Oral Abstract Details

Author(s):
Jennifer Daniels and Dr. Kelly Vodden

Affiliation:
Memorial University of Newfoundland, Department of Geography

Presentation Type:
Oral

Topic Area:
The relationship(s) between land-use policies and ecological processes/disturbances along urban-rural interfaces

Abstract Text:
Newfoundland and Labrador is Canada’s most rural province. Its extensive history as a staples economy has resulted in a highly rural population that relies heavily on resource-based extraction and production. In the sixty years since Newfoundland and Labrador joined the Canadian federation there have been major changes in the province’s primary industries, including industrialization and expansion followed by dramatic declines in fishing and forest industries. The early 1990s collapse of the northwest Atlantic Cod stock has dramatically altered the traditional economy of rural NL. Following a long period of federal and provincial policies that often furthered resource dependency and cycles of resource overharvesting and decline, regional (multi-community) approaches to natural resources governance are emerging that place greater emphasis on conservation and public participation. The capacity of rural organizations to take on new responsibilities is threatened by economic and demographic change, including population losses due to urbanization and natural resource collapse. Recognizing limits to local capacity and issues of appropriate scale in ecosystem management, small communities in rural NL have partnered with adjacent communities, often including regional service centres, to pursue integrated management techniques that incorporate multiple land and resource uses and values. Preliminary results of a three-year research project examining rural-urban interactions in Newfoundland and Labrador suggest there are two growing forms of environmental stewardship in this province known for its culture of resource exploitation: 1) urban environmentalism, including a local food movement, and 2) regional management of natural resources with participation of rural resource-dependent communities. While rural communities have taken a leadership role in areas as diverse as watershed, coastal and wetlands management, marine protected area establishment, voluntary fisheries closures and gear restrictions, and community forestry, the power base for decision-making remains centralized in growing urban centres. Rural communities have collaborated with urban-based scientists, government and non-government organizations in these conservation and integrated management efforts. Counteracting a trend of urban values dominating policy and market decisions, with resulting threats to rural community viability, and empowering rural actors to act as stewards of the resources that surround them, however, will require greater efforts to ensure genuine, two-way rural-urban dialogue, mutual understanding and shared decision-making.