ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the ways in which traditional knowledge has been applied to resource development, specifically to identify where further research would be useful. In Canada, the James Bay Hydro Project was an early example of attention to traditional knowledge in the planning and impact assessment of resource development. Resource development offers economic benefits to northern communities, and also entails risks of environmental, social, and cultural disruption. Resource development typically requires a considerable amount of information on many topics. Resource development decisions, especially concerning environmental impact assessments, have become a highly technical, specialized field. The government-to-government consultation process in Alaska led to the documentation of traditional knowledge for the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) permitting process for discharges from oil and gas platforms in Cook Inlet, southern Alaska. The EPA has continued to invest in traditional knowledge studies on the North Slope of Alaska, also in regard to offshore oil and gas activity.