Climate Change Adaptation to Local Transportation Risks Related to Climate Change in the Canadian Arctic

Abstract

The Arctic is experiencing profound climatic transformations warming faster than the rest of the world. In the Canadian Arctic, the impact of climate change is affecting local mobility, particularly travel over sea ice with cascading sociocultural, economic, and health effects for Inuit communities. Although Indigenous people have a history of adapting to both climatic and environmental change, effective adaptation has become imperative for those living in the coastal communities as future changes in climate will further disrupt local travel activities with negative implications for Indigenous livelihood and cultural practices. Using community-based participatory research with the Indigenous community of Pond Inlet and a quantitative approach to data collection, this research examined from local perspectives the cascading impacts of climate change on local travel in Arctic Canada. The research further assessed the potential adaptation strategies to reduce risk and examined the feasibility and effectiveness of adaptation practices to reduce the risk of future changes in climate. Inuit observation of the cascading impacts of climate change on local travel include challenges with safe travel on ice, fewer days available to access hunting and fishing grounds, and loss of traditional culture and skills. Impacts are further exacerbated by non-climatic factors such as increasing cost of fuel and traveling equipment. Findings show that there are adaptation practices that have high feasibility and effectiveness and are significant to cushion individuals within the community to reduce risk to future change in the climate. This study therefore provides an opportunity to expand study on the implementation and risk reduction potential of adaptation practices related to local mobility in the Arctic. The research recommends strengthening local adaptation efforts by integrating traditional knowledge and cultural perspectives with Western science to foster effective adaptation to current impacts and reduce risk to safe travel among Inuit.