Oil and Gas Research Program Now Complete
Publications Will Help to Increase Understanding of Issue
June 15, 2005 for immediate release
The University of Northern British Columbia today marked the conclusion
of the Northern Coastal Information and Research Program (NCIRP) with the
release in Prince Rupert of the final two
publications in the research series, UNBC
Community-Collaborative Studies on British
Columbia Offshore Oil and Gas.
The photo at right shows former Northern Land
Use Institute Director John Backhouse speaking at the news conference
today in Prince Rupert. The event was held at the new Northwest Community College / UNBC campus in the community.
“NCIRP has played a key role in the ongoing discussion about
one of the most critical issues in British
Columbia today,” said Dr. Charles Jago, UNBC
President. “I want to recognize those involved with the program for their hard
work and their commitment to raising the level of dialogue and understanding
about offshore oil and gas.”
Research conducted through NCIRP has accomplished three key
outcomes:
- It has produced a series of seven publications that will add substantially to the understanding of BC offshore oil and gas issues;
- No other recent studies have involved as much participation, collaboration and input from residents of the Queen Charlotte Basin (QCB); and,
- NCIRP publications will allow the people of BC, and specifically residents of the QCB, to better inform themselves and take a greater role in discussions and decision-making around offshore oil and gas.
Voices From The Coast: The Collected Stories of Coastal BC
Community Members Involved in the Research and Discussion of Oil and Gas is a collection of interviews with local citizens on
their experiences with the oil and gas issue. All of the people profiled in the
publication have been members of the Community Guidance Group, two-dozen
residents of diverse backgrounds who hold a wide spectrum of opinions on the
oil and gas issue. The second publication, Undercurrents2: A Citizens’
Guide to the Projects, Publications and Outcomes of the Northern Coastal
Information and Research Program, provides an
overview of NCIRP.
“Voices From The
Coast exemplifies the level of commitment to
working with communities upon which NCIRP was founded,” said Dr. Max Blouw,
UNBC’s Vice-President of Research. “Each of the research reports in this series
was unique in the way it undertook community collaboration. All broke new
ground and gave local people an unprecedented role in the analysis of key
issues about offshore oil and gas.”
NCIRP has been a program of UNBC’s Northern Land Use
Institute. Funding was provided by the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines. Copies
of all seven publications in the NCIRP series can be downloaded from
www.unbc.ca/nlui/ncirp or ordered at cost from Debbie Krebs: fax (250)
960-5746; email krebsd@unbc.ca
CONTACT
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media & Public Relations,
UNBC – 250.960-5622