Recently Completed Projects
Please contact Ryan Bullock for information on other previous research, or to request additional results.
A First Nation University Partnership for Capacity Enhancement in Forest Land Governance
C-LAND: Climate Learning and Adaptation for Northern Development
Designing Governance Frameworks for Protected Areas with Meaningful Indigenous Participation
A First Nation University Partnership for Capacity Enhancement in Forest Land Governance
Ryan Bullock (Principal Investigator), Jordan Gardner (Co-Investigator), Alan Diduck (Collaborator)
Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
Canada’s Indigenous forest communities must be able to conserve ecosystems, be adaptive amid forces of economic restructuring, and address conflict to support local wellbeing. At the time this project began, little attention had been given to how communities can use forest management planning to build linkages and capacity among governments, academics, and industry. As groups engage in rethinking relationships among communities, governments, industries, and forests, there is a demand for relevant knowledge, partnering opportunities, and exchange of skills and resources.
Our partnership aimed to address the need for partnered research and capacity building towards sustainable forest land governance. Our overriding goal was to identify, share, and build on existing models and techniques to support community capacity building through First Nation community and university collaborations. Our community-based research approach was rooted in the expressed needs of the research participants, and we engage partners in building ownership, communication, and advocacy into the research program.
Our research activities included 1) analyzing how First Nations and settler Canadian relations can be reconciled through forest governance models that produce sustainable benefits and support economic, cultural and ecological multi-party priorities; 2) developing First Nation-university capacity building initiatives, benefits, and participation; and 3) mobilizing different knowledges amongst forestry professionals, youth, Elders, university researchers and students.
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C-LAND: Climate Learning and Adaptation for Northern Development
Ryan Bullock (Principal Investigator), Alan Diduck (Co-Investigator)
Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
Climate change is transforming northern environments at an alarming rate, and rising global demand for Canada’s resources is creating unparalleled economic opportunities but also demands. Due to these environmental and economic change, northern communities are undergoing fundamental socio-economic and cultural transformations. Governments and industries managing renewable resources are increasingly pressed to address long-term plans for adaptation to large-scale disturbances, while continuing to meet short-term business and governance needs.
Recognizing the climate change uncertainties facing the Canadian natural resources sector today, this research examined how to improve adaptive capacity in Canada’s renewable resource sectors, with a focus on forestry. Our objectives were to:
- Assess awareness and multi-scale learning (i.e., cognitive, normative, behavioural, relational and organizational changes) about climate change adaptation;
- Gain insights into how learning occurs (i.e., learning process conditions and how learning outcomes influence adaptations and inform policy) in innovative organizational models; and;
- Explain how learning can support adaptive capacity in complex governance settings.
The findings from this research, listed below, offer insights and decision-making tools applicable to resource sectors and communities across Canada and internationally.
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Designing Governance Frameworks for Protected Areas with Meaningful Indigenous Participation
Melanie Zurba (Principal Investigator), Ryan Bullock (Co-Investigator)
Dates: 2021-2024
Many Indigenous communities have been navigating involvement in protected area (PA) governance for several decades despite often being marginalized from decision-making processes or assigned roles in the governance of PAs that are less than meaningful and do not align with traditional, cultural or spiritual values. It is well understood that social-ecological systems (such as PAs) generally require joint action from multiple partners due to their complexity and multi-jurisdictional nature. There is growing awareness among Indigenous communities, academics, governments, and global conservation organizations that social and environmental benefits of PAs should be secured through Indigenous participation and collaboration within PA governance systems.
This project’s overarching goal was to generate knowledge for shaping, implementing and assessing Indigenous collaboration in governance frameworks for global PAs. The purpose of this was to enable organizations to move beyond structural injustices often embedded in existing frameworks and support emergent frameworks that promote more equitable and environmentally sound processes and outcomes. The research integrated governance theory, social learning, and participatory social impact assessment tools to address gaps between existing PA governance frameworks and policies, and on-the-ground outcomes for Indigenous communities. Our approach included engaging with key informants and collaboratively developing case studies with partners from Indigenous People’s Organizations and academic institutions.
The project produced research outcomes for both practical and scholarly contexts, particularly by looking at Indigenous participation and collaboration in International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) PA programs and initiatives. The results of this project are now informing ongoing participation and collaboration through IUCN programs and initiatives that are geared towards developing global networks for terrestrial and marine PAs.
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