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1999 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
Exhibit 6.11—Use of Local or Traditional Environmental Knowledge
"Traditional environmental knowledge" (TEK) or "local knowledge" are only two of the many terms used to describe the body of expertise and knowledge acquired by indigenous or local people through direct contact with the land. One category of this system of knowledge is the understanding of ecological relationships and changes observed over time. It is based on the experience of individuals and the community at large as well as on knowledge passed down from elders and incorporated in indigenous languages.The importance of this kind of knowledge is reflected in land claims agreements in Canada and in international instruments such as the Declaration on the Protection of the Arctic Environment and the Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council. A major study using TEK was carried out by the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee and the Municipality of Sanikiluaq, as part of a research program on the impacts in Hudson Bay of development occurring within its watershed. The Inuit Circumpolar Conference conducted a two-year project on traditional ecological knowledge of Beluga whales in the Chukchi and Northern Bering Seas, under the joint lead of Canada and the United States. This project was to help demonstrate how TEK could be incorporated into conservation work under the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy. Other TEK studies, such as that carried out by the Gwich'in Renewable Resource Board, are continuing.
Although researchers are already using TEK to supplement scientific knowledge on wildlife distribution, abundance and behaviour, more needs to be done to determine how best to apply it to complex resource management issues. Local knowledge has the potential to contribute greatly to resource planning and decision making by providing indicators and early warning signs of environmental change.