Breaking Ice: Renewable Resource and Ocean Management in the Canadian North

A detailed examination of ocean and coastal management in the Canadian north, examining and defining the many competing demands on the Arctic environment and the many issues critical to environmental stewardship

The pace of technological, social, and environmental change in Canada’s Arctic has profound effects on resource management and policy decisions. The result of a project undertaken by the Ocean Management Research Network, Breaking Ice examines the nature of arctic environmental evolution and sustainability.

From the pressures of development, technological advances, globalization, and climate change to social and cultural life, this book attempts to define the nature of competing demands and assess their impact on the environment.

Breaking Ice provides a detailed examination of ocean and coastal management in the Canadian north, exploring a wide range of issues critical to environmental stewardship and breaking the ice to connect academics, government managers, policy-makers, aboriginal groups, and industry.

With Contributions By: Derek Armitage, G. Burton Avles, Nigel Bankes, Fikret Berkes, Douglas B. Chiperzak, Douglas A. Clark, Donald Cobb, Kelly J. Cott, Alan Diduck, Gina Elliott, Helen Fast, Rob Huebert, Brock Junkin, Mina Kislalioglu Berkes, Allan H. Kristofferson, R. Harvey Lemelin, Melissa Marschke, Micheline Manseau, Heather Meyers, Brenda Parlee, Michelle Schlag, and Shirley Thompson 

Fikret Berkes is professor and Canada Research Chair in Community-Based Resource Management, at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba.

Rob Huebert is associate professor with the Department of Political Science and the associate director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary.

Helen Fast works in the Oceans Programs Division, Central & Arctic Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Micheline Manseau occupies a shared position between Parks Canada and the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba.

Alan Diduck is a professor in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences at the University of Wininpeg.

List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Boxes
List of Acronyms
Preface and Acknowledgements

Introduction
Fikret Berkes and Helen Fast

Section 1: Understanding the Issues: Learning from Experience

Feeding the Family in Times of Change
Heather Myers, Helen Fast, Mina Kislalioglu Berkes and Fikret Berkes

Sustainability and Vulnerability
Shirley Thompson

Ecosystem–based Management and Marine Environmental Quality Indicators in Northern Canada
Donald Cobb, Mina Kislalioglu Berkes and Fikret Berkes

Integrated Management Planning in Canada’s Western Arctic: An Adaptive Consultation Process
Helen Fast, Doug B. Chiperzak, Kelly J. Cott, and G.M. Elliott

Marine Stewardship and Canada’s Oceans Agenda in the Western Arctic: A Role for Youth
Michelle P. Schlag and Helen Fast

Section II: Responding and Adapting to New Challenges

A Place for Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Resource Management
Micheline Manseau, Brenda Parlee, and G. Burton Ayles

Understanding and Communicating about Ecological Change: Denesoline Indicators of Ecosystem Health
Brenda Parlee, Micheline Manseay, and Lustel K’e Dene First Nations

Wildlife Tourism at the Edge of Chaos: Complex Interactions Between Humans and Polar Bears in Churchill, Manitoba
R. Harvey Lemelin

Economic Development Based on Local Resources: Commerical Harvesting of Caribou on Southampton Island
Brock Junkin

Section III: Resilience and Institutions

Cross–scale Institutions and Building Resiliance in the Canadian North
Fikret Berkes, Nigel Bankes, Melissa Marschke, Derek Armitage, and Douglas Clark

Adaptive Co–management of Arctic Char in Nunavut Territory
Allan H. Kristofferson and Fikret Berkes

Unpacking Social Learning in Social–Ecological Systems: Case Studies of Polar Bear and Narwhal Management in Northern Canada
Alan Diduk, Nigel Bankes, Douglas Clark, and Derek Armitage

Exploring the Roles of Law an Hierarchy in Ideas of Resilience: Regulating Resource Harvesting in Nunavut
Moge; Bamles

Return of the Vikings: The Canadian–Danish Dispute over Hans Island – New Challenges for the Control of the Canadian North

Issues, Priorities, and Research Directions of Oceans Management in the Canadian North
Derek Armitage and Douglas Clarke

Conclusion: Integration, Innovation, and Participation
Rob Huebert, Micheline Manseau, and Alan Diduk

List of Authors
Index