Fawcett, D, Pearce, T, Notaina, R et al. (2 more authors) (2018) Inuit adaptability to changing environmental conditions over an 11-year period in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories. Polar Record, 54 (2). pp. 119-132. ISSN 0032-2474
Abstract
Current understanding of climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability among Inuit in the Arctic is relatively static, rooted in the community and time that case studies were conducted. This paper captures the dynamism of Inuit–climate relationships by applying a longitudinal approach to assessing vulnerability to climate change among Inuit in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada. Data were collected in 2005 and 2016 following a consistent methodology and analytical framework. Findings from the studies are analysed comparatively together with longitudinal datasets. The data reveal that many of the climatic changes recorded in 2005 that adversely affected hunting activities have been observed to be persisting or progressing, such as decreasing sea ice thickness and extent, and stronger and more consistent summer winds. Inuit are responding by altering travel routes and equipment, taking greater pre-trip precautions, and concentrating their efforts on more efficient and accessible hunts. Increasing living and subsistence costs and time-constraints, changes in the generation and transmission of environmental knowledge and land skills, and the concentration of country food sharing networks were identified as key constraints to adaptation. The findings indicate that the connections between subsistence activities and the wage economy are central to understanding how Inuit experience and respond to climate change.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Cambridge University Press 2018. This article has been published in a revised form in Polar Record, http://doi.org/10.1017/S003224741800027X. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 04 Jan 2021 13:50 |
Last Modified: | 11 Jan 2021 17:01 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/S003224741800027X |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:169213 |