Ausenco’s Yukon-based team worked together with the Kluane First Nation to develop a toolkit using community-based research methods, including consultation with Elders, Youth, Council, department leads, community members, and groups working in the Kluane area.
Overview
The Kluane First Nation (KFN) Resource Development Sustainability Toolkit is a community-based framework that was developed to support and promote sustainable natural resource management across their traditional territory. The KFN’s goal was to move beyond broad policy statements, and create a tangible framework that incorporated the sustainability-related values and needs of KFN citizens. The goal was to create a set of tools that could support the assessment of proposed projects and their potential net benefits for KFN citizens now and in the future. The toolkit included aids in decision-making regarding the possible impacts and contributions to long-term well-being that resource development projects may have. Centered around KFN’s seven sustainability criteria (engagement, people, environment, economy, traditional use and traditional economy, governance, and adaptive management and monitoring), the toolkit can be applied to a variety of projects, both in terms of size and type.
Approach
Our Yukon-based team worked together with the KFN to develop the toolkit using community-based research methods, including consultation with KFN Elders, Youth, Council, department leads, community members, and groups working in the Kluane area. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to ensure that best practices were incorporated, to support the knowledge gained through such primary data collection methods as interviews and focus groups. Our team conducted community meetings throughout the project to shape the development of the framework and to share its progress. Our team also produced a brief plan language summary of the document for KFN leadership to use for educational purposes.
Results
The toolkit was created to reflect the values and priorities of KFN and its citizens, and to build their voice into the management of the nation’s resources. The framework and tools can be used to help measure and monitor KFN’s progress in achieving sustainable natural resource development. As a living document, this toolkit can be adapted and modified over time in response to changing values, priorities, and knowledge.