ID: 2096
Presenting Author: Lara Durksen
Session: 725 - After the Assessment – Where’s the Value and What Happened in the End?
Status: pending
Summary Statement: Presentation of research on the inclusion of Indigenous value components vs. economic measures in Alberta oil and gas impact assessment reports.
Canada’s oil and gas industry uses impact assessments (IA) to unjustly prioritise economic gains over the well-being and values of Indigenous communities who bear the weight of negative impacts. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review of ecological economics, Indigenous geography, and political economy within a settler colonial lens, themes in Indigenous value components (IVC) and economic measures are identified to situate this research. Through a thematic inductive analysis of six National Energy Board reports for IAs in the Alberta oil and gas industry, using NVivo, this presentation answers the questions: What measures and components were used to inform impact assessment reports prepared by the NEB for the last major oil and gas projects approved under CEAA 2012, and is the application of the measures and components to the impact assessment process reflective of Indigenous values? Results identified nearly six times as many IVCs than economic measures within the reports and illustrate the deep interconnection between IVCs but not the economic measures. Findings demonstrate that despite the inclusion of IVC information, there is still a need to recognize, and meaningfully engage with the values of Indigenous communities impacted by development. This research demonstrates that one element necessary for appropriately co-constructing projects with Indigenous rightsholders is to utilize culturally appropriate valuation tools in IAs, as it is fundamental for the validity of the information communicated in IA reports and final approvals.
Lara Durksen recently completed her Master of Arts in Geography at the University of Guelph, studying valuation and decision making in Canadian impact assessments. Lara works in the IndigenERA lab.
Coauthor 1: Diana Lewis