Maritime Awards Society of Canada

Dalhousie University has been awarded internship placements in the CIDA International Youth Internship Program (IYIP) beginning in the spring of 2011. The IYIP is a youth internship program designed to give young Canadian professionals (ages 19-30) with a university/college degree(s) the opportunity to gain valuable international development work experience.

The application deadline for the next group of IYIP internship placements is Friday, April 1, 2011, 4 pm (AST). The internship opportunities are listed below as well as the application process. Selected interns should be available for the required pre-departure session during the week of April 25, 2011 (TBC) AND available to start the internship placement at the host institution in June 2011.

Eligibility Criteria

• Be between 19 and 30 years of age
• Have graduated from a university or college program by the time the internship placement begins
• Be unemployed or underemployed
• Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident legally entitled to work in Canada
• Have not previously participated in a program funded by CIDA’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES)

NEPTUNE Canada: Realtime, continuous, interactive information from the coast to the deep sea.
Dr. Mairi M.R. Best, Associate Director – Science, NEPTUNE Canada, University of Victoria
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 | 3:30 – 4:30 pm
Harry Hickman Building, Room 105, University of Victoria
ABSTRACT: NEPTUNE Canada is operating an 800km, 5‐node, regional cabled ocean network across the northern Juan de Fuca Plate, northeastern Pacific as part of the Ocean Networks Canada Observatory. Public data flow started in 2009 and instruments continue to be added to this technically challenging system which provides the continuous power and bandwidth to collect integrated data on physical, chemical, geological, and biological gradients at temporal resolutions relevant to the dynamics of the earth‐ocean system. Initial experiments were planned through a series of workshops and international competitions. At inshore Folger Passage, Barkley Sound, understanding controls on biological productivity help evaluate the effects that marine processes have on fish and marine mammals. Experiments around Barkley Canyon allow quantification of changes in benthic activity with nutrient and sediment transport. There and north along the mid‐continental slope, instruments on gas hydrates allow monitoring of changes in their distribution, structure, biotas and venting. Circulation obviation retrofit kits (CORKs) at mid‐plate ODP 1026‐7 monitor real‐time changes in crustal temperature and pressure, particularly related to events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hydrothermal convection or regional plate strain. At Endeavour, Juan de Fuca Ridge, complex interactions among volcanic, tectonic, hydrothermal and biological processes will be quantified at the western plate edge. Across the network, high resolution seismic data elucidates tectonic processes such as earthquakes, and a tsunami system allows determination of open ocean tsunami amplitude, propagation direction, and speed. The data is freely available through a Web 2.0 environment, and the infrastructure has capacity for experiments and instrumentation to expand from this initial suite. Visit neptunecanada.ca for information and opportunities.

The Pacific Climate Seminar Series, jointly hosted by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) and the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC), takes place every third Wednesday of the month from 3.30 to 4.30 pm at the University of Victoria. All seminars will be available via live webcast at http://www.pics.uvic.ca/broadcast.php. This seminar will also be available at http://pacificclimate.org/resources/seminars/

Many Voices, One Sea
The Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference is the largest, most comprehensive scientific research and policy conference in the region. The 2011 conference, co-hosted by Environment Canada and the Puget Sound Partnership, presents the latest scientific research on the state of the ecosystem. The conference also shares information on recent management actions and best practices to protect and restore the Salish Sea Ecosystem. Through these dialogues, the conference emphasizes the importance of collaboration among scientists and policymakers to solve complex environmental issues that cross political borders.

Join us in furthering our collective understanding of the unique and precious ecosystem that is the Salish Sea. Together, we will explore the state of the science, build our management capability, and reinforce our strong foundation of research of policy. The exciting, dynamic program creates opportunities for peer-to-peer interactions, cultural celebrations, knowledge transfer, and practical collaborations. Enjoy workshops, special sessions, field trips, keynote speakers, and other engaging events throughout the conference.

For more information, please visit www.salishseaconference.org

Call for Sessions
The Conference Steering Committee is inviting proposals for sessions for panel presentations, interactive sessions, and facilitated panels that will encourage interdisciplinary and transboundary collaboration and networking among scientists, policy-makers, students and other stakeholders. For more information, please click here

Join us for what continues to be North America’s largest and most comprehensive scientific research and policy conference on the Salish Sea region.

