Linking co-monitoring to co-management: bringing together local, traditional, and scientific knowledge in a wildlife status assessment framework

• Published in: Arctic Science
• Main Authors: Stephanie J. Peacock, Fabien Mavrot, Matilde Tomaselli, Andrea Hanke, Heather Fenton, Rosemin Nathoo, Oscar Alejandro Aleuy, Juliette Di Francesco, Xavier Fernandez Aguilar, Naima Jutha, Pratap Kafle, Jesper Mosbacher, Annie Goose, Ekaluktutiak Hunters and Trappers Organization, Kugluktuk Angoniatit Association, Olokhaktomiut Hunters and Trappers Committee, Susan J. Kutz
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; French
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2020
• Subjects: wildlife health; conservation; traditional knowledge local knowledge; status assessment; angutikhat aaniaqtailini; nunguttailini; pitquhit ilihimani; nunalikni ilihimani; qanuritni naunaiyaqni; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Environmental engineering; TA170-171; Canada; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0019; https://doaj.org/article/569f9f0958984929b74b1d22d4086931

Effective wildlife management requires accurate and timely information on conservation status and trends, and knowledge of the factors driving population change. Reliable monitoring of wildlife population health, including disease, body condition, and population trends and demographics, is central to achieving this, but conventional scientific monitoring alone is often not sufficient. Combining different approaches and knowledge types can provide a more holistic understanding than conventional science alone and can bridge gaps in scientific monitoring in remote and sparsely populated areas. Inclusion of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is core to the wildlife co-management mandate of the Canadian territories and is usually included through consultation and engagement processes. We propose a status assessment framework that provides a systematic and transparent approach to including TEK, as well as local ecological knowledge (LEK), in the design, implementation, and interpretation of wildlife conservation status assessments. Drawing on a community-based monitoring program for muskoxen and caribou in northern Canada, we describe how scientific knowledge and TEK/LEK, documented through conventional monitoring, hunter-based sampling, or qualitative methods, can be brought together to inform indicators of wildlife health within our proposed assessment framework. Atuttiaqtut angutikhat aulatauni piyalgit nalaumayumik piyarakittumiklu tuhagakhat nunguttailininut qanuritni pitquhitlu, ilihimanilu pityutit pipkaqni amigaitnit alanguqni. Naahuriyaulat munarini angutikhat amigaitni aaniaqtailini, ilautitlugit aaniarutit, timai qanuritnit, amigaitnitlu pitquhit hiamaumanilu, atugauniqhauyut pitaqninut una, kihimik atuqtauvaktut naunaiyaiyit munariyauni kihimik amihuni naamangitmata. Ilaliutyaqni allatqit pityuhit ilihimanitlu qanuritni piqarutaulat tamatkiumaniqhanik kangiqhimani atuqtauvaktuniunganit naunaiyaiyit munarinit ahiniittut akuttuyunik amigaitni inait. Ilaliutyaqni pitquhit uumatyutit ilihimani (TEK) ...