Conservation as Reconciliation: Supporting the Transformation of Conservation in Canada

About the Project

The Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership is an Indigenous-led network that brings together a diverse range of partners to advance Indigenous-led conservation and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) across Canada. It aims to investigate, inform, and cultivate the transformation of conservation strategy and practice by centring Indigenous leadership, rights, responsibilities, and knowledge. The CRP is a collective of Indigenous leadership, conservation agencies and organizations, academia, civil society and communities acting on and building from the recommendations set out by the Indigenous Circle of Expert’s report We Rise Together.

Leadership

The Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership is co-hosted by three organizations: The IISAAK OLAM Foundation,  the Indigenous Leadership Initiativeand the University of Guelph. The Leadership Circle, comprised of eight members, including core members of the Indigenous Circle of Experts and representatives from each of the host organizations, provides overall guidance. 

The IISAAK OLAM Foundation and the Indigenous Leadership Initiative provide strategic guidance regarding opportunities to help support Indigenous-led conservation within the national and international context. The University of Guelph oversees the research undertaken by the partnership and provides administrative support.

Collectively, the partnership is guided by the principles of Ethical Space and Two-Eyed Seeing, where Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge systems and worldviews have equal space and value. 

Legacy

To ensure the partnership’s efforts create a lasting impact, it is focused on three legacy outcomes to support Indigenous-led conservation in Canada and beyond. These include:

1.           The IPCA Knowledge Basket: A digital space that holds and shares resources to inform, guide, and advance Indigenous-led conservation initiatives, including IPCAs. To learn more, visit the IPCA Knowledge Basket here: https://ipcaknowledgebasket.ca/

2.           IPCA Innovation Centres: Regional knowledge hubs that bring together the best of Indigenous knowledge and modern science to create, workshop, and implement ideas and innovations in support of Indigenous-led conservation initiatives. The first hub, called the Pacific IPCA Innovation Centre, is taking shape in Nuu-chah-nulth and Coast Salish territories on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, called.  To learn more, visit: https://ipcainnovation.ca/pacific

3.           IPCA Alliance/Network: The IPCA Alliance or network will be a vehicle for continuing the momentum of the Indigenous Circle of Experts for the Pathway to Canada Target 1. It will support the movement of solidarity among Indigenous Peoples from across what is now known as Canada who are actively working toward creating and maintaining IPCAs within their traditional territories.