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- Joanne
Pereira
- School of
Resource and Environmental Studies
- Dalhousie
University
- Halifax, Nova
Scotia
The Contribution of
Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Environmental Impact
Assessment
Introduction
At first glance, a westernized
scientific instrument like environmental impact assessment
(EIA) seems incompatible with the concept of traditional
ecological knowledge (TEK). It has only been in recent years
that TEK has been included in EIA's in Canada and therefore
able to make a significant contribution.
This paper will explore EIA and TEK
in greater detail and highlight examples where TEK from
Aboriginal communities have been incorporated into the
assessment process. Reference will be made to First Nation
people, aboriginal and indigenous peoples; for the purpose
of this paper, they will be considered to be synonymous. The
TEK of the First Nations people of Canada is the focus of
the paper. There is resistance and apprehension among
aboriginal and non-aboriginal people about acquiring and
using TEK in EIA's. Other doubts are based in a lack of
confidence in TEK 's validity as being a viable source of
information for EIA's. The paper will proceed by analyzing
the compatibility of EIA and TEK, by looking at how the
concepts can work together to provide a more holistic
approach to implementation of responsible projects. To
conclude, examples of the use of TEK will be examined. In
addition, recommendations and considerations for the future
of TEK and EIA's will be suggested.
The Concept of Traditional
Ecological Knowledge
TEK is a cumulative and adaptive
body of knowledge that is associated with indigenous peoples
world wide. It is a body of knowledge that has been
formulated over generations through experience and
maintained within cultures through oral traditions
(Boothroyd and Sadler 1994). Sustenance and survival of
cultural identity are closely interrelated with the concept
of TEK for First Nations people (Dene Cultural Institute
1991; Johnson 1992; Sallenave 1994; NAFA 1996). These people
have maintained their existence through the use of this
knowledge. TEK has provided them with a vast reservoir of
information regarding plant and animal behavior, allowing
for the development of wisdom of how to use these resources
sustainablly (Johnson 1992; NAFA 1996).
The quality and quantity of TEK
varies between members of the First Nation communities
(Johnson 1992). Elders in an aboriginal community are
usually the keepers of TEK, and sharing of this knowledge is
usually done through legends and/or stories. In recent
years, however there has been a problem of the loss of this
knowledge. This knowledge is usually not written down, so if
not passed on orally it risks being lost. The lack of
comprehensive and accurate documentation in most communities
affects both the quantity and quality of TEK (Dene Cultural
Institute 1991).
Aboriginal people have a holistic
approach to life. The world is not viewed in secular
portions but rather as an interdependent system. The
biophysical, social, cultural, spiritual and economic
elements of life can not be separated from one another
(Sallenave 1994). TEK is rooted in this holistic approach.
For TEK, all elements of matter are viewed as interconnected
and cannot be understood in isolation; relations are based
on reciprocity and obligation towards all life forms
(Johnson 1992).
The Concept of Environmental
Impact Assessment
EIA's are used as an instrument for
planning and decision making (Maclaren and Whitney 1985;
Doyle and Sadler 1996): it is a recognized process for
integrating environmental factors into development (LeBlanc
and Shillington 1995). An EIA is one way of safeguarding the
environment from adverse effects of development; it can be
used to predict, evaluate, and monitor the environmental
impact of all activities (Sallenave 1994). EIA is not
limited to development projects but can be applied,
depending on federal and/or provincial legislation, to all
activities, programs and plans (Doyle and Sadler
1996).
EIA's are often associated with
conflict and controversy (Armour and Sadler 1987). EIA's are
normally set up to allow for public participation. This
attribute encourages cooperative identification of concerns
and potential solutions. However humanity is pluralistic,
and different values and interests can be the source of
conflict. The EIA process has to address this tendency and
work within its confines. Until recently the content of most
EIA's has been based on western science. However, EIA's are
an evolving process, moving towards a comprehensive and
sustainable process of planning and decision making (Doyle
and Sadler 1996).
EIA was established because
citizens wanted to become more involved with decisions
affecting the quality of their environment (Read 1990). EIA
in Canada originated in 1973 when the Environmental
Assessment and Review Process was established. The Canadian
Environmental Assessment Act (1995) is the current Canadian
federal legislation that stipulates the requirements of an
EIA. The process has been formally established by the
federal government; it is also established in a number of
provinces and one territory (Doyle and Sadler 1996). The EIA
process is highly procedural and contains westernized
concepts appealing to western institutions.
The EIA process is continuously
adapting and changing to meet current needs and situations.
Each EIA conducted is different (Radford 1998). More
recently the EIA process has been expanded; conducting of a
socio-econoimic impact assessment is now also common
practice (Burdge 1994). The emerging challenge for EIA is to
have the ability to: be used as a sustainability instrument;
act as a capacity building tool; and finally act as a
profitable knowledge-based industry for Canada (Doyle and
Sadler 1996).
