Socio-economics Capacity Building

Project Abstract:
Activities to be undertaken in this project are designed to develop the capacity of natural resource practitioners to access and use socio-economics knowledge, tools and indicators in policy, management and decision-making. These have been identified as research or extension priorities in the 10-year strategic plan of FIA-FSP’s Sustainability Program Advisory Committee (PAC) (Themes 3.3 and 3.4), the 5-year Provincial Forestry Extension Plan (Socio-economics and Aboriginal Forestry extension cluster priorities 5.0 and 6.0). FORREX’s Socio-economics Working Group members, in their Oct. 30, 2006 meeting, agreed that the vision of the Program should be to make people central to natural resource management. In other words, natural resource policies, decisions, and management should always consider the impacts on people with an interest in the resource. However, resource managers and practitioners in BC clearly lack the capacity to do so, despite many of the challenges facing them being related to socio-economic issues. The lack of opportunities for linkages and dialogue between those involved in the social sciences and decision makers and policy makers has been demonstrated in British Columbia through needs assessments, forums on social science and resource management, and by experience over the past seven years of the Socio-economics Extension Program.

The activities in this project involve networking and meetings between social scientists and practitioners, identifying the province’s socio-economics needs and expertise, developing a training course for practitioners and students in Social Science Basics, outreach and peer assistance in the use of social science in natural resources, and raising the profile of the role of social sciences in BC. Two meetings of the Socio-economics Working Group are planned during the year. The Working Group, made up of 14 members from diverse backgrounds, all leaders in the use or production of social science knowledge, is expected to be a pivotal group central to building socio-economics capacity in the province. A directory of available social science expertise relevant to the province’s needs will be updated. A curriculum on Social Science Basics intended to introduce natural resource practitioners and students in the use of socio-economics will be developed in collaboration with faculty, researchers, and students from SFU and other universities and user groups.

In June 2006, BC hosted the 12th International Symposium on Society and Resource Management (ISSRM) that attracted over 800 people involved in the social sciences and natural resources from across the world and BC. At the 12th ISSRM, exploratory discussions were initiated with ISSRM’s governing body, the International Association for Society and Natural Resources (IASNR) regarding a professional organization for practitioners and social scientists in BC – functioning as a chapter of the IASNR. This could provide formal and informal opportunities for meetings and networking between practitioners and social scientists in BC. The 13th ISSRM will be held in Park City, Utah. The Socio-economics Specialist will participate to continue these discussions. He will also help organize a session on Extension and will present a paper highlighting some of the major social science issues and studies in BC, and the role of FORREX as a provider of socio-economics extension.

For further information on this project, please contact ajit.krishnaswamy@forrex.org.