5. Designs for Life: Priority Threat Management and Nature-Based Plans

Written By alexa firmenich

“We use art to help us to work with our knowledge holders in a way that is non extractive and full of beauty and reciprocity.”

- Dr. Tara Martin

“It's amazing how many people make decisions about forests without ever being in the forest. Their problems come in envelopes and leave in envelopes.”

- Herb Hammond

 

SYNOPSIS:

Today we are joined by Dr. Tara Martin and Herb Hammond, who have pioneered fascinating methods in developing large-scale maps and management plans for biodiverse, high-priority conservation landscapes. What really sets them apart is their ability to integrate both cutting edge Western science and indigenous worldviews, a synthesis called ‘two eyed seeing’.

In these interviews, they debunk the misguided idea that separating humans from nature is the best way to restore and manage ecosystems, and show instead how human touch is vital in tending to the land. Tara and Herb are bridge builders, between the hard data science and predictive modelling, between governments and policy, along with private investment, and most importantly, the lived realities on the ground.

Dr. Tara Martin is a scientist, professor, and the founder of the Martin Conservation Decisions Lab at the University of British Columbia. We cover the basics of conservation decision science and “priority threat management” (a tool she’s pioneered) and discuss her lab’s work with First Nations across Canada, especially in the Fraser River Estuary, along with the role of art and beauty. Peppered throughout the interview are glorious descriptions of the eco-cultural landscapes that she’s worked tirelessly to protect.

Herb Hammond is one of the most respected elders in the space of nature-based planning. Herb started out as a conventional forester but soon became dispirited with the destructive practices of the industry, and went on to found The Silva Forest Foundation which he ran with his wife Susie for 30 years. Over the course of their career they’ve developed over 25 large scale nature-directed plans for Canada and around the world, upending ways that landscape management is conceived and implemented.

 
 

GUESTS BIOS:

Tara is a Professor in Conservation Decision Science with the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia. Tara is also the Liber Ero Chair in Conservation at UBC. She is a pioneer in the field of Conservation Decision Science – combining predictive ecological models with decision science to inform what actions to take, where to take them and when to achieve our conservation and natural resource management goals.

Tara leads a team of graduate students and research fellows seeking to understand, predict and ultimately inform decisions about the impact of global change on biodiversity and natural resources. Tara was recently awarded The Nature Conservancy Professor in Practice Award, Thomson Reuters Citation & Innovation Award for her work in Climate change decision making and a Wilburforce Conservation Fellowship. Tara is a member of the IUCN Climate Change Specialist Group and co-leads the Climate Adaptation Theme.

The full episode with Tara can be found here!

Herb Hammond’s career in British Columbia has centered on forestry, land based communities and natural systems. From his work as a conventional forester he went all the way to launching an embodied learning forestry school and The Silva Forest Foundation, which he ran with his wife Susie for over 30 years. They developed over 25 nature-based plans across Canada, and around the world, upending ways that large landscape management was done by communities.

Herb Hammond is a Registered Professional Forester with a B.Sc. in forest science and forest management and a M.F. in forest ecology and silviculture, with over 25 years of experience in applied research in soil and water degradation and practical planning systems, as an industry forester, as an instructor of silviculture and forest ecology, and as a consulting forester working with First Nations, environmental groups, and communities.

The full episode with Herb can be found here!

QUOTES:

Tara Martin

  • We may need to change the way we're doing our science to make it more usable, and to be asking the right questions in the first place.

  • The biggest threat to these ecosystems was the loss of First Nation stewardship. Almost all of our ecosystems actually need active management. They need people to help them to recover, which will involve some tree clearing and bringing back fire.

  • If we had a salmon sitting at the decision table, we would all speak differently. We would all think differently. We would all make different decisions. An elder in a meeting once brought a seat to the table and he said, this is the seat for the salmon.

  • These were the old growths. And we rarely think that these little herbaceous plants can also be ancient. Imagine the stories that this plant could tell, the different climates that's already lived through, all the different languages that it's heard…

  • We use art, to help us to work with our knowledge holders in a way that is non extractive and full of beauty and reciprocity.

Herb Hammond

  • What I do in the world is to be part of nature. That’s my goal.

  • It's not so much nature-based as it is nature-directed. Nature is in the driver's seat here.

  • I think that most people have lost touch with their hearts, and they they've lost touch with common sense that comes along with heart-based thinking.

  • Economies are a part of human cultures, and human cultures are a part of ecosystems. So it follows logically from that, that if you protect ecosystems, you will always have healthy cultures, and if you have healthy cultures, you defacto have healthy economies.

  • It's amazing how many people make decisions about forests without ever being in the forest. Their problems come in envelopes and leave in envelopes.

LINKS:

REGENERATIVE ECONOMICS

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[Full Length] The Indigenous View: with Joe Martin (Tutakwisnapšiƛ)
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[Full Length] Designs for Life — with Dr. Tara Martin