Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2017 Accountability, Conservation and Community: Measuring the Local Economic Impacts of Protected Areas Catharine A.M. Brazeau Wilfrid Laurier University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Brazeau, Catharine A.M., "Accountability, Conservation and Community: Measuring the Local Economic Impacts of Protected Areas" (2017). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 1917. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/1917 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Accountability, Conservation and Community: Measuring the Local Economic Impacts of Protected Areas By C. A. M. Brazeau Bachelor of Arts, University of Ottawa, 2015 THESIS Submitted to the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Environmental Studies degree Wilfrid Laurier University 2017 © C. A. M. Brazeau, 2017 0 Abstract As a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Canada has committed to help protect biodiversity through an increase in effectively and equitably managed systems of protected areas (PAs) by 2020. If Canada fulfills this commitment, the country will see the largest expansion of PA networks in its history. Although employing ‘equitable and effective management’ suggests PAs have a responsibility to consider their effects on local stakeholders, on the whole, Canada’s PA agencies do not publicly and systematically report on their jurisdictions’ local economic impacts. To address this gap, this thesis aims investigate mechanisms for PA agencies to identify and consider ecological-economic intersections within their regions, in order to inform approaches for PA managers to conduct community consultations related to their impacts. Twenty-seven participants from municipalities in the Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve used mapping activities, surveys and interviews to identify features they perceived to economically impact their area and wellbeing. Participants reported that tourism and agriculture were important to the economic fabric of the region; that activities involving wildlife (i.e. fishing and wildlife viewing) and the region’s cultural diversity helped generate local tourism; and that Riding Mountain National Park’s management decisions had varying effects, but tended to hold greater benefits for jurisdictions closer to the park’s central administration. The results underscored the importance of approaching stakeholder relationships geographically, since the impacts of decisions made by PA managers are felt differently among locals depending on their location around the PA boundary. To maintain constructive relationships between PAs and their local stakeholders, it is recommended that PA administrations undertake systematic community i consultations accompanied by subsequent self-reporting. It is further recommended that efforts be made to incorporate maps into community consultation processes. ii Acknowledgements I owe many thanks to my supervisor Dr. Scott Slocombe, whose knowledge, patience and quick turn-around times were tremendously helpful throughout this process. I would also like to thank my readers (Dr. Peter Deadman and Dr. Rob Milne) and my committee member (Dr. Bob Sharpe), who provided generous feedback. I am grateful to Dr. Mike Stone, Dr. Susan Elliot, Dr. Sean Doherty, Dr. Christopher Lemieux, Dr. Margaret Walton-Roberts, and the department’s graduate administrative staff, who all helped me conceptualize and complete my thesis in various ways. Thank you Kaitlin Kok, Fatima Sidaoui and Stephanie Pike, for all your kindness and for working alongside of me for many long hours. Thank you Laura Buchan for accompanying me on a 13 hour car ride around the Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve, and for sending me some beautiful photographs of the area. I am very grateful to those residing in the Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve who participated in my research. You upheld my (entirely unbiased) opinion that Manitoba is the best place in the world, filled with the best people. I also want to acknowledge my employers and colleagues in Riding Mountain National Park for giving me the time to complete my research and for being wonderful to work with. And of course, I would like to thank my weird family for a lifetime of support, love and laughter. You guys have made me one happy, lucky woman. iii Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................... viii List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................................. ix 1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Goals and Objectives ................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Introduction to the Literature Review ....................................................................................... 4 1.3 Introduction to the Methods and Methodology.......................................................................... 4 1.4 Thesis Outline .......................................................................................................................... 5 2.0 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................ 8 2.1 Nature-Society and Conservation ............................................................................................. 8 2.1.1 Nature and Society ........................................................................................................... 9 2.1.2 Nature and Wilderness Revised ............................................................................................. 13 2.2 Canadian Protected Areas ....................................................................................................... 16 2.2.1 History of Protected Areas with a Focus on Canada .............................................................. 16 2.2.2 ICDPs and Community Based Conservation .......................................................................... 20 2.2.3 Sustainable Integration and National Park Governance ........................................................ 24 2.3 Environmental Valuation, Mapping and Community Consultation .......................................... 29 2.3.1 Why Value Ecosystem Services? ............................................................................................ 30 2.3.2 Ecological Economics Toolbox.............................................................................................. 32 2.3.3 Maps and Locating Landscape Values ................................................................................... 34 2.4 Chapter Summary .................................................................................................................. 39 3.0 Methodology and Methods ............................................................................................................ 40 3.1 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 40 3.1.1 Qualitative Mixed-Methods ................................................................................................... 40 3.1.2 Case-Study Approach ............................................................................................................ 41 3.2 Case Study Rationale ............................................................................................................. 42 3.3 Methods ................................................................................................................................. 43 iv 3.3.1 Literature Review .................................................................................................................. 46 3.3.2 Document Review .................................................................................................................. 47 3.3.3 Surveys ................................................................................................................................. 47 3.3.4 Mapping Activities ................................................................................................................ 47 3.3.5 Interviews ............................................................................................................................