<
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230809-how-indigenous-guardians-are-protecting-canadas-environment>
"Every year, when the frozen streams have melted and greenery emerges after
months of winter stillness, Dolcy Meness knows it's time. Packing their truck,
she and a colleague set off through the densely forested hills of Kitigan Zibi
Anishinabeg territory, an Algonquin First Nation in the province of Quebec.
After a few hours they reach their destination. Parking the truck, they make
their way through forest until reaching a narrow stream. Kneeling on its mossy
bank, Meness carefully places a small device in the water.
Over a period of one year, the device will collect data on the water's
temperature, PH, salinity and conductivity.
But even before any data is gathered, Meness and her colleague are on the look
out for indications that something is off. Seeing an unusually high amount of
sand in streams – which leaks into the water from logging roads – is one sign
they look out for, based on indigenous knowledge, says Meness.
"Brook trout use creeks, but they like rocks. Sand isn't a good breeding place
for them, so they have to look for a different place. It creates a change that
shouldn't be there," she says.
Using a "two-eyed seeing approach", Meness and fellow Nagadjitòdjig Akì
guardians draw on the strengths of indigenous knowledge alongside Western
science to monitor the impacts of extractive industries, like logging, on their
territory.
By collecting data on water quality in streams and rivers, they help determine
if companies are adhering to regulations.
"We can go to them and say: 'You're not doing your job properly, you're
destroying creeks when you're logging, you're not following your own rules,'"
says Meness."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-endometriosis-poverty-mexico-indigenous-canada/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
