Advancing Adaptation Planning for Climate Change in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR): a Review and Critique

Reg Environ Change DOI 10.1007/s10113-010-0126-4 REVIEW ARTICLE Advancing adaptation planning for climate change in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR): a review and critique Tristan Pearce • James D. Ford • Frank Duerden • Barry Smit • Mark Andrachuk • Lea Berrang-Ford • Tanya Smith Received: 30 October 2009 / Accepted: 29 March 2010 Ó Springer-Verlag 2010 Abstract This paper reviews scientific and gray literature makers to understand the interactions between current and addressing climate change vulnerability and adaptation in projected climate change and the factors which condition the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) in the western vulnerability and influence adaptation. Research gaps are Canadian Arctic. The review is structured using a vulner- identified, and recommendations for advancing adaptation ability framework, and 420 documents related directly or planning are outlined. indirectly to climate change are analyzed to provide insights on the current state of knowledge on climate Keywords Climate change Á Vulnerability Á Adaptation Á change vulnerability in the ISR as a basis for supporting Arctic Á Inuvialuit Settlement Region Á Inuvialuit Á future research and long-term adaptation planning in the Review Á Critique region. The literature documents evidence of climate change in the ISR which is compromising food security and health status, limiting transportation access and travel Introduction routes to hunting grounds, and damaging municipal infrastructure. Adaptations are being employed to manage Canada’s Arctic regions are at the forefront of changes in changing conditions; however, many of the adaptations climate (IPCC 2007a, b; Lawrence et al. 2008; Lemmen being undertaken are short term, ad-hoc, and reactive in et al. 2008; Rinke and Dethloff 2008). Temperatures are nature. Limited long-term strategic planning for climate increasing at twice the global average, recent years have change is being undertaken. Current climate change risks witnessed an unprecedented reduction in summer sea ice, are expected to continue in the future with further impli- and extreme weather conditions are more frequent and cations for communities but less is known about the intense (McCabe et al. 2001; Macdonald et al. 2005; IPCC adaptive capacity of communities. This review identifies 2007b; Barber et al. 2008; Comiso et al. 2008; Graversen the importance of targeted vulnerability research that et al. 2008; Moline et al. 2008; Perovich et al. 2008; Stroeve works closely with community members and decision et al. 2008; Prowse et al. 2009). These changes are having implications for Canada’s Inuit population, the majority of whom live in small, remote, coastal communities, and T. Pearce (&) Á B. Smit Á M. Andrachuk continue to depend on the harvesting of fish and wildlife for Department of Geography, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road their livelihoods (AHDR 2004). This high dependence on East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada the environment has made Inuit particularly susceptible to e-mail: [email protected] climate change (Nuttall et al. 2005; Anisimov et al. 2007; J. D. Ford Á L. Berrang-Ford Á T. Smith Lemmen et al. 2008). Compromised food security and Department of Geography, McGill University, 805 Sherbrooke health status, loss of life and serious injury, constrained St. W., Montreal, QC H3A 2K6, Canada transportation access and travel routes to hunting areas, and inability to practice traditional cultural activities have been F. Duerden Department of Geography, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria documented in all Inuit regions and can be expected to Street, Toronto, ON N5B 2K3, Canada continue as the climate changes (Krupnik and Jolly 2002; 123 T. Pearce et al. ACIA 2005;Fordetal.2006a, b; Furgal and Seguin 2006; In 2008, the GNWT released a report on climate change Gearheard et al. 2006; Nickels et al. 2006; Huntington et al. impacts and adaptations in the NWT that calls for the 2007; Krupnik and Ray 2007; White et al. 2007; Ford et al. development of tools and best practices to assist commu- 2008a; Ford 2009a; Hovelsrud et al. 2008; Huntington nities and governments in developing long-range adapta- 2009; Loring and Gerlach 2009; Pearce et al. 2010). Rising tion planning (GNWT 2008a). This includes research on sea levels, coastal erosion, and permafrost thaw are also adaptation techniques, developing better resolutions of threatening the viability of some settlements, damaging regional and sub-regional climate model projections, and important heritage sites, and affecting municipal infra- research on how changes in climate affect the life cycle and structure (i.e., buildings and roads) and water supply maintenance costs for