My name is Madeline McFadden and I am a Graduate Student enrolled in the joint Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo, Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program, pursuing a specialization in Resource Management. The thesis I will produce over the next two years, will be part of a larger research project being conducted at the University of Alberta. Throughout my research, I plan to work in collaboration with: Parks Canada, Ontario Parks, Conservation Areas, as well as, municipalities. The expected benefits of my research are to better prepare parks to respond in an efficient way to climate change induced risk. It is through my research, that I hope to encourage informed decisions concerning risk management and enhance collective action preparedness and response to risks, due to climate change in parks.
Risk Management:
Knowledge Sharing:
Risk management is defined as, “the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical
application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or
impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of
opportunities” (IGI Global, 2018).
Risk management is defined as, “the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities” (IGI Global, 2018).
Knowledge sharing is defined as, “a process whereby embedded knowledge is passed on from one product, routine, or process to another” (Knowledge Management Tools, 2018).
Case Study Areas:
I am responsible for two specific case study areas: Pinery Provincial Park and Bruce Peninsula National Park, where I plan to conduct research focusing on fire and tornado risk management in parks.
Pinery Provincial Park
Pinery Provincial Park welcomes approximately, “600,000 guests a year” (Grand Bend & Area Chamber of Commerce for Lambton Shores, 2013); however, there is not a risk management plan in place. A visiting population of this size could be detrimentally effected if an extreme weather event, such as a tornado, were to occur at Pinery Provincial Park.
Bruce Peninsula National Park
In Bruce Peninsula National Park, we are concerned with the potential for forest fires. We hope to interview both parks’ management and operations officials and discuss their current risk management plans. For park management and operations officials who do identify not having risk management plans in place, I hope to identify risk management plans with my research that have been successful in other parks, and aid in the facilitation of such risk management plan implementations.
My research will focus on how and why knowledge is (and is not): used, produced, shared and managed, in each case study context. One must understand that: having risk management plans focused on extreme events and being able to effectively execute such plans in the case of extreme events, are completely different. Accessibility of risk management information is critical in the successful endurance of such extreme climate-induced events.
Grand Bend & Area Chamber of Commerce for Lambton Shores. (2013). Tourism Report Lambton Shores 2012. (2nd ed.). Expanded Horizons, 1-21 pp., Lambton Shores.
IGI Global. (2018). What is Risk Management. Retrieved from https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/risk-management/25424
Knowledge Management Tools. (2018). Knowledge Sharing. Retrieved from http://www.knowledge-management-tools.net/knowledge-sharing.html