Partners
The Pacific IPCA Innovation Centre (formerly known as the Pacific IPCA Knowledge Hub) will foster relationships and bring together the best of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems for the restoration and conservation of biocultural diversity. The work of the Pacific IPCA Hub aims to serve Indigenous Nations and governments in the establishment of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) by coordinating knowledge sharing activities, curriculum, research, and events with partners from academia, Indigenous NGOs, civil society, all levels of government, and the private sector.
A combination of virtual, classroom, and land-based educational programming will be offered through a network of virtual and satellite campuses. Programs are designed and delivered in Ethical Space, including workshops on diverse aspects of IPCAs, productive retreats, field schools, language and culture programs with local knowledge holders and artists, as well as conferences and events. Partners will include experts in conservation biology, ecology, ethnoecology, ecological restoration, Indigenous knowledge and food systems, governance, and Indigenous languages and cultures.
Initial activities of the Pacific IPCA Innovation Centre were funded by the Canadian Mountain Network, now known as Braiding Knowledges Canada, between April 2021 and March 2024. Founding collaborators of the project include the IISAAK OLAM Foundation (co-lead), Vancouver Island University's Master of Community Planning department (co-lead), the University of Victoria's Civil Engineering Department and Indigenous Law Faculty, the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership, the IPCA Innovation Program at MakeWay, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Department of Environment and Development of the University for Peace in Costa Rica, the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty at UBC, the Assembly of First Nations' Environment Sector, T'Sou-ke First Nation, RJC Engineering, the Canadian Wildlife Service, West Coast Environmental Law, the Canadian Parks Collective for Innovation and Leadership, and Roots to Roofs.
Learn more about IPCA Innovation Centres.
The IISAAK OLAM Foundation founded the Pacific IPCA Innovation Centre and co-led the Pacific IPCA Hub initiative funded by the Canadian Mountain Network, now known as Braiding Knowledges Canada. We support program and curriculum development and have collaborated with Vancouver Island University on the design and launch of the IPCA Planning Advanced Certificate, Canada's only post-secondary program dedicated to supporting Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs).
The Pacific IPCA Innovation Centre is in its fourth year of existence.
Beyond the Pacific IPCA Innovation Centre, IOF has engaged in early conversations about the establishment of an IPCA Innovation Centre in Manitoba. Capacity development efforts have also been supported in the Northwest Territories and Southern Ontario, helping to lay the groundwork for future regional centres. Exciting momentum is continuing to build in the Atlantic region, where interest in creating an Innovation Centre is steadily growing.
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