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2000 SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES AWARD
Call for Nominations
Nominations are now being received for this year's Sustainable Communities
Award - an award of recognition given by Ecology Action Centre's Environment
and Development Committee.
Each year an award is given to a Nova Scotian community or community-centred
organization that demonstrates leadership and commitment to the environment
socio-economic development of their community. The award is based on the
following criteria: demonstration of ecologically-appropriate development,
efforts to improve economic self-reliance, increased community control over
their local resources, and an ability to build a community culture.
The communities of Sambro and Bear River, and the community organizations,
Mi'Kmaq Fish and Wildlife Commission and Clean Annapolis River Project are
past recipients of the Sustainable Communities Award. These winners exemplify
respect for the relationship between environmental, economic, social and
cultural considerations within a vision of a healthy community.
If you live in or know of a community engaging in local
environmentally-appropriate socio-economic development projects please
nominate it.
Eligibility
This award is open to any Nova Scotian community or community-oriented
organization. Individuals and business enterprises are not eligible. Anyone
may nominate a candidate. Self-nominations are welcomed. See the Sustainable
Communities Award description of past award winners for the range of
possibilities in candidates.
Information Requested. Please submit a 2-4 page letter including the
following:
ú Name of nominated community or organization
ú Community contact information, including contact person
ú Description of community's incorporation of environmental priorities into
development, such as reducing energy consumption, re-using waste, or ecosystem
planning
ú Description of innovative/alternative approaches to development problems
ú Description of steps taken to create a cooperative community culture
ú Description of tangible results, such as improved environmental conditions
Submit nominations to:
Ecology Action Centre
Attn: Cheryl Benjamin
1568 Argyle Street, Suite 31
Halifax N.S. B3J 2B3
telephone 429-2202 / fax 422 6410
Deadline: March 31, 2000
The Ecology Action Centre's
Environment and Development Committee
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES AWARD
The Environment and Development Committee is part of Nova Scotia's Ecology
Action Centre, the province's oldest environmental organization. Since 1987,
the Committee has been working through research, education and advocacy, to
support sustainable communities locally and world-wide. The Committee
highlights connections between the environment and the economy, and between
the North and the South ('developed' and 'under-developed' nations), focusing
attention on the challenge of creating an economy which fits sustainably
within the ecosystem, and which works for people and their communities, rather
than the other way around.
The Sustainable Communities Award is presented annually by the Environment and
Development Committee to a community or community-centred organization in Nova
Scotia that has shown leadership and commitment to the principles of
sustainability, recognizing the need for environmental, economic, social and
cultural well-being within a vision of a healthy community. The award winners
illustrate how people in communities can work together to take greater control
of their economic future and ensure a quality environment through a local
economy that serves local needs, provides sustainable jobs and promotes
fairness. The award winners have demonstrated success in:
ú ensuring economic activity is ecologically appropriate and resources are
sustainably used
ú improving economic self-reliance through community-based development
ú building community spirit and a community culture along with economic
development
In addition, the Environment and Development Committee looks for
demonstrations that innovative/alternative approaches are being tried, and
tangible results are being obtained.
Past award winners (and finalists) have included the communities of Bear
River, Sambro, Cheticamp, Johnstown, and Cow Bay, and the following
community-based organizations: the Southwest Nova Fixed Gear Association, the
Clean Annapolis River Project and the Mi'Kmaq Fish and Wildlife Commission.
1999 Sustainable Communities Award Winner:
The Mi'Kmaq Fish and Wildlife Commission
The Mi'Kmaq Fish and Wildlife Commission was formed by the Assembly of Nova
Scotia Chiefs to coordinate and facilitate the use and management of natural
resources, such as fish, forests and wildlife, by Mi'Kmaq people in Nova
Scotia. the MFWC seeks to "improve management of food resources for the
benefit of communities today and for Mi'Kmaq in generations to come". This is
carried out through province-wide and community-level activities, guided by
Mi'Kmaq tradition, culture and respect for nature. The MFWC, and
community-level bodies connected with it, has an impressive range of
accomplishments over a relatively short time period. These include:
ú community development of harvesting plans for resources such as eels, moose
and trees.
ú enhancing the sense of responsibility for conservation among Mi'Kmaq
harvesters.
ú incorporation of ecosystem-based thinking within the fabric of resource
management.
ú implementation of training programs, such as a program to improve harvesting
and safety practices among Mi'Kmaq fishermen.
ú studies of traditional ecological knowledge - the knowledge of the natural
world accumulated over time by harvesters and communities - among the Mi'Kmaq
in Guysborough County.
ú participatory research involving Mi'Kmaq harvesters and communities, as well
as joint work with non-native organizations, such as an upcoming study on Bay
of Fundy lobster resources.
ú public education, including a newsletter to all Mi'Kmaq households and
participation in public meetings, strengthening support for the Commission's
efforts and for traditional Mi'Kmaq concepts of resource management.
1998 Sustainable Communities Award Winner:
Sambro
Sambro, a community on Nova Scotia's Atlantic coast near Halifax, has a
strong historical base in the fishery, having been among the province's major
fishing centres. While hard hit by the collapse of the groundfish fishery,
Sambro has displayed remarkable community spirit both in its approach to
maximizing the benefits it receives from very limited fishery resources, and
in its efforts to diversify the local economy:
ú In 1995, Sambro pioneered local-level management in the groundfish fishery,
as the first location to institute a 'community quota', a share of the
available harvest that local fishermen manage themselves. This approach has
proven so successful that it has now expanded to the full fixed-gear inshore
fishery on the Scotian Shelf and in the Bay of Fundy. Fishermen in Sambro
credit the approach with having stabilized, and essentially saved, their local
fishery.
ú Sambro has demonstrated a strong cooperative approach, in which fishers
share the available resources, fish processors join forces, rather than
compete destructively, and those in the fishery support, through the Fishermen
and Scientists Research Society, cooperative efforts to bring fishers together
with scientists to learn more about the fish and ocean conditions.
ú Sambro has worked hard to diversify the local economy, through
environmentally appropriate aquaculture and efforts to develop a local beach
as a tourist attraction, while protecting the coastal environment at the site
from excessive damage and preserving the historical Sambro lighthouse.
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The preceding message was posted on the Sustainable Maritimes
mailing list (sust-mar). http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/lists/sust-mar
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Sponsors: Chebucto Community Net http://www.chebucto.ns.ca
Sierra Club - Chebucto Group http://www.sierraclub.ca
Volunteer listowner: Paul Falvo sust-mar-owner@chebucto.ns.ca
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