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Biodiversity Conservation

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 uplifting the priorities of local First Nations.

Regional Forum

The CBT hosts regional gatherings in the spring and fall to bring together representatives from First Nations, local governments and organizations involved in environmental research, stewardship, restoration, and sustainable development. Structured as a roundtable, participants build relationships, provide updates about current and future priorities and projects, and learn about opportunities to connect and collaborate.

Find updates about the regional forum in our research blog. To learn more and attend, contact the CBT. 

Water Quality Monitoring

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 partnered with UW Tacoma since 2017. Access recent and historical data by contacting the CBT.

Iisaak Sin Hay Tiičmis - Regional Wildlife Coexistence Network

In collaboration with Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, the CBT is co-secretariat for the iisaak sin hay tiič mis (Respect all Life) Network/West Coast Vancouver Island Coexistence Network. Bringing together local community planners and stakeholders, including representatives from the tourism sector, municipalities, and nuučaan̓uł (Nuu-chah-nulth) communities. This working group collaborates to help humans and wildlife coexist in the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Region.

Through the late 2000s and early 2010s, the CBT supported a regional collaboration called the WildCoast Project (link to the wildcoast project primer document). Momentum and data from the initiative formed the basis for the establishment of The Iisaak Sin Hay Tiičmis network.

Westcoast Indigenous-led Stewardship Corridor

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. 

Clayoquot Salmon Roundtable

The CBT is an active member of the Clayoquot Salmon Roundtable. The purpose of the Clayoquot Salmon Roundtable is to:

  • build partnerships between First Nations, governments and stakeholders in a co-management process in order to develop and implement the best possible plan for the recovery and sustainable management of Clayoquot Sound’s wild salmon stocks; and
  • provide a forum for First Nations and sector organizations to provide formal, timely, local level advice and make recommendations to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) on decisions related to salmon harvest and stewardship.
Learn more

Clayoquot Archive

The CBT stewards a diverse collection of materials about the social and ecological development of Clayoquot Sound. Gathered largely through the 1990s during the “war in the woods” era, the materials range from: academic ecosystem research and field notes from the Clayoquot Biosphere Project; to historical newspaper clippings and environmental activism publications.

The archive is currently being reorganized and re-catalogued in preparation for its relocation to the soon-to-be-built Clayoquot Biosphere Centre. Contact the CBT to learn more about the archive.

WildCoast Project

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. 

TRANSECTS

The TRANSdisciplinary Education Collaboration for Transformations in Sustainability (TRANSECTS) is empowering emerging scholars, professionals and practitioners to become sustainability change makers through innovative and flexible intercultural, educational pathways that support academic and policy rigour, societal engagement and impact, and personal and community well-being.

TRANSECTS is made up of an international team of researchers and partners from Canada, Germany, and South Africa, with representatives from academia, Indigenous and rural communities, UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, governing agencies, international networks, and private and civil society organizations and foundations.

Learn more about TRANSECTS