Profile: Isa Elegbede

Mi’kmaw communities continue to face issues such as the recognition of territories and access, allocation of the fisheries, participation in governance and the systems of authority for decision making that allow for communal economic development.

A potential approach to these issues is the development of third party Indigenous community based sustainability certification standards for the American lobster (Homarus americanus) commercial fishery for Nova Scotia.

This study identifies the gaps, challenges and opportunities in Indigenous certification, adopts a participatory approach to policy analysis, and performs a secondary analysis of the research to glean information for supporting such a programme. Preliminary results indicate issues around the entry points to such certification that may be challenged in making traditional knowledge compatible with technical indicators.

Additional challenges include the cost of certification, and the recognition of territories, access and allocation of resources. Benefits include increased control over fisheries management, governance and rights, socio-economic benefit and capacity building for Mi’kmaw communities, improved relationships between stakeholders and market access. Indigenous certification of fisheries resources has been identified as a sustainable strategy to promote livelihood, lessen environmental and ecosystem impact reduction of the fishery.

Current (2020) Location: Germany
Current Activity: Rounding up PhD and defense,
Links:
Final Report