Within the context of Marine Planning and Conservation (MPC) by First Nations, the FNQLSDI organized the first edition of the Around the River workshop which took place November 1 – 3, 2022, at the Hôtel-Musée in Wendake. With the 13 First Nations communities of the St. Lawrence Gulf and estuary in mind, Around the River’s objective is to allow for sharing and acquisition of knowledge and experiences around conservation and marine planning, as well as networking between First Nations, Indigenous organizations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and other Nations in Canada.
This event brought together 22 participants from First Nations communities, as well as approximately 20 guest collaborators, including DFO’s Marine Planning and Conservation Division (MPCD). The presentations will be available below.
The presentations and discussions shed light on various issues and findings regarding First Nations involvement in DFO’s marine spatial planning process and in the establishment of marine protected areas. Furthermore, presentations on experiences from elsewhere, in the Nunavik and in French Polynesia, allowed us to visualize the application of these processes more concretely in local communities.
Around the River also allowed many communities to present their initiatives on conservation and marine planning. The event concluded with various experts from DFO’s fisheries and marine planning and conservation sectors, who were invited to take part in a talking circle to address other issues more broadly within communities.
Finally, this event especially contributed to the creation of a sharing space between participants, thus fostering wonderful relationships and potential partnerships between First Nations, Indigenous organizations, and invited collaborators.
We will soon share here a detailed report on this event.
Here are also the different presentations given during the event:
DAY 1 -November 1
Around marine spatial planning (MSP)
- Setting the context
- UPDATE on the MSP process in the ESTUARY AND GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE (still to come)
Samuel Turgeon – Team Leader, MSP, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) - Indigenous engagement in MSP through participatory mapping: challenges, methods, opportunities
Claudio Aporta – Professor, Canadian Chair in Marine Environmental Protection, IMO-World Maritime University, Malmö, Sweden - Sharing of First Nations Marine Projects in Quebec
Various First Nations communities and organizations - Pessamit Presentation – Ecological, cultural and economic portrait of the coastal and marine environments of Nitassinan in the community of Pessamit 2022 to 2026
- AGHAMM Presentation – MWIFMA and the WWFN
DAY 2 – November 2
Around Marine Conservation
- Marine Conservation in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (still to come)
(Updates and Integrated Marine Conservation Initiatives in Areas of Interest)
Jacinthe Beauchamp- Team Leader, Marine Conservation, DFO - DFO RETROACTION – Theme 1 – Data (still to come)
Samuel Turgeon – Team Leader, MSP, DFO - DFO RETROACTION – Theme 2 – Governance in MSP and Theme 3 – Governance in Protected Areas (still to come)
Patricia Glaz – Senior Biologist, MSP, DFO
Renée Gagné – Senior Biologist, Marine Protected Areas, DFO - Inspired by rahuis: locally managed marine areas in French Polynesia
Tamatoa Bambridge, Director of Research at the National Center for Scientific Research, French Polynesia