Counter-Institutionalizing First Nation-Crown relations in British Columbia
In Canada, the advance of industrial resource extraction has been moderated by a series of key legal decisions which have found that development activities within the traditional territories of Indigenous groups may infringe on aboriginal and treaty rights, requiring a duty to consult and potentially accommodate those affected. In British Columbia this duty is primarily satisfied through the crown referrals process, whereby affected First Nation groups are notified by the crown regarding potential rights-affecting decisions and are given an opportunity to formulate a response.
This form of institutionalized engagement presents an ongoing challenge for First Nation groups who struggle to manage the influx of crown referrals as well as a dilemma for those who question its fairness and inherent colonial structure. For others, it is seen as an opportunity to leverage the duty to consult and accommodate in order to strengthen territorial self-governance.
In this presentation Anthony Persaud will explore the ways in which the crown referrals process has been utilized and redrawn by First Nation groups in order to achieve their territorial goals, and the trade-offs involved.
Anthony Persaud is a PhD candidate and community development practitioner with a broad focus on the intersections between community well-being, economic ‘development’, and Indigenous territorial self-governance. Under the supervision of Dr. Terre Satterfield at IRES-UBC, his action-based research seeks to understand how institutional innovations in relation to housing, natural resource management, and consultation and accommodation processes enable First Nation groups to achieve their visions for economic futures. Anthony brings to his work more than a decade of experience working directly with rural and Indigenous communities and authorities in British Columbia and internationally in West Africa and Latin America. He approaches all of his work utilizing decolonizing, community-based participatory methods with the aim of enhancing Indigenous self-determination.
Will the Trade of Amazon Fruits Help Recover the Amazon Forest? A Study on the Sustainable Consumption of Acai in Metro Vancouver
Forest conservation funding mechanisms (e.g. PES, REDD+) have built institutional capacity but have fallen short in stopping deforestation in the Amazon forests. A number of farmers are willing to cultivate wild fruits in deforested areas if consumers recognize their work and conservation efforts. Understanding the consumption preferences of these fruits and their perception of conservation in contested landscapes is therefore vital.
Luis Felipe Melgarejo Perez's study explores correlations between consumption preferences of Acai (Euterpe oleracea) products in Vancouver and the consumers’ demographic profile through a Likert survey (n=160). Findings will help us answer two questions often overlooked by researchers: How do Acai consumers relate to the consumption of Amazon fruits? Are younger and wealthier Acai consumers likely to support a more or less ambitious approach to sustainable consumption (as the one offered by the SDG12)? His study aims to contribute to the development of market-based mechanisms to inform concerned consumers and to support long-term biodiversity and conservation agreements.
Luis Felipe Melgarejo Perez was born in Colombia and worked at the German International Development Agency – GIZ in projects related to sustainable development and regional planning (M.Sc.). He studies entrepreneurships aimed at recovering biodiversity and sustainably managing natural forests with rural communities. A full-time foodie, particularly when it comes to promising native fruits for the health industry and for reconnecting fragmented landscapes. Before IRES, he led a Forest Protection Program in the Colombian Amazon, promoting wild fruits and start-ups aiming to convince farmers into shifting from extensive ranching, palm oil, and illicit crops to endemic agroforestry.