Meaningful engagement of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in marine activities. Part II Report: Findings for Policy Makers.

Abstract

Indigenous peoples and local communities living in coastal communities in the Arctic have always depended on the sea for food, transportation, cultural and spiritual identity and social well-being. Increasingly, the sea is being shared with additional human-driven activities. These include industrial projects, marine management, scientific research, shipping, emergency response and tourism. All of these undertakings may affect people in Indigenous and local communities. Involving residents in such activities and engaging meaningfully with them is an ongoing process that builds a foundation on which problems can be solved or managed.1, 2 The increase in humandriven activities in the Arctic provides more instances and opportunities for regular meaningful engagement to build a strong foundation. The term “meaningful engagement” has no single definition. Nor does it have a one-size-fitsall approach for all activities. Meaningful engagement is understood to include a range of practices by government, industry and other actors seeking to operate in the Arctic. Different people and organizations may view meaningful engagement differently. An important first step in the process is to determine the purposes of the engagement in partnership with Indigenous peoples and local communities. Deciding how engagement will occur and which issues will be on the agenda is also key. Both sides—those engaging and those being engaged—should feel that engagement has been meaningful. Meaningful engagement may be shown by respecting culture and values, including Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge. Various factors are important to achieve meaningful engagement. These things include: • actors being engaged • culture being respected • consideration of a project’s timelines and size, and how they could impact communities • consideration of the location of communities, and • consideration of the nature of a proposed activity. Sometimes, legislation, treaties, land claim agreements or other regulations oblige governments and/or other entities to engage with Indigenous peoples and local communities. In these cases, meaningful engagement is a requirement that project, or activity proponents must fulfill.