An environment at risk: Arctic indigenous peoples, local livelihoods and climate change

Abstract

Over the last two decades the Arctic has emerged as a region of dramatic environmental change. This vast part of the planet, once seen as pristine and remote, is now represented increasingly as a vulnerable and fragile place, its biodiversity and peoples at risk from climate change, contaminants and globalization. These drivers of far-reaching change have a diffuse distribution around the globe, their origins often difficult to identify and almost impossible to allocate specific moral and legal responsibility to. They are also subject to a contested political debate over whether mitigation or adaptation are the most feasible or possible strategies for protecting Arctic ecosystems and human well-being. Arctic marine and terrestrial ecosystems provide a variety of ecosystem services which are of fundamental importance to the livelihoods of indigenous peoples (Chapin et al., in press). Yet, the indigenous peoples of the circumpolar North increasingly perceive the Arctic as both an environment of risk and an environment at risk (Nuttall 1998: 170). It is an environment of risk in that climate variability and local weather events, changes in the movement and behaviour of animals, and human actions all influence traditional resource use activities and make everyday life uncertain and unpredictable. It is also an environment at risk from pollution, global climate change and industrial development. Such threats continue to influence the climate, have an impact on ecosystems, animal habitats and movement, and also have consequences for food security and human health, thus seriously constraining the abilities of indigenous peoples to achieve sustainable livelihoods. Scientific scenarios suggest that the scale and nature of Arctic climate change in the coming decades may not only be greater than previous changes in the region's history, but within the context of global climate change northern regions will experience a greater degree of change than countries in the tropics (e.g. ACIA 2005, Weller 2000). Indeed, the results of scientific research and the compelling observations from indigenous peoples are documenting current climate changes that are more pronounced in the Arctic than in any other region of the world (ACIA 2005, Huntington et al.2005, Krupnik and Jolly 2002). The significance of these studies goes far beyond the northern reaches of the Earth and enriches our understanding of living on a planet undergoing constant change. This chapter provides a brief assessment of climate change impacts on the local livelihoods and traditional resource use practices of the Arctic's indigenous peoples. It draws on, and summarizes, recent research on climate change impacts on indigenous livelihoods as well as some of the key work undertaken for the human dimensions chapters of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA 2005).