Vulnerability of Community Infrastructure to Climate Change in Nunavut: A Case Study From Arctic Bay

Ford, James D.; Bell, Trevor; St-Hilaire-Gravel, Dominique

doi:10.1007/978-90-481-9174-1_5

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although the analysis of local indicators of climate change appears to growingly attract the interest of the scientific community, especially in the natural sciences, the field suffers important weaknesses: primary data on the topic are not abundant, the methodological development is incipient, and the geographical extent is unbalanced. Furthermore, there have been very few previous attempts to classify local indicators of climate change, all of them using data from a single case study . The field could, therefore, benefit from (1) building more closely on the experience of social scientists working with local peoples, (2) homogenizing the methodological approach, and (3) covering previously neglected geographic areas or climatic regions.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local indicators of climate change: the potential contribution of local knowledge to climate research

Reyes‐García

Fernández‐Llamazares

Guèze

et al. 2015

WIREs Climate Change

159

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Local knowledge has been proposed as a place-based tool to ground-truth climate models and to narrow their geographic sensitivity. To assess the potential role of local knowledge in our quest to understand better climate change and its impacts, we first need to critically review the strengths and weaknesses of local knowledge of climate change and the potential complementarity with scientific knowledge. With this aim, we conducted a systematic, quantitative meta-analysis of published peer-reviewed documents reporting local indicators of climate change (including both local observations of climate change and observed impacts on the biophysical and the social systems). Overall, primary data on the topic are not abundant, the methodological development is incipient, and the geographical extent is unbalanced. On the 98 case studies documented, we * Victoria.reyes@uab.cat.The authors declare they do not have any conflict of interest. Europe PMC Funders Group

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local indicators of climate change: the potential contribution of local knowledge to climate research

Reyes‐García

Fernández‐Llamazares

Guèze

et al. 2015

WIREs Climate Change

159

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…2005; Symon et al. 2005), and complex emerging vulnerabilities associated with these changes (Ford, Smit & Wandel 2006). Vulnerability as a concept for analysing impacts to communities typically indicates susceptibility to negative impacts or degradation from change (Adger 2006), and can be defined as “the conditions, determined by environmental, social, economic and political factors and processes in a system, which make the system more susceptible to harm” (UNISDR 2004).…”

Section: Vulnerabilty and Changing Arctic Livelihoodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2005), and the influence of technological and social changes on perceptions of weather, climate and other environmental conditions (Walsh et al. 2005; Ford, Smit & Wandel 2006; Gearheard et al. 2006).…”

Section: A Case Study Of Weather and Herdingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A reindeer herder’s perspective on caribou, weather and socio-economic change on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Non‐climate variables shape vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change. Here, we describe how recent environmental and socio‐economic developments have transformed reindeer herding and perceptions of weather on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. The reindeer industry has shrunk considerably since the early 1990s, when the winter range of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd expanded, and over 17 000 reindeer mixed with migrating caribou and left the region. Socio‐economic and environmental repercussions make the continuation of herding tenuous, and erode the ability of herders to cope with weather variability, among other perturbations. We present a case study of one herder's annual cycle, and juxtapose physical drivers of herding activities, including weather‐station and herder observations of local weather variability, with socio‐economic factors. There is an increased urgency to access and monitor reindeer with caribou present, but herding plans are constrained by lower economic returns and the need to spend more time in non‐herding jobs. Although weather is a greater concern now for immediate herd access, standard weather data are largely irrelevant to the mechanics of herding, whereas variables pertaining to the timing of biotic events (e.g., synchrony of spring break‐up and calving) and visibility are attributed to lost herding opportunities. Short‐term responses to weather conditions stem from more long‐term vulnerability associated with caribou presence, reduced herd size, difficulties affording snowmobile maintenance or crew assistance, and dwindling market opportunities. We emphasize the environmental and socio‐economic interactions that affect vulnerability and adaptive capacity for modern herding.

show abstract

“…The functioning of the present‐day Arctic coastal system is also influenced by permafrost degradation (e.g., Wobus et al, ), storm‐surge floodings (e.g., Pisaric et al, ), increased sediment supply from glacial catchments (e.g., Mercier & Laffly, ), and even such extreme events as tsunamis (e.g., Buchwał, Szczuciński, Strzelecki, & Long, ; Dahl‐Jensen et al, ; Long, Szczuciński, & Lawrence, ). Majority of those changes have a strong impact on circum‐polar Arctic coastal communities and their historical (including archaeological) and modern infrastructure (e.g., Ford, Bell, & St‐Hilaire‐Gravel, ; Gorokhovich, Leiserowitz, & Dugan, ; Hatcher & Forbes, ; Mason, Jordan, Lestak, & Manley, ; Radosavljevic et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Arctic coasts at risk—the case study of coastal zone development and degradation associated with climate changes and multidirectional human impacts in Longyearbyen (Adventfjorden, Svalbard)

Jaskólski

Pawłowski

2018

Land Degrad Dev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Longyearbyen is the major administrative, touristic, and scientific centre in Svalbard and so‐called ‘European Gateway’ to the Arctic. The number of inhabitants and tourists as well as community infrastructure has significantly expanded over the recent decade, and present‐day community faces development thresholds associated with climate warming and disturbance of cold region landscape. Coastal zone is a key interface where severe environmental changes impact directly on Longyearbyen infrastructure. We applied the combination of environmental assessment methods and geographic information system analyses together with field mapping to investigate the scale of degradation of coastal zone in Longyearbyen and examine the impact of coastal hazards on major elements of community infrastructure. Rate of observed coastal changes, the diversity of natural and man‐made hazards mapped along the coast, and observed damages in infrastructure suggest a need for coastal change monitoring and coastal protection in Longyearbyen. The part of the Longyearbyen coast that should be monitored and protected are sections spreading between new port and surroundings of Longyearelva delta significantly modified by coastal erosion and landsliding. In order to improve coastal zone protection and safety of town development, we present arguments supporting the incorporation of Longyearbyen into recently established Circum‐Arctic Coastal Communities Knowledge Network.

show abstract

Vulnerability of Community Infrastructure to Climate Change in Nunavut: A Case Study From Arctic Bay

Cited by 15 publications

References 36 publications

Local indicators of climate change: the potential contribution of local knowledge to climate research

Local indicators of climate change: the potential contribution of local knowledge to climate research

A reindeer herder’s perspective on caribou, weather and socio-economic change on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska

High Arctic coasts at risk—the case study of coastal zone development and degradation associated with climate changes and multidirectional human impacts in Longyearbyen (Adventfjorden, Svalbard)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About