Transformative Politics of Nature Overcoming Barriers to Conservation in Canada

About this book

Transformative Politics of Nature highlights the most significant barriers to conservation in Canada and discusses strategies to confront and overcome them. Featuring contributions from academics as well as practitioners, the volume brings together the perspectives of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts on land and wildlife conservation, in a way that honours and respects all peoples and nature.

Contributors provide insights that enhance understanding of key barriers, important actors, and strategies for shaping policy at multiple levels of government across Canada. The chapters engage academics, environmental conservation organizations, and Indigenous communities in dialogues and explorations of the politics of wildlife conservation. They address broad and interrelated themes, organized into three parts: barriers to conservation, transformation through reconciliation, and transformation through policy and governance.

Taken together, the essays demonstrate the need for increased social-political awareness of biodiversity and conservation in Canada, enhanced wildlife conservation collaborative networks, and increased scholarly attention to the principles, policies, and practices of maintaining and restoring nature for the benefit of all peoples, species, and ecologies. Transformative Politics of Nature presents a vision of profound change in the way humans relate to each other and with the natural world.

Contents

List of Tables
List of Figures

Part A: Ceremony and Introduction
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1. From Politics to Transformative Politics: Wildlife and Species at Risk Policy in Canada / Beazley, Olive, and Finegan
Introducing Disruptions / Finegan

Part B: Barriers to Conservation in Canada
2. A Pathological Examination of Conservation Failure in Canada / Lemieux, Groulx, Swerdfager, and Hagerman
3. Who Should Govern Wildlife? Examining Attitudes across the Country / Williamson, Lischka, Olive, Pittman, and Ford
4. In a Rut: Barriers to Caribou Recovery / Boan and Plotkin
5. Enacting a Reciprocal Ethic of Care: (Finally) Fulfilling Treaty Obligations / McDermott and Roth
Disrupting Dominant Narratives for a Mainstream Conservation Issue: A Case Study on "Saving the Bees" / Colla
The Role of National Parks in Disrupting Heritage Interpretation on Turtle Island / Finegan

Part C: Transformation through Values
6. Reconciliation or Apiksitaultimik? Indigenous Relationality for Conservation / Pictou
7. "Etuaptmumk"/Two-Eyed Seeing and Reconciliation with Earth / McGregor, Popp, Reid, Marshall, Miller, and Sritharan
8. Beacons of Teaching Young Indigenous Knowledge as a Disruption to State-Led Conservation / Myhal
The Misipawistik Cree Nation kanawenihcikew Guardians Program / Cook

Part D: Transformation through Actions
9. Transforming University Curriculum and Student Experiences through Collaboration and Land-Based Learning / Zurba, Hache, Doucette, and Graham
10. Ecological Networks and Corridors in the Context of Global Initiatives / Hilty and Woodley
11. The Imperative for Transformative Change to Address Biodiversity Loss in Canada / Ray
Conservation Bright Spots: Focusing on Solutions Instead of Reacting to Problems / Frei
Disrupting Current Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation through Innovative Knowledge Mobilization / Nguyen

Part E: Conclusion and Ceremony
12. Concluding Remarks: Achieving Transformative Change: Conservation in Canada / Olive and Beazley
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Author Biographies

Customer Reviews

Biography

Andrea Olive is a professor in the Department of Geography, Geomatics, and Environment and the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Chance Finegan was most recently a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Karen F. Beazley is a professor emeritus in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University.