Canadian Inuit sustainable use and management of Arctic species

Abstract

Inuit wildlife management systems have key lessons to offer at a time when the Arctic is receiving tremendous international attention. This article discusses efforts to link Inuit traditional knowledge (TK) and scientific knowledge in management decision-making. Existing dialogue on current and potential relationships between Inuit and their knowledge systems, the scientific community and community-based monitoring efforts show that shared planning is crucial to successful models for collaborative TK-scientific research and conservation efforts in the Arctic.

Keywords:

• Sustainable use
• Traditional knowledge
• Inuit
• Arctic

Acknowledgements

This article benefited greatly from the comments of two reviewers, though fault for any errors or misrepresentations lie with the author alone. Many thanks to IJES guest Editor Shane Mahoney for inviting this contribution and to Jackie Weir for guiding it through a number of revisions. Thanks also to the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami for providing the author with some of the time needed to see this paper to completion.