Participants heard the term ‘sustainable and sustainability’ throughout the two-day gathering. Presenters explained their projects related sustainability models that are current operating to varying degrees of success. However, participants acknowledged that in many cases projects that lose their funding are no longer sustainable and that it was “important to find economically viable ways to keep projects alive”.
An emphasis was placed on economic development as a great solution to this problem an that First Nations must also look outside the normal government funding channels and explore business development opportunities. Economic Development was identified as being critical to improving the quality of life and conditions in First Nations. Further, the incorporation of proven sustainable models was identified by participants as a best practice that could be used to fund small to mid-sized climate change projects.
