Exploring Pathways for Indigenous Governance in IPCAs
By Megan Youdelis
Originally published March 31, 2022; Revised February 28, 2023
A paddler in a canoe on a lake in Dasiqox Tribal Park. (Photo Credit: Steve Monk, stevemonk.ca)
Co-led by Lisa Young and Melanie Zurba, the Conservation Governance Stream of the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership (CRP) seeks to support Indigenous leadership in making their own decisions regarding conservation efforts. The Stream aims to provide this support through sharing examples, models, and experiences rooted in Indigenous laws, knowledge systems, and practices.
Through many collaborative discussions, including with Indigenous governments, over the course of 2021, the Stream members decided to advance a scan of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) governance models. The final report: IPCA Governance Models: A Snapshot of Existing Conservation Governance Arrangements is now available to view and download on the IPCA Knowledge Basket. This guide is a key product of our collective work.
The governance scan responds to questions and requests from Indigenous governments for more practical information on how IPCAs are currently being governed across Canada. For example:
· What benefits and challenges do different models hold?
· How are IPCA managers addressing common challenges such as jurisdiction and sustainable funding?
· What factors create an enabling environment? (For example, is there local, provincial or territorial legislation that supports IPCAs? Does the area receive many tourists? Are there overlapping or contested jurisdictions? Are there development pressures or resource conflicts? Is the area under Treaty?)
· To what extent are certain governance models replicable?
· To what extent are governance models context-dependent?
The circumstances of different Indigenous Nations, governments and communities across Canada vary significantly and will influence the governance approaches taken by various IPCAs.
This initial scan highlights six stories of governance models for IPCAs and other Indigenous-led conservation initiatives in Canada. These include examples of solely Indigenous-led initiatives and Indigenous-Crown partnerships. The guide will be updated as more IPCA governance examples and stories are documented and shared.
The governance stories featured in IPCA Governance Models: A Snapshot of Existing Conservation Governance Arrangements include:
- Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks
- Dasiqox-Nexwagwez?an
- Qat’muk
- Thaidene Nëné
- Tongait KakKasuangita SilakKijapvinga / Torngat Mountains National Park
- Eeyou Istchee Protected Area Network
The goal of the governance scan is to share experiences and best practices to assist Indigenous governments and Nations in making the most advantageous and appropriate decisions regarding IPCA governance in their territories.
I was hired as a postdoctoral researcher with the CRP to help advance this initial part of the scan. As a political ecologist, my research and teaching have largely critiqued colonial approaches to conservation, and I see my postdoctoral work as moving towards solutions.
I first joined the CRP as a postdoc in 2019, and spent two years working to illuminate how Indigenous governments and nations are protecting their lands and waters in the face of unwanted development pressures from extractive industries.
As someone who cares deeply about decolonization and conservation, I’m thrilled to have re-joined the partnership to help facilitate the sharing of best practices around IPCA governance. In order to develop the governance scan, I have interviewed key managers from several IPCAs, in close dialogue with the other members of the stream. The final content of each case study was shared with the respective IPCA managers for their review, approval, and consent.
We are working on adding audio-visual storytelling elements to the scan wherever possible, and some audio clips are included in the online version of this initial report. This storytelling element will allow IPCA managers to hear directly from other managers and will capture more of the lived experience of IPCA governance, bringing the stories in the scan to life. In the long term, the Conservation Governance Stream hopes to keep adding to the case studies and sharing stories from newer and lesser known IPCAs as well.
Sharing these stories in depth will hopefully help all Indigenous governments to secure their territories for future generations in the spirit of ‘We Rise Together’.
To view the governance scan online and download the full PDF, visit the IPCA Knowledge Basket here: https://ipcaknowledgebasket.ca/ipca-governance-models-a-snapshot-of-existing-conservation-governance-arrangements
If you manage an IPCA and are interested in sharing your approach to governance, please contact us at crpinfo@uoguelph.ca