Resource compensation and negotiation support in an aboriginal context: Using community-based multi-attribute analysis to evaluate non-market losses

Compensation for losses of non-market values experienced by aboriginal peoples, due to adverse impacts on their land or resource base caused by others, is an important issue for law and social justice. Yet the standard methods of economic valuation as a basis for determining compensation are not always suited to addressing the diverse values of aboriginal people. This paper discusses an approach to valuation that employs concepts and methods of decision analysis, informed by behavioral decision research, in an applied context. It uses a multi-attribute value assessment as a basis for characterizing the relative significance of resource damages that affect deeply held, complex, intangible values. We draw on the experience of conducting analyses for three Metis settlements in Alberta, Canada, to illustrate the approach using a case study. Interpretations of the results as a basis for negotiation regarding compensation are examined.