Abstract
Common property arrangements govern the subsistence harvest of berries in the Gwich’in region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Some of these arrangements, including rules for resource access, sharing information and harvest sharing, enable the Gwich’in to deal with ecological variability. The rules change in response to year-to-year variations in the abundance and distribution of the species, spatially and temporally across the region. This paper illustrates the interrelationships between ecosystem dynamics and local institutions, a neglected area of commons research.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the community researcher, Christine Firth; Teetl’it Gwich’in women from Fort McPherson; members of the Teetl’it Gwich’in Renewable Resources Council; Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board; and the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute. Special thanks to Peter Clarkson, Ingrid Kritsch, Janet Winbourne, and Pippa Hett-Seccombe. The research was funded by the Sustainable Forest Management Network and supported by the Gwich’in Renewable Resource Board. Parlee also received support from a University of Manitoba Doctoral Research Fellowship and from the Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP). Berkes’ work was also supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program.
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An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10745-006-9061-x
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Teetl’it Gwich’in Renewable Resources Council., Parlee, B., Berkes, F. et al. Indigenous Knowledge of Ecological Variability and Commons Management: A Case Study on Berry Harvesting from Northern Canada. Hum Ecol 34, 515–528 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-006-9038-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-006-9038-9