Inclusion of Traditional
Ecological Knowledge in Environmental Impact
Assessments
The utilization of TEK in the EIA
process is a relatively new practice. Administrative and
legal frameworks have not yet been expanded to include TEK.
The lack of direction by government and in governmental
policies makes TEK a source of knowledge difficult to
include in the EIA process. However, with increased practice
and greater use, TEK can provide valuable contributions to
achieving a more comprehensive and successful environmental
impact assessment. The search for a sustainable society is a
catalyst for rethinking the relationship of traditional
ecological and western science in the form of EIA (Boothroyd
and Sadler 1994). The Hudson Bay Oil exploration project and
the North West Territories Diamond Project are both projects
that included TEK in their EIA process.
Hudson Bay Oil Exploration and
Eiders, 1985
The Hudson Bay Oil exploration
project of mid 1980's is one example where TEK of the Inuit
people was used to determine the impacts of the project.
Inuit knowledge of the area was more extensive than the
current scientific literature, so TEK was able to contribute
new dimensions of knowledge to the EIA process (Nakashima
1990). Spill size is not as important as its location
(Nakashima 1990). Therefore an understanding of the location
is vital to understanding the potential affects of a project
like oil exploration.
The following is a summary of
Nakashima's (1990) account of the EIA process and the
situation in the Hudson Bay area. The Canadian Occidental
Petroleum Ltd. and Intercity Gas contracted Canterra Energy
Ltd. to drill the exploratory wells for this project. The
drilling process prompted environmental concern in the
surrounding communities; so environmental studies were
initiated. Of particular importance in petroleum development
EIA's is the direct contact of oil and wildlife. The Hudson
Bay eider, a sea-duck, was of specific concern since it was
seen as being one of the most vulnerable organisms. Its
vulnerability was increased for two main reasons: the areas
which would be greatly affected would be those that were
also the permanent habitat of the eiders and the eider's
survival was dependent on low adult bird mortality rate
which would be affected by this development. An oil spill
could drastically affect both aspects of the eider biology
and therefore drastically affect its survival.
Semi-directed interviews of Inuit
subsistence hunters from three communities in the Hudson Bay
area was used to gather TEK about the area and the eider
(Nakashima 1990). This tool for gathering information was
used to allow for a broad survey of the Inuit knowledge of
eider biology (Nakashima 1990). The interviews were taped,
translated and transcribed (Nakashima 1990). There were 49
interviews, with a disproportionate amount of time given to
the three communities. Interviews took place over three
years and at different times during the year (Nakashima
1990).
From the inclusion of the TEK of
the Inuit, a considerable temporal breadth of information
was acquired. The information revealed the dramatic seasonal
changes in distribution and habitat of the eiders (Nakashima
1990). This was information that would have taken extensive
time and money to acquire without the Inuit. Aboriginal
people maintain strong attachments to the land, so they have
an intrinsic knowledge to contribute to the EIA process and
sustainable development. They are the individuals who
experience the greatest social, cultural and economical
costs associated with resource development because of their
proximity to developments similar to the Hudson Bay Oil
exploration activities (Nakashima 1990).
North West Territories Diamond
Mines Project, 1996
Information and the specifics of
this project were obtained from the Canadian Environmental
Assessment Agency's (1996) publication entitled The
Report of the Environmental Assessment Panel: NWT Diamonds
Project (Federal Environmental Assessment Panel 1996).
The project was a joint undertaking by BHP Diamonds Inc. and
the Blackwater Group. The project was initiated for the
development and operation of a diamond mine in the Lac de
Gras area of the North West Territories. Five kimberbite
pipes were proposed to be used for mining the diamonds; all
were to be located under existing lakes. The mining process
required that the lakes be drained; each would be used as an
open pit mine. The project was estimated to last a total of
twenty-five years with roads, an airstrip and other
necessary infrastructures. It thus involved numerous
potential sources of environmental concern.
The project required significant
alterations to the physical landscape having significant
effects on the natural environment and wildlife in the area.
Important knowledge was shared regarding the importance of
eskers, which are ground formations of significant value
(Federal Environmental Assessment Panel 1996). Their value
is derived from an ability to determine the migration
patterns of caribou; eskers are also important for
aboriginal burials (Federal Environmental Assessment Panel
1996). The waste rock, tailings and revegetation of these
areas to create wetlands would change the immediate
environment, affecting individuals who depend on the land
for their survival.
In the report, TEK was not credited
as being a source of particular information. Rather, all
information obtained was integrated in a comprehensive and
coherent manner. This project was one of the first attempts
to formally include TEK in the environmental impact
assessment process (Federal Environmental Assessment Panel
1996). Many aboriginal people were affected by the project.
