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1 October 2018 IMALIRIJIIT: A Community-Based Environmental Monitoring Program in the George River Watershed, Nunavik,Canada
José Gérin-Lajoie, Thora M. Herrmann, Gwyneth A. MacMillan, Émilie Hébert-Houle, Mathieu Monfette, Justine A. Rowell, Tim Anaviapik Soucie, Hilda Snowball, Eleonora Townley, Esther Lévesque, Marc Amyot, Jan Franssen, Jean-Pierre Dedieu
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

There is increasing interest in community-based environmentalmonitoring (CBEM) in Canada's Northin response to the rising impacts of resource exploitation and climate change, and with increased recognition of indigenous knowledge. IMALIRIJIIT, meaning those who study water in Inuktitut, is a CBEM programinvolving science land camps, capacity-building workshops, and scientific data collection with the participation of youth, elders, local experts, and researchers. It was coinitiated by the Inuit community of Kangiqsualujjuaq (Nunavik, Quebec) and university researchers. This hands-on and landbased programaims to establish a sustainable environmental monitoring program of the George River, before the start of a rare earth elements (REEs) mining project in its upper watershed. The community was concerned about potential impacts on the river, as it is crucial to fishing, hunting, and gathering. The community therefore wanted its own independent and long-term environmental monitoring program to collect baseline data and promote local capacity-building. IMALIRIJIIT includes water-quality measurements, bio-indicators, contaminant and REE biomonitoring in traditional food, remote-sensing analysis of water-quality parameters and vegetation change at thewatershed scale, as well as interactive mapping of traditional ecological. IMALIRIJIIT outcomes and challenges are discussed to identify conditions for successful implementation of CBEM and environmental stewardship.

2018 Université Laval
José Gérin-Lajoie, Thora M. Herrmann, Gwyneth A. MacMillan, Émilie Hébert-Houle, Mathieu Monfette, Justine A. Rowell, Tim Anaviapik Soucie, Hilda Snowball, Eleonora Townley, Esther Lévesque, Marc Amyot, Jan Franssen, and Jean-Pierre Dedieu "IMALIRIJIIT: A Community-Based Environmental Monitoring Program in the George River Watershed, Nunavik,Canada," Ecoscience 25(4), 381-399, (1 October 2018). https://doi.org/10.1080/11956860.2018.1498226
Received: 23 November 2017; Accepted: 20 May 2018; Published: 1 October 2018
KEYWORDS
bassin versant de la rivière George
community-based environmental monitoring
éducation à l'Environnement
environmental education and stewardship
George River watershed
Nunavik
participatory action research
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