Perspective: Dimensions of Environment and Health in Arctic Communities

Abstract

In the Arctic, environment and health are linked in myriad ways. A key emphasis has been on numerous long-lived contaminants in traditional foods, particularly marine mammals, and their well-documented impacts on human, animal and environmental health ("One health approach"). More recent concerns for Indigenous communities focus on the (side) effects of the switch to a modern, processed diet, which is accompanied by a loss of tradition and emerging health impacts. Furthermore, the availability of traditional foods is increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change, which also causes the emergence and spread of new and old diseases, such as anthrax. Climate change, including thawing permafrost and new forest fire regimes, threatens the built environment and infrastructure. In particular, well-built, planned, and healthy housing is urgently needed, given that much time is spent indoors. Health care, particularly for remote and Indigenous communities, is sparse, and often ignores traditional knowledge and local languages. Indigenous communities in the Arctic continue to suffer from marginalization, resource colonization/extraction, and the impacts of racism. Recent examples of the green energy transition, such as in Norway, continue a pattern of ignoring Indigenous rights and lifestyles. Overall, the connection between environment and health in the Arctic is multifaceted and complex, and investigations and solutions ought to embrace an interdisciplinary and holistic approach toward improving Environmental and Human Health in the region.

Climate Change and Human Health in the Arctic: A Review

“…From the 56 reviewed papers, 53 in English and 3 in Russian were included in the Table . A total of 25 papers discuss the impacts of climate change on human health across various Arctic regions, addressing factors such as an increase in the mean annual or seasonal temperatures, alterations in precipitation patterns, sea level rise, permafrost degradation, and others. These changes pose heightened risks to overall human health in its different aspects (8) [45][46][47][48][49][50][51], including infectious disease, which represent a significant and frequent category regarding mortality and morbidity (13) [52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64], and mental health conditions (4) [63][64][65][66]. The remaining 31 papers focus on specific consequences of climate change, including extreme weather events like heat waves or cold spells, or cold climate implications in general (12) [67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80].…”

“…Due to the complex and interconnected nature of climate change consequences, which can sometimes have cascading effects, it is challenging to separate them and their associated health outcomes. Hence, authors often address them within a single research agenda to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issues [44,46,49,50]. As an example, M. Brubaker et al [45] demonstrated the multifaceted impacts of climate change as heightening vulnerability to injury, disease, mental stress, and food and water insecurity [43].…”

“…Additionally, there is (iv) an increase in mental stress and psychological strains [43][44][45]. Individuals face (v) heightened exposure to environmental toxins, leading to health issues [46,49]; (vi) elevated risk of vector-borne diseases [46]; (vii) challenges related to food and water insecurity [44,45,49,50]. Moreover, there is (viii) a rise in accidents during subsistence activities like hunting and harvesting, as well as while traveling [43,46,48].…”

“…Furthermore, climate change, including phenomena like permafrost thawing, coastal erosion, sea level rise, and alterations in forest fire risks, pose threats to the infrastructure, built environment [48][49][50], and medical care system, which is particularly critical in the remote Arctic communities, where access to health services and delivery is paramount [44].…”

“…These health challenges are deemed crucial across all Arctic regions [49], in particular, spanning communities in the USA (Alaska) [45], Norway [47], Canada's northern regions [44,46,48], and the Russian Far North [50,51].…”