The John Prince Research Forest: Evolution of a co-management partnership in northern British Columbia

Abstract

The John Prince Research Forest (JPRF) was established as a co-managed forest between Tl'azt'en Nation and the University of Northern British Columbia, as an opportunity for these partners to blend their respective ways of understanding and managing forests to contribute to ecological and social sustainability. Using four criteria of successful comanagement reported in the literature as critical to the early stages of partnership -partnership building, institutional structure, decision-making, and capacity -we discuss the JPRF's performance during the first half-decade of its existence. The JPRF's early experience provides an example of the evolution of a co-management relationship that, while facing constraints and challenges in regard to some of the criteria, has provided the foundation for a strong future partnership.Key words: co-management, research forest, Aboriginal, First Nation, British Columbia, criteria and indicators (C&I), community forestry, forest management, joint venture, Tl'azt'en Nation, traditional environmental knowledge, forest tenure, partnerships RÉSUMÉ La Forêt de recherche John Prince (JPFR) a été mise en place en tant que forêt en co-gestion entre la Nation Tl'azt'en et l'Université du Nord de la Colombie-Britannique, afin de permettre à ces partenaires d'utiliser en commun leur façon de comprendre et d'aménager les forêts dans le but de contribuer à la durabilité écologique et sociale. En utilisant quatre critères de co-gestion requis pour atteindre le succès tels que décrits dans la littérature en tant qu'éléments critiques dès les premières étapes du partenariat -l'élaboration du partenariat, la structure institutionnelle, la prise de décision et la capacité d'action -nous faisons état de la performance de la forêt de recherche après ses cinq premières années d'existence. L'expérience initiale de la JPRF constitue un exemple de l'évolution d'une relation de co-gestion qui, malgré les contraintes et les défis rencontrés relativement à certains critères, a permis l'établissement d'un solide partenariat pour les années à venir.Mots clés : co-gestion, Autochtones, Première Nation, Colombie-Britannique, critères et indicateurs (C & I), foresterie communautaire, aménagement forestier, co-entreprise, Nation Tl'azt'en, connaissance traditionnelle de l'environnement, tenure forestière, partenariat For personal use only.

Evolving co-management practice: Developing a community-based environmental monitoring framework with Tl'azt'en nation on the John Prince Research Forest.

“…The broad objective of the JPRF is to 8 "learn to bring together different ways of understanding and using the land as a means to integrate multiple resource values and to enhance the ecological and social sustainability of the region" (Grainger et al 2006: 485). Aside from serving as a research and educational facility for the Tl'azt'en community and UNBC, the JPRF is also a working forest (Grainger et al 2006).…”

“…British Columbia, and is the only First Nation-University co-managed research forest in North America (Grainger et al 2006). The JPRF is located on the traditional territory of Tl'azt'en Nation, and UNBC acknowledges that Tl'azt'en Nation asserts Aboriginal title and other rights to this area (Figure 1.2;Richard B. Krehbiel Consulting 2000).…”

“…The John Prince Research Forest (JPRF) was officially established in 1999, six years after the co-managed research forest was initially envisioned by a University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) administrator and the Tl'azt'en Nation band manager (Grainger et al 2006). The JPRF is comprised of 13,000 ha of forestland in north central…”

“…Chuzghun Resources Corporation (CRC) was established in 2001 to manage and direct the activities of the research forest (Grainger et al 2006). The CRC is a selfsupported, non-profit organization that is equally owned by Tl'azt'en Nation and UNBC.…”

“…Located on two percent of Tl'azt'en Nation traditional territory is the 13,000 ha John Prince Research Forest (JPRF) (Grainger et al 2006). …”