Community Adaptation and Vulnerability in Arctic Regions

Description

Arctic communities are experiencing global, societal and economic pressures coupled with additional environmental changes. The comparison of local and indigenous observations with instrumental records clearly illustrates how Arctic communities, both now and in the past, have adapted to a variety of changes and risks affecting their livelihoods. Projections of future climate change indicate a further reduction in sea ice extent and stability, change to the frequency and intensity of weather events and seasonal transition, alteration in the abundance and distribution of fish and terrestrial biodiversity, and lessening permafrost stability. All these factors will affect Arctic resident's livelihoods and wellbeing. Under the auspices of the International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY), the CAVIAR consortium was formed with partners from all eight Arctic countries as a response to the need for systematic assessment of community vulnerabilities and adaptations across the Arctic. The aim of the interdisciplinary CAVIAR project is to increase understanding of the vulnerability of Arctic communities to changing societal and environmental conditions, including climate change. Presented in this volume are the results and accomplishments drawn from the partnership with local collaborators from fifteen Arctic communities. In each of the case studies researchers have documented the conditions and forces that exacerbate or diminish vulnerabilities in each of the case studies, identified previous and current adaptation strategies, and assess the prospects for the development of effective adaptive strategies and policies in the future. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Introduction to the CAVIAR Project and Framework....Pages 1-22 Adaptation in Fisheries and Municipalities: Three Communities in Northern Norway....Pages 23-62 Vulnerability and Adaptation in Two Communities in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region....Pages 63-81 Climate Change, Vulnerability and Adaptation Among Nenets Reindeer Herders....Pages 83-105 Vulnerability of Community Infrastructure to Climate Change in Nunavut: A Case Study From Arctic Bay....Pages 107-130 ‘Translating’ Vulnerability at the Community Level: Case Study From the Russian North....Pages 131-162 ‘As Long as the Sun Shines, the Rivers Flow and Grass Grows’: Vulnerability, Adaptation and Environmental Change in Deninu Kue Traditional Territory, Northwest Territories....Pages 163-189 Case Study Photographs....Pages 191-219 The Ivalo River and its People: There Have Always Been Floods – What Is Different Now?....Pages 221-237 Climate Change and Institutional Capacity in an ‘Arctic Gateway’ City: A CAVIAR Case Study of Whitehorse....Pages 239-261 Climate Change Vulnerability and Food Security in Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland....Pages 263-283 Climate Change, Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity in a Multi-use Forest Municipality in Northern Sweden....Pages 285-311 Local Effects of Global Climate Change: Differential Experiences of Sheep Farmers and Reindeer Herders in Unjárga/Nesseby, a Coastal Sámi Community in Northern Norway....Pages 313-333 Community Adaptation and Vulnerability Integrated....Pages 335-348 Back Matter....Pages 349-353