Adapting to Climate Change: Social-Ecological Resilience in a Canadian Western Arctic Community
Human adaptation remains an insufficiently studied part of the subject of climate change. This paper examines the questions of adaptation and change in terms of social-ecological resilience using lessons from a place-specific case study. The Inuvialuit people of the small community of Sachs Harbour...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2002-01-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol5/iss2/art18/ |
| _version_ | 1818935320788336640 |
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| author | Fikret Berkes Dyanna Jolly |
| author_facet | Fikret Berkes Dyanna Jolly |
| author_sort | Fikret Berkes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human adaptation remains an insufficiently studied part of the subject of climate change. This paper examines the questions of adaptation and change in terms of social-ecological resilience using lessons from a place-specific case study. The Inuvialuit people of the small community of Sachs Harbour in Canada's western Arctic have been tracking climate change throughout the 1990s. We analyze the adaptive capacity of this community to deal with climate change. Short-term responses to changes in land-based activities, which are identified as coping mechanisms, are one component of this adaptive capacity. The second component is related to cultural and ecological adaptations of the Inuvialuit for life in a highly variable and uncertain environment; these represent long-term adaptive strategies. These two types of strategies are, in fact, on a continuum in space and time. This study suggests new ways in which theory and practice can be combined by showing how societies may adapt to climate change at multiple scales. Switching species and adjusting the "where, when, and how" of hunting are examples of shorter-term responses. On the other hand, adaptations such as flexibility in seasonal hunting patterns, traditional knowledge that allows the community to diversity hunting activities, networks for sharing food and other resources, and intercommunity trade are longer-term, culturally ingrained mechanisms. Individuals, households, and the community as a whole also provide feedback on their responses to change. Newly developing co-management institutions create additional linkages for feedback across different levels, enhancing the capacity for learning and self-organization of the local inhabitants and making it possible for them to transmit community concerns to regional, national, and international levels. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:18:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c481146234d44f398fba64e624b754e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1708-3087 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:18:18Z |
| publishDate | 2002-01-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-c481146234d44f398fba64e624b754e02022-12-21T19:52:06ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872002-01-01521810.5751/ES-00342-050218342Adapting to Climate Change: Social-Ecological Resilience in a Canadian Western Arctic CommunityFikret Berkes0Dyanna Jolly1University of ManitobaUniversity of ManitobaHuman adaptation remains an insufficiently studied part of the subject of climate change. This paper examines the questions of adaptation and change in terms of social-ecological resilience using lessons from a place-specific case study. The Inuvialuit people of the small community of Sachs Harbour in Canada's western Arctic have been tracking climate change throughout the 1990s. We analyze the adaptive capacity of this community to deal with climate change. Short-term responses to changes in land-based activities, which are identified as coping mechanisms, are one component of this adaptive capacity. The second component is related to cultural and ecological adaptations of the Inuvialuit for life in a highly variable and uncertain environment; these represent long-term adaptive strategies. These two types of strategies are, in fact, on a continuum in space and time. This study suggests new ways in which theory and practice can be combined by showing how societies may adapt to climate change at multiple scales. Switching species and adjusting the "where, when, and how" of hunting are examples of shorter-term responses. On the other hand, adaptations such as flexibility in seasonal hunting patterns, traditional knowledge that allows the community to diversity hunting activities, networks for sharing food and other resources, and intercommunity trade are longer-term, culturally ingrained mechanisms. Individuals, households, and the community as a whole also provide feedback on their responses to change. Newly developing co-management institutions create additional linkages for feedback across different levels, enhancing the capacity for learning and self-organization of the local inhabitants and making it possible for them to transmit community concerns to regional, national, and international levels.http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol5/iss2/art18/social-ecological systemssustainability scienceArcticCanadian NorthInuitInuvialuitadaptive strategiesclimate changecommunity-based researchcoping mechanismshuman ecologyparticipatory researchparticipatory researchresiliencesocial-ecological systems |
| spellingShingle | Fikret Berkes Dyanna Jolly Adapting to Climate Change: Social-Ecological Resilience in a Canadian Western Arctic Community Ecology and Society social-ecological systems sustainability science Arctic Canadian North Inuit Inuvialuit adaptive strategies climate change community-based research coping mechanisms human ecology participatory research participatory research resilience social-ecological systems |
| title | Adapting to Climate Change: Social-Ecological Resilience in a Canadian Western Arctic Community |
| title_full | Adapting to Climate Change: Social-Ecological Resilience in a Canadian Western Arctic Community |
| title_fullStr | Adapting to Climate Change: Social-Ecological Resilience in a Canadian Western Arctic Community |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adapting to Climate Change: Social-Ecological Resilience in a Canadian Western Arctic Community |
| title_short | Adapting to Climate Change: Social-Ecological Resilience in a Canadian Western Arctic Community |
| title_sort | adapting to climate change social ecological resilience in a canadian western arctic community |
| topic | social-ecological systems sustainability science Arctic Canadian North Inuit Inuvialuit adaptive strategies climate change community-based research coping mechanisms human ecology participatory research participatory research resilience social-ecological systems |
| url | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol5/iss2/art18/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fikretberkes adaptingtoclimatechangesocialecologicalresilienceinacanadianwesternarcticcommunity AT dyannajolly adaptingtoclimatechangesocialecologicalresilienceinacanadianwesternarcticcommunity |