Improving dialogue among researchers, local and indigenous peoples and decision-makers to address issues of climate change in the North

Abstract

The Circumpolar North has been changing rapidly within the last decades, and the socioeconomic systems of the Eurasian Arctic and Siberia in particular have displayed the most dramatic changes. Here, anthropogenic drivers of environmental change such as migration and industrialization are added to climateinduced changes in the natural environment such as permafrost thawing and increased frequency of extreme events. Understanding and adapting to both types of changes are important to local and indigenous peoples in the Arctic and for the wider global community due to transboundary connectivity. As local and indigenous peoples, decision-makers and scientists perceive changes and impacts differently and often fail to communicate efficiently to respond to changes adequately, we convened a meeting of the three groups in Salekhard in 2017. The outcomes of the meeting include perceptions of how the three groups each perceive the main issues affecting health and well-being and recommendations for working together better.

The Impact of Climate Change on the Food (In)security of the Siberian Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic: Environmental and Health Risks

“…Thus, reindeer can survive without lichen if there are many wet plants under the snow, such as horsetail and evergreen grasses, which contain many vitamins, proteins and microelements. Climate change in Siberia has had environmental effects, including inducing changes in species composition [100][101][102][103], the abundance of animals and plants [104][105][106] and annual biological cycles [2,107]. It has a strong influence on the grazing cover of reindeer pastures, especially in the central parts of the YNAO, where thinner snow cover, milder weather and shorter periods of low temperatures are favourable for reindeer because of the higher availability of forage.…”

“…It has impacted Indigenous traditional livelihoods, community social networks, and their lifestyle. Furthermore, the Indigenous Peoples are increasingly exposed to risks associated with climate change [1][2][3] which is presenting challenges for reindeer herders in the Arctic. In recent decades, Arctic and subarctic regions have experienced significant warming trends [4][5][6][7], which can have devastating environmental impacts [8].…”

“…By the end of the twenty-first century, the global mean temperature is expected to rise 1-5 • C [9]. This increase in temperature has already affected reindeer herding activities [10][11][12][13], traditional lifestyle, well-being and health of the Indigenous Peoples in Scandinavia and the Russian Arctic [1,2,14]. Adaptive capacity [15,16] and coping strategies [17] for changes in the terrestrial ecosystem caused by climate change are urgently required [14,18,19].…”

“What are you going to do, Protest the Wind?”: Community Perceptions of Emergent and Worsening Coastal Erosion from the Remote Bering Sea Community of St. Paul, Alaska

“…Previous literature demonstrates how differently individuals' lived experiences and shared histories affect how adaptation options are considered, prioritized, and implemented (Marin and Berkes 2013;Herman-Mercer et al 2016; Ambrosio-Albala and Mar Delgado-Serrano 2018; Mugambiwa and Rukema 2019). This is because, while collaborative approaches are key to instrumenting meaningful action (Callaghan et al 2020), they can also lead to discourse with divergent opinions which, despite the obstacles, are still important in facilitating mutual support for later decisions (Curtis and Hauber 1997;Blair et al 2014); Armitage et al 2007). Understanding community perceptions is also invaluable because it can reveal how community members understand the organizations and institutions responsible for leading adaption efforts, thus opening the door for conversations on the structural limitations and opportunities to support community-driven adaption planning (Ali et al 2019).…”

Soil organic carbon storage in a mountain permafrost area of Central Asia (High Altai, Russia)

“…Results are discussed in the context of a potential 'negative' permafrost C feedback on global warming in mountain areas. This paper contributes to a series of studies on Siberian environmental change (Callaghan et al 2021).…”