Ruta Fluxgold and Judith Leckrone Lee
Co-Chairs, 2011 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

A message from Dan Lane, Chair – Ocean Management Research Network

In March of 2010, the OMRN met with representatives of several oceans and coastal network organizations in Canada at the ‘Oceans and Coasts Networks Summit’ to form the Oceans and Coasts Network-Canada (OCN-Canada). The purpose of these meetings was to discuss opportunities for coordinating our mutual efforts around raising awareness of our oceans and coasts. The summit resulted in an OCN-Canada Vision Statement that conceived the idea of a series of ‘Policy Briefs’ on oceans and coasts open to all members of our respective networks as a means of disseminating the interest and expertise of our collective memberships.

The OMRN invites current OMRN members to participate in the OCN-Canada Policy Briefs program, as a contributor and a reviewer. Topics for consideration as a ‘Policy Brief’ are specifically referred to in the OMRN 2009 Post-Conference Synthesis Summary Report. The summary report captures salient aspects of the 2009 OMRN Conference presentations representing the diverse interests of researchers, managers, students, NGOs, industry, and consultants on topics of our oceans and coasts and following the three conference themes: (i) Ocean’s Governance; (ii) Ocean’s Accountability; and (iii) Canada’s Arctic. As an OMRN member, your expert contribution to this series – to be disseminated widely – will be a welcome addition to what promises to be a provoking and ongoing series of interest to politicians, communities, academics, and the general public on important issues around our oceans and coasts. More details about the OCN-Canada Policy Brief process are available in the OCN-Canada Vision Statement and on the OMRN website, www.omrn-rrgo.ca/smc/home.php.

On behalf of the OMRN membership, join us in participating in the policy briefs program as a contributor and reviewer. We ask that you acknowledge your affiliation, expertise, and interest in the OCN Canada Policy Briefs program by completing the OCN Canada Policy Brief Submission Intent Form, and forwarding it to the OMRN Network Secretariat. Please note the deadline for submitting your intent form is November 30^th, 2010.

Elizabeth De Santo, Assistant Professor
Marine Affairs Program
Dalhousie University

Wednesday October 6, 2010
12:30 – 1:30 PM

Room 3089
Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building
6100 University Avenue, Dalhousie University Campus

Abstract:
This paper examines the implications of environmental justice in the regime for Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) currently developing in the European Union (EU). An ‘ecosystem-based approach’ to marine management is enshrined in the new Integrated Maritime Policy and Marine Strategy Framework Directive and forms the basis of MSP. This concept is intended to encompass all aspects of an ecosystem, including the human element. Yet the modes of including meaningful public participation in the decision-making process for MSP remain undetermined. At the same time, the Aarhus Convention (on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters) empowers non-governmental organisations to hold EU Member States to account. Consequently the issue of transparency will gain increased importance, as will linkages between human and environmental rights. Such public interest-based activism on the part of NGOs has the potential to enforce the developing framework for stakeholder engagement within MSP, but it also has implications worth considering regarding the appropriate role of interest-based organizations in the international political arena. The author’s version of the published paper is available here.

Call for Contributions
People in Places: Engaging Together in Integrated Resource Management
June 26-29, 2011
Halifax, NS, Canada

• To be considered for funding: Deadline September 15, 2010
• General Call for Contributions: Deadline January 31, 2011

If you are interested in attending People in Places, and are hoping for funding to cover expenses, we need your abstract submitted by September 15, 2010 at the very latest.  Our deadline is soon because we are applying for funding from SSHRC, and need to include the names and abstracts of those who require funding.  Although we cannot guarantee funding, we hope to provide funding for as many attendees as possible. We are especially interested in relaying this offer to community based groups who have practical experience in integrated resource management, but who lack the financial support needed to attend.  Please forward this to your interested colleagues and friends.

The Coastal Community-University Research Alliance (Coastal CURA) announces a conference in June, 2011, focusing on the inclusion of resource dependent communities, including Aboriginal communities, in processes of spatial planning, integrated management and natural resource management. In addition to resource-based and aboriginal communities, the meeting will be of interest to governments, universities (academics and students), community based management and networking organizations, civil societies and NGOs, and small scale natural resource industries – all those interested in finding ways to engage together to better manage natural resources.

Conference Overarching Theme: How can place-based communities become better engaged in natural resource integrated management?