infrastructure (GNWT 2008a). Some (Couture and Pollard 2007; Lynch and Brunner 2007; adaptation planning is already being undertaken in the Martin et al. 2007; Alessa et al. 2008; Larsen et al. 2008). NWT: the City of Yellowknife and the Decho First Nation Benefits have also been noted as a result of climatic changes have begun to develop adaptation plans, and the private including a longer boating and shipping season, fewer days consortium that operates winter ice roads to diamond mine with extreme cold, and increased interest in resource operations has begun to consider alternatives because of development, but the balance of impacts is believed to be problems they have been experiencing due to shorter ice negative (ACIA 2005; IPCC 2007a). seasons (GNWT 2008a; Pearce et al. 2009b; Ford et al. in In the Canadian Arctic, dramatic changes in climatic press). To date, however, no formal long-term adaptation conditions have been documented in the Inuvialuit Settle- planning for climate change has been undertaken in the ment Region (ISR), Northwest Territories (NWT). The ISR. NWT, especially the Mackenzie Valley, is a global hot spot To initiate pro-active adaptation plans at regional and/or for climate change with average annual temperatures community levels, decision makers need to know the nature increasing about 2°C since the 1940s when meteorological of vulnerability in terms of who and what are vulnera- data were first recorded (ACIA 2005). Temperature ble, to what stresses, in what way, and also the local increases vary among locations; for example, annual tem- capacity to adapt to changing conditions (Turner et al. 2003; peratures in Inuvik, situated at the mouth of the Mackenzie Ford and Smit 2004; Smit and Wandel 2006). Considerable River near the Beaufort Sea, have increased by 3°C in the research on environmental and climatic risks and their last half century (ACIA 2005; GNWT 2008a). These are determining factors have already been conducted in the some of the greatest temperature changes recorded globally ISR, providing insights on the vulnerability of communities in the past 50 years. Together with increases in tempera- (Ford and Pearce 2010). However, despite the long history ture, local observations and instrumental measurements in of research projects and government studies, research on the ISR have documented more frequent and intensive the human dimensions of climate change has often ignored extreme weather events, more active geophysical pro- this wealth of information (Duerden 2004). This is partly cesses, and changes in the health and availability of some due to the difficulty in finding relevant studies: publication species of wildlife important for subsistence (e.g., Barber databases are limited, unpublished materials are often and Hanesiak 2004; Nickels et al. 2006; Manson and located in difficult to access locations (e.g., community Solomon 2007; Carmack and Macdonald 2008; Lemmen organizations/libraries, government records), and there are et al. 2008). These changes are already affecting commu- few examples where the published literature has been nities, and scientists project that they will continue in the synthesized or analyzed for insights on climate change future with further implications for the Arctic environment vulnerability and adaptation. Consequently, researchers, and people (Kattsov and Kallen 2005; Anisimov et al. policy makers, and community members are often unaware 2007; Prowse et al. 2009; Ford and Pearce 2010). Given of what has been published and, in some cases, unneces- these observed changes and predicted future impacts, sarily duplicate studies that have been completed, rather adaptation planning to maintain social and economic well- than building on what has already been done. Our under- being in a rapidly changing climate has been identified as standing of climate change vulnerability in the ISR and a priority by the scientific community (Huntington et al. opportunities for advancing future research on climate 2007; Furgal and Prowse 2008), Inuit Organizations change adaptation thus remains limited. (Nickels et al. 2006), and the Government of the Northwest Another feature of research in the ISR in general and on Territories (GNWT 2008a). Adaptation in the context of climate/environmental change in particular is the predom- human dimensions of climate change refers to a process, inance of localized case studies. This is essential for vul- action, or outcome in a system (e.g., individual, household, nerability assessment and adaptation planning, but an community, sector) in order for the system to better cope understanding of vulnerability determinants, trends, and with, manage or adjust to some changing condition, stress, outcomes at a regional level is lacking, thereby limiting the hazard, risk, or opportunity (Smit and Wandel 2006). potential to develop adaptation

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