Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Beluga Whales: Local Documentation and Cooperative and Cooperative Application in Alaska

传统生态知识在许多领域具有潜在的好处，包括生物和生态研究、资源管理以及人类与自然界相互作用的其他方面。实现这些好处涉及文档，分析，应用和与其他形式的知识整合的相关步骤。亨廷顿（Huntington）关于白鲸TEK的研究探索了半指导性访谈作为记录TEK的实用方法，需要进一步研究以（a）探索TEK本地记录的潜力，（B）描述后续步骤可以使用TEK，以及（c）开发两者的模型。拟议的项目解决了三个相关问题：半指导性访谈方法能否成功使用或调整用于本地管理的TEK记录工作？在阿拉斯加白鲸委员会的合作管理环境中如何使用TEK？（1）和（2）的结果是否可以推广到阿拉斯加、北极或世界上的其他情况？为了解决这些问题，该项目有四个目标：TEK的本地文件：使用半直接访谈法，对白鲸的TEK进行本地管理的文件项目。TEK的应用：检查ABWC及其会议的结构、管理和进行，以评估TEK所扮演的角色。分析：将（1）和（2）的结果与阿拉斯加其他合作管理机构的现有信息进行比较，以及在阿拉斯加和其他地方使用TEK的其他尝试。研讨会：在项目的最后一年举办一次研讨会，总结和综合所学到的东西，评估这些结果如何有助于理解TEK及其使用，并确定未来的研究需求。这项研究将开发记录TEK和使用TEK的模型，以改善自然资源的研究和管理。这些模型将识别影响TEK文档和使用的重要因素，包括那些可能影响我们模型在其他环境中适用性的因素。

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) offers potential benefits in manyareas, including biological and ecological research, resourcemanagement, and other facets of human interactions with the naturalworld. Realizing these benefits involves linked steps of documentation,analysis, application, and integration with other forms of knowledge.While previous research by P.I. Huntington on TEK of beluga whales hasexplored the semi-directive interview as a practical method fordocumenting TEK, further research is needed to (a) explore the potentialfor local documentation of TEK, (b) characterize the subsequent steps bywhich TEK can be used, and (c) develop models for doing both.The proposed project addresses three related questions:Can the semi-directive interview methodology be successfully used oradapted for use in locally-managed efforts to document TEK? How is TEK used in the cooperative management setting of the AlaskaBeluga Whale Committee? Can the results of (1) and (2) be generalized to other cases in Alaska,the Arctic, or the world?To address these questions, the project has four objectives:Local Documentation of TEK: Conduct locally-managed documentationprojects, using the semi-directive interview method, on TEK of belugawhales. Application of TEK: Examine the structure, management, and conduct ofthe ABWC and its meetings to assess the role that TEK plays. Analysis: Compare the results of (1) and (2) with existing informationon other cooperative management bodies in Alaska, and other attempts touse TEK both in Alaska and elsewhere. Workshop: Hold a workshop in the final year of the project, to summarizeand synthesize what has been learned, to assess how these results havecontributed to understanding of TEK and its use, and to identify futureresearch needs.This research will develop models for documenting TEK and for using TEKto improve research on and management of natural resources. These modelswill identify significant factors influencing the documentation and useof TEK, including those that may influence the applicability of ourmodels in other settings.