Conference Subthemes:

1. Participatory action research towards innovative change
2. Knowledge mobilization and transformative learning
3. Engaging with power, relationship building and governance
4. Enhancing resilient livelihoods and natural environments

The focus of the conference on “People in Places: Engaging Together in Integrated Resource Management” reflects the Coastal CURA emphasis on building knowledge and capacity to support community initiatives and community involvement in managing coasts and oceans, and specifically to support the ecological, social and economic well-being of place-based communities, through cooperative research and capacity building, and through building community-oriented governance of local natural resources. A partnership of First Nations communities, fishery-related organizations and university participants, the Coastal CURA (www.coastalcura.ca) carries out site-specific and policy-level research relating to local-level use and management of fisheries, coasts and oceans. A key goal for the 2011 meeting is to achieve a synthesis of what we have learned over the past several years, by engaging with others from around the world who are dealing with similar issues.

The “People in Places” conference will promote productive discussion, brainstorming, frank exchanges and collective learning among all those with an interest in better local resource management. The focus will be on sharing experiences to promote collective learning, critical thinking about key management problems, and creative thinking about new policy options.

The meeting will balance attention to spatially-defined resource management (e.g., oceans, watersheds, and coastal zones) and sectoral resource management (e.g., local fisheries, community forestry, wildlife management).

Call for Contributions: All those with an interest in the themes of this conference are welcome to attend. In addition, those who wish to present a specific contribution at the conference are welcome to submit a proposal by the deadline January 31, 2011.

Since this conference will go well beyond a typical academic format, to include not only sessions of contributed paper presentations but also a range of innovative formats for sharing information and ideas, organizers are encouraging ‘creative thinking outside the box’ in participant contributions. Therefore, proposed contributions (whether individual or group) can take a variety of forms, such as:

• Poster and Paper Presentations
• Community Forum Sessions on “hot button issues”
• Evening Short Film and Documentary Sessions
• Facilitated Discussions
• Cultural Productions (Video, theatre, photo displays, poems, etc.)
• Story-telling and Community Testimonials
• Knowledge Sharing: Project experiences and field reports
• Innovative Technology Displays for Industry Partners
• Student-led Sessions or Discussion Groups
• Other – We are open for suggestions!

Participants will be notified by February 28th, 2011, about acceptance of their proposal, and will be asked to confirm their attendance through payment of the registration fee by March 31, 2011. There will be a limited number of travel bursaries available to offset direct costs of conference attendance for those in need of financial support.

Submission Requirements: Please submit your abstract online at http://www.coastalcura.ca/peopleinplaces2011.html

More information on the Coastal CURA and our upcoming conference can be found on our website: www.coastalcura.ca. Any additional inquiries can be directed to:

Madelaine Patterson, Coastal CURA Coordinator
Room 213E Atrium Building, Saint Mary’s University
923 Robie St., Halifax, NS B3H 3C3
t: 902.420.5003 f: 902.491.6406
coastalcura@smu.ca

Climate change is affecting the biogeochemistry of the ocean. The ocean serves as a sink for large quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide, but this ecosystem service comes at a price: the dissolution of carbon dioxide acidifies seawater, which affects the ability of marine organisms to form calcareous shells and skeletons. Efforts to manage both the causes and effects of acidification are beginning. For example, the Center for Biological Diversity and Environmental Protection Agency recently reached a settlement on using the Clean Water Act to address ocean acidification. This is one of the tools that may help ocean and coastal managers respond to the potentially devastating impacts of climate change on the marine environment.

Panelists representing the scientific, nongovernmental, federal, and regulated communities will address the litigation, legislation, and research being undertaken and developed to address these changing ocean conditions:

Panelists:

Dr. Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science, Smithsonian Institution
William Snape, Senior Counsel, Center for Biological Diversity
Christine Ruf, Senior Policy Analyst, Watersheds Branch, US Environmental Protection Agency

Call for Papers & Contributions

People in Places: Engaging Together in Integrated Resource Management

June 26-29, 2011 | Halifax, NS, Canada

The Coastal Community-University Research Alliance (Coastal CURA) announces a conference in June, 2011, focusing on the inclusion of resource dependent communities, including Aboriginal communities, in processes of spatial planning, integrated management and natural resource management. In addition to resource-based and aboriginal communities, the meeting will be of interest to governments, universities (academics and students), community based management and networking organizations, civil societies and NGOs, and small scale natural resource industries – all those interested in finding ways to engage together to better manage natural resources.

Conference Overarching Theme: How can place-based communities become better engaged in natural resource integrated management?

