The state of climate change adaptation in the Arctic
The Arctic climate is rapidly changing, with wide ranging impacts on natural and social systems. A variety of adaptation policies, programs and practices have been adopted to this end, yet our understanding of if, how, and where adaptation is occurring is limited. In response, this paper develops a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2014-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/10/104005 |
| _version_ | 1797748011263066112 |
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| author | James D Ford Graham McDowell Julie Jones |
| author_facet | James D Ford Graham McDowell Julie Jones |
| author_sort | James D Ford |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Arctic climate is rapidly changing, with wide ranging impacts on natural and social systems. A variety of adaptation policies, programs and practices have been adopted to this end, yet our understanding of if, how, and where adaptation is occurring is limited. In response, this paper develops a systematic approach to characterize the current state of adaptation in the Arctic. Using reported adaptations in the English language peer reviewed literature as our data source, we document 157 discrete adaptation initiatives between 2003 and 2013. Results indicate large variations in adaptation by region and sector, dominated by reporting from North America, particularly with regards to subsistence harvesting by Inuit communities. Few adaptations were documented in the European and Russian Arctic, or have a focus on the business and economy, or infrastructure sectors. Adaptations are being motivated primarily by the combination of climatic and non-climatic factors, have a strong emphasis on reducing current vulnerability involving incremental changes to existing risk management processes, and are primarily initiated and led at the individual/community level. There is limited evidence of trans-boundary adaptations or initiatives considering potential cross-scale/sector impacts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:59:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-941e09afe98a4e8a94d54e055900d4a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:59:46Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-941e09afe98a4e8a94d54e055900d4a72023-08-09T14:42:54ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262014-01-0191010400510.1088/1748-9326/9/10/104005The state of climate change adaptation in the ArcticJames D Ford0Graham McDowell1Julie Jones2Department of Geography, McGill University , Montreal, CanadaDepartment of Geography, McGill University , Montreal, CanadaMcGill University Library, Montreal, CanadaThe Arctic climate is rapidly changing, with wide ranging impacts on natural and social systems. A variety of adaptation policies, programs and practices have been adopted to this end, yet our understanding of if, how, and where adaptation is occurring is limited. In response, this paper develops a systematic approach to characterize the current state of adaptation in the Arctic. Using reported adaptations in the English language peer reviewed literature as our data source, we document 157 discrete adaptation initiatives between 2003 and 2013. Results indicate large variations in adaptation by region and sector, dominated by reporting from North America, particularly with regards to subsistence harvesting by Inuit communities. Few adaptations were documented in the European and Russian Arctic, or have a focus on the business and economy, or infrastructure sectors. Adaptations are being motivated primarily by the combination of climatic and non-climatic factors, have a strong emphasis on reducing current vulnerability involving incremental changes to existing risk management processes, and are primarily initiated and led at the individual/community level. There is limited evidence of trans-boundary adaptations or initiatives considering potential cross-scale/sector impacts.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/10/104005Arcticclimate changeadaptationsystematic reviewadaptation trackingmonitoring and evaluation |
| spellingShingle | James D Ford Graham McDowell Julie Jones The state of climate change adaptation in the Arctic Environmental Research Letters Arctic climate change adaptation systematic review adaptation tracking monitoring and evaluation |
| title | The state of climate change adaptation in the Arctic |
| title_full | The state of climate change adaptation in the Arctic |
| title_fullStr | The state of climate change adaptation in the Arctic |
| title_full_unstemmed | The state of climate change adaptation in the Arctic |
| title_short | The state of climate change adaptation in the Arctic |
| title_sort | state of climate change adaptation in the arctic |
| topic | Arctic climate change adaptation systematic review adaptation tracking monitoring and evaluation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/10/104005 |
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