UNESCO Biospheres are recognized as sites for collaborative research and monitoring at local, regional, and international levels. Our research partnerships help us understand the complex, changing systems in which we live with a focus on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. We connect across disciplines, cultures, and boundaries while respecting the territorial rights of Indigenous people.
The CBT collaborates with the University of Washington Tacoma (UW Tacoma) to conduct ongoing water-quality research on the physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic conditions in the fjords of Barkley and Clayoquot Sounds. This water sampling project was launched in 2000, and the CBT has been in partnership with UW Tacoma since 2017.
The CBT is supporting the establishment of an Indigenous-led Stewardship Corridor that spans the entire west coast of Vancouver Island. As a co-secretariat of the iisaak sin hay tiičmis - Regional Wildlife Coexistence Network (SHT-RWCN), we've been engaged in regional conversation about terrestrial habitat conservation for years. The Indigenous-led Stewardship Corridor will help align the SHT-RWCN with other progressive land management initiatives along western Vancouver Island.
An initial steering committee composed of Chief Gordon Planes (S’ouke First Nation), Anna Atleo (Maaqtusis H’al Houthi Society, Ahousaht), and Jonquil Crosby (Malnuth Treaty Nations) joined partners Nitya Harris (Coexisting with Carnivores Alliance), Bob Hansen (WildsafeBC), and Laura Loucks (CBT) in February 2020 to begin planning. Check out the notes from the meeting.
The CBT is an active member of the Clayoquot Salmon Roundtable. The purpose of the Clayoquot Salmon Roundtable is to:
West Coast Aquatic, an environmental planning organization based in Port Alberni, initiated this documents database in 2003 in order to make information about the region from different sources more available. In 2005, the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust (CBT) and Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council's Uu-a-thluk Fisheries contributed to the development of the database. In 2012, the CBT further contributed to the database, including the addition of several collections relevant to Clayoquot Sound.
While it is a useful historical resource, the database is externally housed, no longer maintained, and may contain broken links. Please contact us for assistance if you encounter issues accessing the database.
Through the late 2000s and early 2010s, the CBT supported a regional collaboration to learn from local experience about large carnivores (primarily wolves and cougars), their ecology, and the relationship between people and carnivores in Clayoquot Sound.
Through a series of project phases, CBT supported and co-funded a collaboration between Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Central Westcoast Forest Society, Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society, and multiple Nuu-chah-nulth communities. Momentum and data from the initiative formed the basis for the establishment of The Iisaak Sin Hay Tiičmis network (see above). Learn more in the Wildcoast Project Primer document.
