Date

For more information on the NAMMCO Conference on Users Knowledge and
Scientific Knowledge in Management Decision Making, and to obtain a
preliminary registration form, please see the web site:

http://www.nammco.no/

or contact the NAMMCO Secretariat:
North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO)
Polar Environmental Centre
N-9296 Tromso, Norway
Phone: +47/7775-0180
Fax: +47/7775-0181
Email: nammco-sec [at] nammco.no

Conference on Users Knowledge and Scientific Knowledge In Management
Decision Making
Reykjavik, Iceland

4-7 January 2003

The background for the NAMMCO Conference is the disagreements and often
direct conflicts between whalers, sealers, and fishermen on the one hand
and scientists on the other. Disagreements and direct conflicts exist
between these two groups with respect to resource management in general
terms, and with respect to, for example, the actual numbers of animals
found in an area, their migratory routes, feeding habits and biology.
The managers are usually not aware of this conflict. The management
decisions are predominantly based upon western-based knowledge system of
science, although co-management programs exist.

While marine mammal management has great impact on the resource-users,
their knowledge about resources is not included in the same manner as
science, in management decisions.

Knowledge held by users (also referred to as traditional or local
knowledge) is typically thought of as being separate, if not
fundamentally different, from scientific knowledge. The ways the
knowledge is gathered and stored appears different, how it is
transmitted and used differ, and the focus of the scientists and the
users may be different. So not only is the type of knowledge held by
users and scientists different, but also their ways of knowing. This
increases the possibility for conflict and makes it difficult to find a
common ground for solving questions of resource management.

The comparison between the two systems of knowledge will establish how
they differ, how they are similar, and where they converge. The
conclusions from this comparison will aid the discussion on how
management decisions best can be based on both user knowledge and
science. The goal of the Conference is to find ways to incorporate user
knowledge into the management decision-making process in parallel with
science.

  • The target groups are managers, users and scientists, and others
    interested in the topic.
  • The Conference will include lectures, presentations and panel and open
    meeting discussions.
  • The Conference language will be English with simultaneous
    interpretation to Greenlandic and a Scandinavian language.

For more information please contact the NAMMCO Secretariat by:
Phone: +47/7775-0180
Fax: +47/7775-0181
Email: nammco-sec [at] nammco.no

or mail:
North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO)
Polar Environmental Centre
N-9296 Tromso, Norway

You can also visit our web site:
http://www.nammco.no/