Item – Theses Canada

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OCLC number
964092283
Link(s) to full text
LAC copy
Author
Archer, Lewis,
Title
A decadal reanalysis of climate vulnerability in the Canadian Arctic : the case of Arctic Bay
Degree
M.A. -- McGill University, 2016
Publisher
[Montreal] : McGill University Libraries, [2016]
Description
1 online resource
Notes
Thesis supervisor: James Ford (Internal/Supervisor).
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract
"The Arctic is widely acknowledged as a global hotspot of climate change impacts. The implications of these changes are particularly pronounced for the Indigenous populations living in arctic regions, whose close association with and dependence on the land, sea, ice, and natural resources increases their sensitivity to climate-related risks. The past decade has seen the rapid expansion of research assessing these risks, which has increased our understanding of how climate change interacts with non-climatic drivers of vulnerability and resilience to affect human society. However, our understanding of the dynamic nature of vulnerability and its determinants over time remains incomplete: while scholarship has developed a baseline and generalized understanding of the human dimensions of climate change, little is known of the long-term dynamics in the context of continuing environmental, economic and societal change. This thesis contributes to the development of a dynamic understanding of the processes and conditions that influence climate change vulnerability over time by conducting a decadal restudy of Ford et al (2006) in Ikpiarjuk (Arctic Bay), Nunavut. Using a research methodology consistent with the first study, and focusing on risks associated with subsistence harvesting activities, participant observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2015 with 40 participants. Comparing this data to the original data collected in 2004, the thesis finds changes in the biophysical environment have continued and accelerated in many instances over the last decade. Within this context, socio-economic conditions have shaped how the community is experiencing climate change, both exacerbating and abating associated risks. It is found that the increased availability and accessibility of new technologies (predominantly Internet connection and GPS devices) is driving adaptive capacity in the community. In the same way, previous vulnerability assessments have suggested that changes to traditional sharing networks may hinder a community's adaptive capacity. Here, these changes are found to be evolving in ways that facilitate adaptation to both environmental and economic stress."--
Other link(s)
digitool.Library.McGill.CA
escholarship.mcgill.ca
escholarship.mcgill.ca
Subject
Geography