Arctic communities challenged when temperature rises

Silge Pileberg for the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo: A wide range of challenges are facing people in the Arctic regions as the climate warms up twice as fast as the global average. People in some communities in Northern Norway see wind patterns changing and fish moving towards the North. People in Tuktoyaktuk in Northern Canada, who have seen their coastlines eroding for a long time, may see erosion happen faster due to warming temperatures and stronger storms.

The International Polar Year research project «Community Adaptation and Vulnerability in the Arctic Regions» (CAVIAR) aims to compare case studies across all eight Arctic countries and expand knowledge about adaptation and vulnerability to climatic and other changes. “What makes this project unique is that it involves local stakeholders from the start and throughout the research project. They are defining the research”, says project leader Grete K. Hovelsrud, a senior research fellow at CICERO Center for Climate and Environmental Research - Oslo.

As an anthropologist, she and her colleagues present the project for communities, and if they are interested in joining, a dialogue between the researchers and the stakeholders begins. “They tell us what the most important questions are in their communities, whether they are societal, political or environmental”, Hovelsrud explains.

When the research questions are defined, other relevant scientific experts are contacted for the most recent results. In addition, downscaled climate scenarios are prepared for the localities. “For example, if local stakeholders define precipitation patterns and temperature as important for their livelihoods, we bring them downscaled scenarios. Together we discuss which challenges these scenarios may bring and how these may be met”.

…“One difference between Canada and the Nordic countries is the connection to the outside world. While in Norway, Sweden and Iceland the livelihoods of people are more directly connected to the external market, subsistence livelihoods are still important in Arctic communities in Canada”, he says.

…“Climate change is not at the top of the agenda for many people in the North. Other problems, like unemployment, are more immediate, but more and more people are realizing that climate change may make some things worse. It represents one more thing to worry about”, says Robin Sydneysmith....

Iron frame of 1920s supply ship Qulaittuq (“boat without roof“), rusting on the beach near Arviat, Nunavut, Canada. Shot by Angsar Walk, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License