Collaboration and co-management in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site

Abstract

Natural resource management can be strengthened through the inclusion of both local knowledge and western science into the decision-making process. Co-management is a term used to describe an agreement between a local resource using group with some level of government which signifies the sharing of power and authority over natural resource management decisions for a given resource or ecosystem. The Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site, has been co-managed by the local Council of the Haida Nation and the Government of Canada since an agreement was signed by both parties in 1993. The Gwaii Haanas Agreement signifies that these two governing bodies with land entitlement disputes will manage this pristine area solely on consensus based decisions. Widely viewed as a successful co-management arrangement, those involved with the Gwaii Haanas Agreement today have recently publicly shared goals of improving collaboration among the partnering organizations. This research provides baseline data in regard to what the current collaborative relationships look like today, both within organizations and among partnering organizations. Our findings indicate that there are specific areas where increased collaborative relationships could potentially improve this co-management network. Further, my research shows that the community behind the Gwaii Hanaas Agreement plays a key role in the continued success of Gwaii Haanas co-management. The presence of strong, informal relationships outside of the professional co-management network strengthen the co-management network as a whole, demonstrating that community plays a larger role than politics when it comes to co-management success in Gwaii Haanas.