A biologist's perspective on amalgamating traditional environmental knowledge and resource management

Recent transitions in resource management and recognition of the role of First Nations in resource management have heightened the need for conciliation of these two different views of the world and the place of people in it (world view). Efforts to amalgamate these diverse perspectives in resource management are impeded by a legacy of cultural imperialism and difficulties in understanding and accommodating differences in world views, including the place of resource management in society, the meanings and implications of incongruent language, the management of people and resources, and the characteristics of information and knowledge. We examine the consequences of each of these to the establishment of a unified management system that emphasizes points of commonality and is based on respect and communication.