Presentation
British Columbia First Nations Set a Higher Bar for Collaborative Marine Response Preparedness
DescriptionUntil recently, Canada’s marine oil spill preparedness and response regime has excluded Indigenous governments, despite the fact that First Nations are often the first on-scene when incidents occur. First Nations communities bear a disproportionate risk from marine pollution, because they rely on the health and integrity of their ecosystems for food, livelihood, and cultural practices. Recognizing these disparities, a group of British Columbia First Nations have been driving a process to enhance their role in preparedness and build capacity to support marine incident response.
In October 2017, the North Pacific Coast First Nations (NPC Nations) established a collaborative First Nations Oceans Governance and Management Forum (FNOGMF) in which they have made a collective commitment to develop and implement localized arrangements for marine emergency preparedness and response in the Northern Shelf Bioregion of British Columbia. In June of the following year, the NPC Nations and Canada entered into a Reconciliation Framework Agreement (RFA) for Bio-regional Oceans Management and Protection. The RFA commits the NPC Nations and Canada to advance collaborative governance and management on a range of marine safety and spill preparedness initiatives, including “smaller scale response planning including work to identify and map regions of high ecological sensitivity as well as areas of cultural, social, and economic importance, and work to develop integrated response plans and strategies at multiple scales.” The Province of British Columbia joined the RFA in 2021.
In January 2018, NPC Nations held a workshop to promote collaboration across marine planning initiatives, and specifically to launch a First Nations-led geographic response strategy (GRS) development process to support broader marine response planning. Since then, NPC First Nations have surveyed over 550 sites and developed over 540 GRS to protect high-value sites in their territories. NPC Nations have also co-led a collaborative planning process to develop the Northern Shelf Bioregion Marine Incident Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Framework along with four sub-regional response plans to support its implementation. NPC Nations have also contributed to a number of policy initiatives, with a goal of enhancing and amplifying First Nations voices in all aspects of marine response. NPC Nations have worked cooperatively to raise the bar for marine preparedness and response by supporting one another to maximize their efforts to protect the water and lands they have inhabited and stewarded since time immemorial.
In October 2017, the North Pacific Coast First Nations (NPC Nations) established a collaborative First Nations Oceans Governance and Management Forum (FNOGMF) in which they have made a collective commitment to develop and implement localized arrangements for marine emergency preparedness and response in the Northern Shelf Bioregion of British Columbia. In June of the following year, the NPC Nations and Canada entered into a Reconciliation Framework Agreement (RFA) for Bio-regional Oceans Management and Protection. The RFA commits the NPC Nations and Canada to advance collaborative governance and management on a range of marine safety and spill preparedness initiatives, including “smaller scale response planning including work to identify and map regions of high ecological sensitivity as well as areas of cultural, social, and economic importance, and work to develop integrated response plans and strategies at multiple scales.” The Province of British Columbia joined the RFA in 2021.
In January 2018, NPC Nations held a workshop to promote collaboration across marine planning initiatives, and specifically to launch a First Nations-led geographic response strategy (GRS) development process to support broader marine response planning. Since then, NPC First Nations have surveyed over 550 sites and developed over 540 GRS to protect high-value sites in their territories. NPC Nations have also co-led a collaborative planning process to develop the Northern Shelf Bioregion Marine Incident Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Framework along with four sub-regional response plans to support its implementation. NPC Nations have also contributed to a number of policy initiatives, with a goal of enhancing and amplifying First Nations voices in all aspects of marine response. NPC Nations have worked cooperatively to raise the bar for marine preparedness and response by supporting one another to maximize their efforts to protect the water and lands they have inhabited and stewarded since time immemorial.
Authors
Marine Planning Program Coordinator
General Manager
Event Type
Paper
TimeWednesday, May 15th4:10pm - 4:30pm CDT
Location275-277
Preparedness