interrelated components of drinking water systems: source water quality and quantity; water infrastructure and operations; public perception, awareness and demand; and policy and governance. Issues identified include: aging, degrading and inappropriate infrastructure; high disinfectant by-products; use and misuse of chlorine; long-term boil water advisories; use of untreated water sources; and minimal source water protection. As other studies have found elsewhere in Canada, local actors in Newfoundland and Labrador communities of 1000 or fewer often exhibit inadequate technical/human, social, institutional and financial capacity to address their drinking water challenges. New water policies and governance arrangements are needed that emphasize strategic and efficient investments, including the utilization of regional approaches, long-term planning and asset management activities. Furthermore, greater focus is needed on capacity development and the engagement and education of decision makers, staff, the public, and other groups that can help local governments address their drinking water challenges.

A boat perspective: local geographic knowledge of fish harvesters in Change Islands, Newfoundland

People whose livelihoods depend on the natural environment have detailed knowledge of the lands and waters surrounding their communities. This paper presents research on the traditional geographic knowledge of fish harvesters in Change Islands, Newfoundland. Our findings, based on “kitchen table mapping” and other ethnographic methods, demonstrate that residents of coastal communities have extensive geographic knowledge associated with a way of life centred on fishing. This knowledge is reflected in a “namescape” that includes hundreds of toponyms that are not present on existing maps and that reflect meaningful connections with local history and cultural heritage. Fish harvesters also have distinctive ways of conceptualizing the landscape and the seascape, which is reflected in the geographic terminology they use. Overall, their way of looking at the environment, in contrast to the birds-eye perspective that prevails in western cartography, can be characterized as a “boat perspective”. Their geographic knowledge has practical value for improving existing cartographic information and developing sustainable resource use strategies. At a broader level, their distinctive ways of interpreting the “earthscape” provide alternative ways of understanding space and place, and can help us identify our assumptions about how we define geographic features and represent them on maps.

Knowledge building in participative projects

The collaborative elaboration of a development project is an opportunity not only to pursue conventional objectives such as equipment and infrastructure construction but also for collaborative learning and knowledge building and more sustainable development. In this context this paper aims to present an analysis of the process of building knowledge during a project development. The research questions are: What was the knowledge inside the group before the project? What is the knowledge inside the group after the project? What knowledge gaps remain and how might a participatory, collaborative approach to research and development help address these gaps? Who has the necessary knowledge? How is this knowledge acquired? And does this knowledge help create development that is more sustainable? The methodology includes the development of a conceptual model based on participatory action research, knowledge management, and sustainable community and regional development literature; followed by a participatory research case study from which conclusions and recommendations are drawn. The paper describes and analyzes the participative construction of knowledge during the development of a project for new algae products, aquaculture and processing, with the participation of four algae associations and support of Pluspetrol and the Defensoria del Proyecto Camisea. This algae aquaculture and processing project has been developed in Pisco, Peru, where there is a community of 800 algae harvesting people.

From dysfunctional to destitute: the governance of regional economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador

ABSTRACT On 22 May 2012, the federal government announced that it was discontinuing the funding for all regional economic development (RED) organizations in Atlantic Canada, including the regional economic development boards (REDBs) in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). Shortly after the federal announcement the provincial government in NL also withdrew its financial support, which led to the demise of the REDBs across the province. In this paper, we critically explore the governance of RED in NL and examine the REDB approach and its subsequent demise using Stoker’s five propositions of governance. While the REDBs were conceived as a fundamentally ‘new regional economic development approach’, they were never granted the level of autonomy, support, and resources that was envisioned in this new approach. However, we argue that the demise of the REDBs has shifted the governance of RED from dysfunctional to destitute. These changes are also situated within a ‘retreat from rural’ policy agenda and devolved responsibilities to local levels of government across Canada and in NL.

Extracción de algas en Pisco: Desafíos, oportunidades, adaptación y perspectivas futuras

Resumen es: La extraccion de algas marinas es una actividad que, en la provincia de Pisco, genera empleo para mas de cuatrocientas familias que extraen este recurso,...