COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES - A CASE-STUDY FROM NORTHERN ONTARIO, CANADA

This paper analyzes the polifical dynamics of a hinterland locality and a provincial government participating together in a co-management initiative to formulate environmental resource policies. The concept of ''local dependency'' is adapted for a hinterland setting to evaluate the efficacy of a co-management initiative to allocate access to and manage fish and wildlife resources in northern Ontario, Canada. Results of a case study located in Ignace, Ontario indicate that despite efforts to engage in cooperation, features of local hinterland dependency affected both the process and outcome of the initiative. Broad involvement at the community level was restricted because specific local actors coalesced to skew participation toward a narrow set of economic values. Selected participants in the co-management exercise maintained close control over participation within the community and effectively became a conduit to the senior government for vocal sectors at the local level. The locally dependent status of committee members resulted in proposals for modest change, without an overall vision or commitment to implementation. Despite the claim that co-management will provide for greater grassroots involvement in natural resource policy decisions, the efforts in northern Ontario reflected conditions of local hinterland dependency by maintaining unequal access to power, both between senior and local governments and within the local governance structure.