IEG specializes in applied environmental and cultural research. Our breadth of expertise provides a strong technical background for interdisciplinary project work.
Planning for sustainable human land use requires understanding the socio-economic, cultural and ecological trade-offs associated with land-use decisions. To help clients make informed decisions, we provide defensible, transparent, and science-based information on the interactions between human land use and ecosystems. In doing this, we focus on land management, biodiversity, and traditional (indigenous) land use and knowledge.
Together with our clients, we:
Reclamation is ecosystem repair following human activity, and is a critical aspect of sustainable human land use. IEG provides extensive mine reclamation expertise, including:
Most importantly, we assist our clients in understanding the role of reclamation in overall watershed function, and how reclamation actions contribute to larger landscape performance goals. Further, we use our expertise in community engagement and cultural research to assist with stakeholder engagement in the closure planning process and to inform reclamation objectives and indicators for achieving traditional land-use goals.
In the last five years, we have worked on over 15 mine sites in western and northern Canada, and have analyzed data from sites around the world. We provide these services both independently and as a partner with larger, multi-disciplinary teams, often working closely with O'Kane Consultants and BGC Engineering.
IEG’s collective scientific expertise provides a comprehensive foundation for designing and implementing long-term monitoring programs to evaluate vegetation and ecosystem health. These programs include assessing air-pollution impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, and evaluating the effects of anthropogenic stressors, such as industrial activities and forestry.
Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is indigenous ways of thought and information about the relationships of living things (including humans) with each other and their environments. Accumulated over generations, TEK provides a unique and valuable perspective and can inform and improve resource-management decisions, land-use planning, reclamation, and conservation strategies.
IEG supports documentation of TEK and facilitates the sharing of this information among Aboriginal communities, industry, and government agencies. We specialize in participatory research and community engagement-based cultural research to link TEK with western science understanding. We document and archive traditional knowledge, as well as incorporate TEK to inform land-use and reclamation planning to meet cultural and environmental objectives.
IEG provides a wide range of consulting services to inform and support communities, governments and corporations in formulating sound technical and strategic positions, strengthening technical products, and engaging in multi-stakeholder and regulatory processes.
Facilitation of workshops, community engagement sessions, and multi-stakeholder meetings are a key focus of IEG’s work on many interdisciplinary projects that engage parties with distinct interests. IEG provides facilitation expertise on projects working with government, indigenous, and industry sectors.