Conference Subthemes:

1. Participatory action research towards innovative change
2. Knowledge mobilization and transformative learning
3. Engaging with power, relationship building and governance
4. Enhancing resilient livelihoods and natural environments

The focus of the conference on “People in Places: Engaging Together in Integrated Resource Management” reflects the Coastal CURA emphasis on building knowledge and capacity to support community initiatives and community involvement in managing coasts and oceans, and specifically to support the ecological, social and economic well-being of place-based communities, through cooperative research and capacity building, and through building community-oriented governance of local natural resources. A partnership of First Nations communities, fishery-related organizations and university participants, the Coastal CURA (www.coastalcura.ca) carries out site-specific and policy-level research relating to local-level use and management of fisheries, coasts and oceans. A key goal for the 2011 meeting is to achieve a synthesis of what we have learned over the past several years, by engaging with others from around the world who are dealing with similar issues.

The “People in Places” conference will promote productive discussion, brainstorming, frank exchanges and collective learning among all those with an interest in better local resource management. The focus will be on sharing experiences to promote collective learning, critical thinking about key management problems, and creative thinking about new policy options. The meeting will balance attention to spatially-defined resource management (e.g., oceans, watersheds, and coastal zones) and sectoral resource management (e.g., local fisheries, community forestry, wildlife management).

Call for Contributions: All those with an interest in the themes of this conference are welcome to attend. In addition, those who wish to present a specific contribution at the conference are welcome to submit a proposal by the deadline January 31, 2011.

Since this conference will go well beyond a typical academic format, to include not only sessions of contributed paper presentations but also a range of innovative formats for sharing information and ideas, organizers are encouraging ‘creative thinking outside the box’ in participant contributions. Therefore, proposed contributions (whether individual or group) can take a variety of forms, such as:

• Poster and Paper Presentations
• Community Forum Sessions on “hot button issues”
• Evening Short Film and Documentary Sessions
• Facilitated Discussions
• Cultural Productions (Video, theatre, photo displays, poems, etc.)
• Story-telling and Community Testimonials
• Knowledge Sharing: Project experiences and field reports
• Innovative Technology Displays for Industry Partners
• Student-led Sessions or Discussion Groups
• Other – We are open for suggestions!

Participants will be notified by February 28^th, 2011, about acceptance of their proposal, and will be asked to confirm their attendance through payment of the registration fee by March 31, 2011. There will be a limited number of travel bursaries available to offset direct costs of conference attendance for those in need of financial support.

Submission Requirements:

Please submit your abstract online at http://www.coastalcura.ca/peopleinplaces2011.html

More information on the Coastal CURA and our upcoming conference can be found on our website: www.coastalcura.ca. Any additional inquiries can be directed to:

Madelaine Patterson, Coastal CURA Coordinator
Room 213E Atrium Building, Saint Mary’s University
923 Robie St., Halifax, NS B3H 3C3
t: 902.420.5003  f: 902.491.6406
coastalcura@smu.ca

We received the attached from the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area Initiative (PNCIMA) Planning Office today and are passing it along as a service to readers of the MASC Blog:

Attached (PNCIMA Engagement Strategy May 30 10) you will find a revised version of the PNCIMA Initiative Engagement Strategy. The content of the Strategy has been strongly shaped by several rounds of discussion over the past year with diverse interest groups, including First Nations, user groups, environmental groups, coastal communities, and federal, provincial and local governments. A draft version of the document was circulated for public review in March and April 2010. Members of the PNCIMA Planning Office and Bilateral Coordination Steering Committee invited feedback by mail, phone, and email, and convened numerous stakeholder and community meetings, visiting Skidegate, Masset, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Campbell River, Port Hardy, Shearwater, Bella Coola, and Vancouver.

On behalf of the PNCIMA Planning Office and Steering Committee, we’d like to thank all those who provided input or participated in these meetings. The review generated significant feedback that has informed revisions to the Engagement Strategy and will also inform the development of other documents, such as workplans for the PNCIMA initiative that outline what will be addressed in the planning process and Terms of Reference for the Integrated Oceans Advisory Committee (IOAC) and Working Groups. As one of the first steps towards implementing the Strategy, stakeholder groups have been invited to identify participants in the IOAC.

The full scope of public feedback we received on the Strategy is summarized in video recordings and notes from each meeting and a Proceedings Report, all available at www.pncima.org. However, we’ve also described some of the key points of feedback that you’ll see integrated into the revised Engagement Strategy in the table (in the attached document PNCIMA Engagement Strategy Cover Note June 3 10) for easy reference.

The Engagement Strategy is intended to be a “living” document, which the PNCIMA Planning Office will continue to modify as we learn about what works and what can be improved. Ongoing public feedback will be critical to informing these modifications.

Sincerely,
The PNCIMA Planning Office