THUNDER BAY — The Anishnawbe Business Professional Association’s president has been appointed to the board of directors of the international Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI).
The appointment of Jason Rasevych, a Ginoogaming First Nation member, “signals a major step forward in connecting Canadian Indigenous innovation with global conservation finance,” according to a news release this week from the professional association.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the RRI is a global coalition of non-governmental organizations promoting responsible forest use and community land rights.
The Anishinawbe Business Professional Association is a Thunder Bay-based non-profit organization for the First Nation business community in Treaty 3, Treaty 5, Treaty 9 and Robinson-Superior Treaty territories.
Besides being president of the association, Rasevych is a board member of Waawoono Consultancy and the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund.
“This appointment places northern Ontario at the helm of one of the world’s most influential coalitions,” Rasevych said Friday.
“It bridges the region’s success stories with the global mandate ensuring northern perspectives influence international conservation finance.”
Rasevych said he’s “blown away by the RRI’s massive reach — they’ve got over 200 organizations that are dedicated to advancing land and forest tenure reform.”
He said much of his career has been in forestry and “we only see half of Ontario forests that have First Nations as part of their forest management governance regime.
“We need to do a lot more there and a better job of honouring the treaties when it comes to sharing in decision making and benefits of the land.
“I think that the RRI’s unique structure provides a significant political and financial capability to bring funding to communities to explore and transform that area from a forestry perspective.
“The RRI plans to mobilize $10 billion by 2030 to support indigenous land rights, so I see this as a unique opportunity for me to work in that ecosystem and perhaps bring some finance to northern Ontario related to unlocking some of these opportunities for communities.”
Rasevych said his work in Wawanoo Consultancy has focused on “holding markets accountable through better reporting standards and unlocking wealth through Indigenous-led technology and nature-based solutions. I look forward to scaling these Canadian innovations to help RRI empower communities worldwide, ensuring they are the primary drivers of the global green economy.”
