October 20, 2004 for immediate release

The University of Northern British Columbia today released A Strategy for a Community Information, Knowledge and Learning System, the fourth in a series of publications about BC offshore oil and gas.

The unique strategy, developed in partnership with Jacqueline Booth andAssociates, proposes a user-friendly system to help citizens gatherinformation and learn about the issues surrounding offshore oil andgas. It is meant to encourage public participation in the discussionabout offshore oil and gas in a way that is meaningful to localcommunity members.

“This project builds on the longstanding recognition that the peopleand communities closest to prospective offshore oil and gas developmentneed to be fully engaged in all aspects of possible development, andthat to do this, they need information and understanding about keyissues,” said Norman Dale, Program Manager with UNBC’s Northern CoastalInformation and Research Program (NCIRP). “A key part of the proposedapproach is that communities would be directly involved in creating asystem for ongoing learning about the challenges of the offshore.”

This research report is the fourth in the NCIRP series, the UNBCCommunity-Collaborative Studies on British Columbia Offshore Oil andGas. NCIRP is a program of UNBC’s Northern Land Use Institute. Fundingwas provided by the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines.

Copies of A Strategy for a Community Information, Knowledge and Learning System,as well as other NCIRP publications, can be downloaded fromwww.unbc.ca/nlui/ncirp or ordered at cost from Peggy Crough: fax (250)960-5545 email croughp@unbc.ca