Resource+management6

=Environmental Resource Management Definition:= **Environmental management** is not, as the phrase could suggest, the management of the //environment// as such, but rather the management of interaction by the modern human societies with, and impact upon the [|environment]. The three main issues that affect managers are those involving politics (networking), programs (projects), and resources (money, facilities, etc.). The need for environmental management can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. A more common philosophy and impetus behind environmental management is the concept of [|carrying capacity]. Simply put, carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of organisms a particular resource can sustain. The concept of carrying capacity, whilst understood by many cultures over history, has its roots in [|Malthusian] theory. Environmental management is therefore not the conservation of the environment solely for the environment's sake, but rather the conservation of the environment for humankind's sake.

Environmental management involves the management of all components of the bio-physical environment, both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic). This is due to the interconnected and network of relationships amongst all living species and their habitats. The environment also involves the relationships of the human environment, such as the social, cultural and economic environment with the bio-physical environment.

[] =Resource Management and the Great Whale Project:=

In the case of the Great Whale Hydroelectric Damn Project the resource is the rivers in Northern Quebec. This resource has varying utility to two prominent groups involved: The indigenous peoples who live in isolated communities of Northern Quebec where the damn was proposed to be built, and the non-indigenous people of Quebec and NE USA.

Indigenous People - Cree and Inuit
Subsistence hunting is an important part of indigenous traditional way of life. The rivers and surrounding area provide habitat for animals hunted by the indigenous people for subsistence. The rivers are just one very important part of what makes Northern Quebec a useful "resource" to the indigenous people for maintaining their way of life. The indigenous people are attempting to manage or preserve this resource by preventing it from being damaged or destroyed by non-indigenous development, namely hydroelectric damns. Normally their management is determined based on traditional knowledge and self regulation.

Non-Indigenous People - Quebec and NE USA
The rivers become a "source of utility" or a "resource" to the non-indigenous communities of Quebec and NE USA when hydroelectric damns are made to alter their flow patterns. The damns generate electricity which is used by these people as a source of energy. Among these people are those who value the rivers as habitat for other living organisms, namely environmental NGOs. Managing the resource so that both of these interests are met includes an environmental assessment, which determines the ecological value (western scientific knowledge) of the rivers and surrounding area and how this value will be impacted by the damns. Politicians then make a decision based on the values of society as to what must be preserved: cheap renewable electricity, biodiversity or protection of the values of indigenous people.

=Canadian Resource Management Overseas:=

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a Canadian Crown corporation that works in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.  Focuses of IDRC's Environment and Natural Resource Management Programs :
 * Ensuring secure sources of food and water for the poor in both rural and urban areas by focusing on institutional development, production technology, local resource management, and by appropriate policy choices;
 * Improving human health and well-being by better managing ecosystems;
 * Protecting local management and control of biodiversity in light of global initiatives and policies governing genetic resources.

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