Two ways were used to include aboriginal people in this
process: aboriginal people were part of the data collection
process, and their concerns regarding the project was
documented. This approach included TEK indirectly and
directly (Federal Environmental Assessment Panel
1996).
It is evident upon looking at both
of these cases that TEK can readily be included in the
environmental impact assessment process. However, both of
these examples indicated that because of the relative
newness of this practice there were logistic difficulties.
Lack of formal administrative procedures and realistic time
allowances were the major logistic difficulties. However,
TEK in both cases provided knowledge that could not have
been provided by western science literature.
Analysis of the Compatibility of
Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Impact
Assessment
There are complications and
problems associated with incorporating TEK in the
environmental impact assessment process. However, the
benefits of this inclusion for the achievement of
sustainable and responsible development is paramount.
Complications arise in trying to incorporate non-westernized
concepts into a western constructed framework such as EIA.
The EIA process is not conducive to including authorities of
knowledge other than western scientists (Sallenave 1994).
Exclusion of vital contributions will result in
inappropriate management as this type of management will be
impractical, ineffective and culturally unacceptable (Dene
Cultural Institute 1991). Meaningful inclusion of TEK and
aboriginal people must go beyond the realm of public
participation. TEK can be used in conjunction with science
to identify ecosystem components or processes that maybe
affected by the proposed development (Sallenave 1994). The
Dene Cultural Institute has outlined general guidelines of
establishing cooperative research ventures to facilitate
this theory being put into practice.
Major complications arise from EIA
and TEK's apparent differences. EIA's are traditionally
reductionist. The process requires the breaking down of
biophysical components to allow them to be measured and
evaluated independently from human components (Sallenave
1994; Boothroyd and Sadler 1994). In comparison, TEK is
holistic and all-encompassing; it is a process that requires
an understanding of the interconnections between components.
Components can not be understood in isolation (Johnson
1992). There are three barriers that Sallenave (1994)
suggested that must be overcome to successfully implement
TEK into the EIA process. These barriers are perceptual,
skepticism and political (Sallenave 1994). These barriers
were overcome by the Kutchin in Old Crow, Yukon
Territory.
The Experience of Old Crow,
Yukon
The experiences and recommendations
made by the Kutchin, the people of Old Crow, serves to act
as an example of how TEK and the EIA process can be
compatible. The Kutchin are a community of 700 people who
live in the Yukon. The community has had numerous encounters
with the EIA process (Boothroyd and Sadler 1994). The
Kutchin are heavily dependent upon the land on which they
live for their subsistence; their subsistence economy is
based on trapping, fishing and hunting (Boothroyd and Sadler
1994). The Porcupine caribou herd is important to the
Kutchin people as it makes up 90% of their meat source
(Boothroyd and Sadler 1994). Previous EIA's failed to
recognize many valued ecosystem components of the
Kutchin.
Oil and gas exploration in the
North are one of the main sources of concern for the
Kutchin. Oil and gas exploration was the subject of two
previous EIA's were conducted in their area. The first,
conducted in the early 1970's, was orchestrated by the
Canadian Arctic Gas Pipeline Company Ltd. An impact
assessment revealed that researchers had little
understanding or appreciation of the traditions and the
cultural importance of the area they were studying
(Boothroyd and Sadler 1994). Differences existed in the
perceptions the Kutchin and the perceptions of the
researchers regarding the Kutchin's relation to the land as
well as the significance of their community (Boothroyd and
Sadler 1994). The second EIA was conducted in the 1980's by
Gulf Canada. This EIA dismissed the importance of the
Porcupine caribou to the Kutchin people. By non-aboriginal
standards, loss of the Porcupine caribou was viewed as
mitigable. This finding was a total disregard for the
survival of the Kutchin (Boothroyd and Sadler
1994).
Important recommendations have been
made by the Kutchin in an attempt to put into practice TEK,
values and practices that have sustained their ancestors for
centuries (Boothroyd and Sadler 1994). The Kutchin feel that
it is necessary for them to be included at the conceptual
level of the EIA process (Boothroyd and Sadler 1994). It is
necessary for them as a people to be part of determining the
options for development if it is going to affect their
community (Boothroyd and Sadler 1994). The Kutchin feel
clarification on the objectives of the EIA process is
necessary; the question of necessity of the proposed
development should be addressed and the assumptions made in
the EIA should be outlined. The people of Old Crow suggest
that all participating parties in the EIA process should
jointly address these issues to achieve a responsible and
sustainable development project.
