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Central Yukon Sustainable Communities Initiative
CYSCI at a glanceThe Central Yukon SCI (CYSCI) is made up of four First Nations: Little Salmon Carmacks, Tr'ondek Hwech'in, Nacho Nyak Dun, and Selkirk. Together, their traditional territory represents ½ a million square km, or about 2/3 of the Yukon Territory. Their primary focus will be on research relating to climate change, sustainable development, and community consultation.. |
In terms of GeoConnections' Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI), the Central Yukon Sustainable Communities Initiative (CYSCI) is unique. Nacho Nyak Dun was one of the original 10 SCI pilot partnerships, and the Yukon SCI successful brings together four First Nations to work collectively on issues related to climate change and sustainable development.
"We're trying to 'marry up' the community level interest in sustainable development activities, particularly initiatives dealing with climate change, with the overall mandate of the various federal government departments," says Florian Lemphers, Co-Chair of the CYSCI. This is an enormous task, considering the sheer size of the land mass they are dealing with - approximately ½ million square kilometres - a small population with limited resources, and the effects of climate change already being felt in the North. One way to accomplish this was to work cooperatively with the other First Nations of the region.
Doug VanBibber is the CYSCI's coordinator. "When we got together to identify our pilot project (Nacho Nyak Dun), the elders gave us explicit direction to work with our neighbouring communities." The neighbouring First Nations include Salmon Carmacks, Tr'ondek Hwech'in, and Selkirk. "We got together to start using the SCI's benefits and established the Central Yukon SCI."
The first step for the Nacho Nyak Dun pilot was to develop a terms of reference that outlines CYSCI's responsibilities and reporting mechanisms, and develops a community research framework. The framework includes five key areas: Youth and Elders Program, Forestry Capacity Building, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Environmental Monitoring, and Fish and Wildlife
Each First Nation will focus on an area that includes GIS technology. For example, Selkirk will establish integrated data collection processes for environmental and resource management; Little Salmon Carmacks plans to map culturally sensitive areas within the traditional territory; and Tr'ondek Hwech'in will build a GIS database for land and resource management.
"Right now, there are virtually no resource management plans, no inventory," says Mr. VanBibber. "So we're fairly lucky that we don't, at the moment, have the forestry industry knocking on our door. It gives us the time to have forest plans done properly."
A curriculum is being developed for the youth and elders program that will include introductory courses on water and soil sampling, forest inventory, traditional knowledge, and report writing. Elders will be part of the field teams. "We're teaching the youth to keep consistent reports so that we can start adding material to the database," says Mr. VanBibber. Resource management training is being provided to youth, as well as the opportunity for them to go out onto the land with elders. "This enables us to have future managers of our departments who can incorporate science with traditional knowledge."
The Central Yukon SCI sees GeoConnections' SCI as an ideal model to move their plans forward. "We need a one-stop shop for sustainable development activity," says Mr. Lemphers. "We're trying to find a shortcut that allows people from all departments, federal, territorial, to fulfill their mandate and work with us in a cooperative fashion. And that's the approach fundamentally from the SCI."
The Yukon SCI has been building that cooperation through a variety of partnerships, including the Sustainable Forest Management Network at the University of Alberta, an environmental forestry curriculum with the Yukon College, and a climate change research project with the University of California Berkeley, that may also include the University of Fairbanks.