Scoping study of the impacts of fracking on indigenous reservations in Alberta using the Mauri Model decision making framework

Project purpose: Assist indigenous resistance to petrochemical exploitation of Papatūānuku

The programme of work to be carried out: Investigation and identification of fracking impact upon ecosystem and indigenous perspective of impact upon mauri of identified indicators using the Mauri Model decision making framework.

Day to day nature of the work: Investigations will be guided by collaborators in Alberta with collation of data and preliminary assessments conducted in Aotearoa. Preliminary scoping report will be provided to indigenous collaborators in Alberta and a preliminary assessment of the fracking industry with one specific case study completed within the ten week research window. The final report will be drafted in a form suitable for submission as a refereed conference paper or journal paper.

Skills the student will learn

1. Generic research skills documenting input from indigenous collaborators and discovering supporting evidence from the literature
2. Interpretation of the research question in terms of ecosystem indicators and the impact upon mauri
3. Analysis of results using the Mauri Model framework
4. Reporting skills – combining technical and cultural knowledge into an integrated report.