Reducing Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Arctic: The Case of Nunavut, Canada

Ford, James D.; Pearce, Tristan; Smit, Barry; Wandel, Johanna; Allurut, Mishak; Shappa, Kik; Ittusujurat, Harry; Qrunnut, Kevin

doi:10.14430/arctic240

Cited by 90 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Indigenous knowledge systems, built on experiential knowledge that is not static but constantly evolving can, therefore, potentially bolster resilience of SESs by improving natural resource management, restoration, and conservation, and developing strategies for adapting to modern environmental problems (Berkes et al 2000, Folke et al 2002b, Jolly et al 2002, Berkes and Turner 2006, Senos et al 2006, Berkes 2009, Wildcat 2009, Green and Raygorodetsky 2010, Nakashima et al 2012, Turnhout et al 2012, Watson et al 2012, Gómez-Baggethun et al 2013, Lake 2013, Turner and Spalding 2013, Emery et al 2014. Although there is some concern that IK may not be as reliable in the face of rapid climate change and increased uncertainty, proponents of IK for improved adaptation and increased resilience of SESs in uncertain times stress that the benefit is derived less from a specific piece of knowledge, and more from the hyperawareness gained through the knowledge-development process, and the inherent worldview that fosters a responsibility to treat the environment more like a relative than resource (Ford et al 2007, Nakashima et al 2012, Wildcat 2013). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunities to utilize traditional phenological knowledge to support adaptive management of social-ecological systems vulnerable to changes in climate and fire regimes

Armatas¹,

Venn²,

McBride³

et al. 2016

E&S

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ABSTRACT. The field of adaptive management has been embraced by researchers and managers in the United States as an approach to improve natural resource stewardship in the face of uncertainty and complex environmental problems. Integrating multiple knowledge sources and feedback mechanisms is an important step in this approach. Our objective is to contribute to the limited literature that describes the benefits of better integrating indigenous knowledge (IK) with other sources of knowledge in making adaptive-management decisions. Specifically, we advocate the integration of traditional phenological knowledge (TPK), a subset of IK, and highlight opportunities for this knowledge to support policy and practice of adaptive management with reference to policy and practice of adapting to uncharacteristic fire regimes and climate change in the western United States.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunities to utilize traditional phenological knowledge to support adaptive management of social-ecological systems vulnerable to changes in climate and fire regimes

Armatas¹,

Venn²,

McBride³

et al. 2016

E&S

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show abstract

“…Adaptive capacity helps to offset impacts and includes preconditions that enable adaptation such as flexibility, learning, social organization and assets, all of which are necessary for successful adaptation (Nelson et al 2007;Cinner et al 2009b). Both adaptation and adaptive capacity occur at multiple scales and successful adaptation often requires linkages across scales (Adger et al 2005;Ford et al 2007). These components define our framework for understanding the social impact of climate change in marine fisheries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitional states in marine fisheries: adapting to predicted global change

MacNeil

Graham

Cinner

et al. 2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Global climate change has the potential to substantially alter the production and community structure of marine fisheries and modify the ongoing impacts of fishing. Fish community composition is already changing in some tropical, temperate and polar ecosystems, where local combinations of warming trends and higher environmental variation anticipate the changes likely to occur more widely over coming decades. Using case studies from the Western Indian Ocean, the North Sea and the Bering Sea, we contextualize the direct and indirect effects of climate change on production and biodiversity and, in turn, on the social and economic aspects of marine fisheries. Climate warming is expected to lead to (i) yield and species losses in tropical reef fisheries, driven primarily by habitat loss; (ii) community turnover in temperate fisheries, owing to the arrival and increasing dominance of warm-water species as well as the reduced dominance and departure of cold-water species; and (iii) increased diversity and yield in Arctic fisheries, arising from invasions of southern species and increased primary production resulting from ice-free summer conditions. How societies deal with such changes will depend largely on their capacity to adapt—to plan and implement effective responses to change—a process heavily influenced by social, economic, political and cultural conditions.

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“…The qualitative scenario process described here provided such an opportunity. Although each of the presented options provides differential benefits depending on the type of future conditions that emerge, their broad applicability makes them key candidates for pinpointing ''win-win'' or ''no regrets'' measures (Ford et al 2007;Handmer 2003).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using qualitative scenarios to understand regional environmental change in the Canadian North

Wesche

Armitage

2013

Reg Environ Change

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This paper discusses the application of qualitative scenarios to understand community vulnerability and adaptation responses, based on a case study in the Slave River Delta region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Three qualitative, graphic scenarios of possible alternative futures were developed, focusing on two main drivers: climate change and resource development. These were used as a focal point for discussions with a crosssection of residents from the community during focus groups, interviews and a community workshop. Significant overlap among the areas of perceived vulnerability is evident among scenarios, particularly in relation to traditional land use. However, each scenario also offers insights about specific challenges facing community members. Climate change was perceived to engender mostly negative livelihood impacts, whereas resource development was expected to trigger a mix of positive and negative impacts, both of which may be more dramatic than in the ''climate change only'' scenario. The scenarios were also used to identify adaptation options specific to individual drivers of change, as well as more universally applicable options. Identified adaptation options were generally aligned with five sectors-environment and natural resources, economy, community management and development, infrastructure and services, and information and training-which effectively offer a first step towards prioritization of ''no regrets'' measures. From an empirical perspective, while the scenarios highlighted the need for bottom-up measures, they also elucidated discussion about local agency in adaptation and enabled the examination of multi-dimensional impacts on different community subgroups. An incongruity emerged between the suite of technically oriented adaptation options and more socially and behaviourally oriented barriers to implementation. Methodologically, the qualitative scenarios were flexible, socially inclusive and consistent with the Indigenous worldview; allowed the incorporation of different knowledge systems; addressed future community vulnerability and adaptation; and led to the identification of socially feasible and bottom-up adaptation outcomes. Despite some caveats regarding resource requirements for participatory scenario development, qualitative scenarios offer a versatile tool to address a range of vulnerability and adaptation issues in the context of other Indigenous communities.

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Reducing Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Arctic: The Case of Nunavut, Canada

Cited by 90 publications

References 61 publications

Opportunities to utilize traditional phenological knowledge to support adaptive management of social-ecological systems vulnerable to changes in climate and fire regimes

Opportunities to utilize traditional phenological knowledge to support adaptive management of social-ecological systems vulnerable to changes in climate and fire regimes

Transitional states in marine fisheries: adapting to predicted global change

Using qualitative scenarios to understand regional environmental change in the Canadian North

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