PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 2: Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Monday, August 8, 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Room 513 C, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Ecological impact studies in the Bahamas: using social sciences to fill in the knowledge gaps.
Audet, Christen *,1, 3, 4, Epp, Gary*,2, 5, 1 Gartner Lee Ltée, Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada3 ENGREF (National rural, water and forest engineering school), Paris, 75732 CEDEX 15, France4 INRA (National Agronomy Research Institute), Ivry-sur-Seine, 94205 CEDEX, France2 Earth Tech Canada, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada5 International Association for Impact Assessment, Fargo, ND 58103, USA
ABSTRACT- Ecological impact assessment can be biased without adequate baseline information. In the case of a proposed expansion of Nassau airport (Bahamas) into an adjacent area dominated by shallow inland mangroves, scientific information on local ecological features and functions was inadequate. Due to time constraints, the study team turned to a method in social sciences known as combined expert/informant surveying. One-on-one interviews with local experts (focusing on a particular ecological aspect) and with key local informants (with a focus on general overall knowledge) served to efficiently gather empirical information on the study area (ecological functions, faunal sightings, special features, rare species, expected fish species, etc.). In the absence of a more formal public consultation process, this was also an opportunity to discretely ask for opinions on anticipated impacts and preferred mitigation techniques. This information was then validated by comparing interview notes with collected field data and available documentation. Such an approach is used more typically to identify cultural values in the landscape (i.e. ethnoecology). In this case, it served to assemble and complete information on a natural ecosystem. An unintended outcome was greater legitimacy in the eyes of the local regulatory agencies: the resulting report was praised as a model for future such impact studies in the Bahamas. There may have been other experts off the island with greater knowledge resources. However, key local experts had been consulted.
Key words: Bahamas, combined expert/informant survey, ecological impact studies, public consultation