Traditional Knowledge in Marine Spatial Planning: Addressing epistemological and practical challenges in the Arctic [graduate project].

Abstract

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is a tool for comprehensive, integrated ocean management, used to mitigate anthropogenic impact on the environment and promote co-operation between ocean users. In the Beaufort Sea LOMA, the Inuvialuit are the primary users of coastal resources, making them a significant and necessary stakeholder in the MSP process. Inuvialuit possess a substantial body of knowledge and expertise related to management of the environment, and the Traditional Knowledge (TK) held by the Indigenous community is a valuable source of information in the context of MSP. In order for TK to be effectively integrated into MSP, challenges related to TK data integration must be addressed, and practices for managing, analyzing, and using TK must be explored and crafted. This research addresses epistemological and practical issues in using TK for environmental management, using an interdisciplinary approach to review best practices in TK integration, and suggest practices for using TK in MSP in relation to geospatial data and knowledge organization. The paper concludes that practices that foster transparency, accessibility, and the maintaining the context of TK as data are necessary for the successful use of TK in MSP.