Opposition to the Inclusion of
TEK in the EIA Process
Previous examples have demonstrated
that TEK can make a significant contribution to the EIA
process. However, there are theoretical arguments against
using TEK in the EIA process. In aboriginal communities
there is the belief that TEK can not be understood by
non-aboriginals and that any processes involving the
application of TEK should be controlled by aboriginal
communities (Nakashima 1990; Dene Cultural Institute 1991).
Alternatively, there is an argument that including TEK in
the EIA process is contrary to the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms (Howard and Widdowson 1996). Both of these
arguments fail to recognize the mutual benefit of working
together to establish responsible and sustainable
development.
In the past, EIA practitioners have
overlooked TEK as a valuable source of information
(Nakashima 1990). The inadequacy of scientific terminology
to capture indigenous concepts often results in a loss of
insight through translation (Dene Cultural Institute 1991).
Since EIA is in the public domain, concern is raised
regarding the intellectual property rights associated with
TEK. It is believed that non-aboriginal administration of
TEK represents a failure to understand that TEK is a type of
property (Dene Cultural Institute 1991; Johnson 1992). On
this basis, recommendations have been made to ensure
aboriginal empowerment in the decision processes of EIA
research and policy (Sallenave 1994). Non-aboriginal people
may find it difficult to interpret and apply aboriginal
legends, stories and ways of sharing knowledge. The
empowerment of aboriginals in the decision making process
would address the problem of non-aboriginal peoples not
being able to comprehend TEK; those who possess the
knowledge are the most appropriate people to apply it (Dene
Cultural Institute 1991).
The second argument against the
inclusion of TEK in EIA is based on it being contrary to the
Charter of Rights and Freedom. Howard and Widdowson (1996)
argue that the separation of church and state is an
important prerequisite to people of different beliefs to
function in a society. Many countries have an official
religion tied to its monarchy. States often developed based
on their affiliations with religion, so it is rare to find a
state where religion and state are completely separate. It
could reasonably argued that Christianity is advocated
through the Canadian government, since many of the sacred
days are public holidays. This argument of associating TEK
as part of a religion exemplifies that there is a lack of
understanding of what TEK is (Bartlett 1998). Spirituality
is not one aspect of aboriginal life; rather, it permeates
throughout the aboriginal sense of being. Many aboriginals
are Roman Catholic or Protestant Christians and still
possess spirituality in their understanding of the
environment. TEK is viewed by Howard and Widdowson (1996) as
being anecdotal and not a source of real knowledge because
they claim it cannot be challenged. TEK can be challenged by
observation and study, as was done with the Hudson Bay
eider, and the Porcupine caribou of Old Crow. TEK helps to
increase understanding and is not based on myth or legend
but is shared through these processes. TEK presents a
solution and a dilemma -- it is profound knowledge that must
overcome ethnocentric prejudices of ways of knowing
(Nakashima 1990).
Benefits of the Inclusion of TEK
in the EIA Process
Complications of including TEK in
the EIA process are the result of it being a recent
practice. The immaturity of the process is the main reason
for its inability to deal with many of the issues that have
arisen (Federal Environmental Assessment Panel 1996). The
lack of established practices of how to document and apply
TEK can be developed over time and through experience. TEK
provides a regional mosaic of information; it contributes to
inventories of flora and fauna that are of considerable
temporal breadth (Nakashima 1990). TEK provides a different
source of knowledge and way of understanding the world; it
can make up for the inadequacies of western scientific
knowledge. Ways of documenting information differ between
EIA and TEK; however, both are based in empirical
observation and deductive logic, and both seek to manage
natural resources sustainablly (Dene Cultural Institute
1991). Awareness of TEK increases respect for the
contributions to be made by all people. It allows for
improved communication among diverse interests and enhances
the ability to predict and monitor ecological and social
impacts (Boothroyd and Sadler 1994).
Conclusion and Future Directions
Despite the growing body of
literature and the growing awareness of its importance,
little information has been incorporated into the practical
administration and policies of governments responsible for
impact assessment and resource management (Boothroyd and
Sadler 1994). Since EIA is an instrument used for planning
and decision making, it makes sense to consult individuals
who are most knowledgeable about a specific area or issue.
Native communities have developed a rare and unique
relationship with the environment and have formulated
legitimate ecological knowledge that could benefit EIA's.
Aboriginal people should be seen as possessing information
that can contribute significantly to understanding the
impacts of development in a specific area. Inclusion of
aboriginal people in the decision-making process of EIA is
imperative to apply this knowledge continuously and
consistently. The Dene Cultural Institute (1991) has
formulated guidelines for conducting participatory community
research to access TEK. Additionally, recommendations made
by the Environmental Assessment Panel for the NWT Diamond
project are valuable starting points to achieve adequate
inclusion of TEK in the EIA process. It is not an all or
nothing process. Aboriginal peoples and current EIA
researchers must work together to achieve responsible and
sustainable development.
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