The Co-Management Commons (CMC) is a knowledge mobilization “project”, and a comprehensive resource dedicated to the concept and practice of fish and wildlife co-management, particularly in a Canadian context. The project provides a guide to open access resources, including research publications, reports, news, and educational materials related to co-management. The project was initiated by Jamie Snook, Ph.D.  Jamie works in the field of co-management, and researches, and teaches the topic.

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The project has three core components.

 

I - Open access database

There are drawbacks when research is behind a paywall, and like all other disciplines, the study of co-management has experienced this same evolution. Where co-management in the context of this project involved Indigenous Peoples, the drawbacks and harms are multiplied. This project aims to collate open access literature on the co-management topic and serve as a hub for those engaged in the practice of implementing co-management with Indigenous Peoples. Bringing awareness to these open access resources and privileging them is for the benefit of Indigenous societies.

 

II - Commons Chatbot

The CMC project is experimenting with a custom artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot so learners in this field can have access to the latest technology and not be left behind when there are technological advances. The technological advancements of AI present ethical challenges, therefore to be transparent about the data sources of the Commons Chatbot will be shared through open science principles, and the four core values from the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.

 

III - Podcast

The CMC project includes a podcast produced by Cloudberry and is an open educational resource (OER). There is a scarcity of open access resources related to co-management research, and an even more scarce number of open educational resources. The podcast format has been chosen because of its growing popularity, its low bandwidth requirements, the flexibility it offers learners, and the ability to produce and disseminate with relatively low cost barriers for their creation, and the free access to learners.

 

In summary, the Co-Management Commons website serves as a hub for information and resources on co-management in Canada, with a particular focus on Indigenous communities and natural resource management. It aims to promote understanding, collaboration, and sustainable practices in the management of Canada's natural resources.