Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe state of Alaska is experiencing increased coastal erosion due to climatic changes that threaten shoreline, infrastructure, and Alaska Native ways of life. While several Alaska Native villages have been impacted by severe erosion, additional communities face burgeoning erosion concerns. St. Paul, a remote island located in the Bering Sea, Alaska, and home to ~450 Unangan, or Aleut, residents, is experiencing relatively new erosion and associated flooding issues. This study aimed to inform St. Paul's erosion monitoring and climate adaptation strategies by documenting community perceptions of coastal erosion as an ecological and social threat within a broader context of multiple established climate stressors. We interviewed 21 residents to answer: (1) what are the community's perceptions of erosion on St. Paul in the context of the island's other environmental concerns?; (2) do current perceptions of erosion affect how local governing and management entities address erosion impacts?; and (3) how does erosion relate to and impact Unangan cultural traditions and heritage? Residents identified six locations of primary concern, owing to how erosion of those areas impact their culture, subsistence practices, and sense of place. We suggest methods in which local entities can better support proactive climate adaptation and mitigation measures and utilize resources for community-driven adaption planning. By documenting perspectives in Indigenous communities on emergent climate impacts, as well as perceptions of adaptation planning and implementation, it can establish the foundation for more collaborative, culturally relevant, and successful community-driven climate adaptation planning.

In response to recent alignment of political leadership in Canada and the United States with respect to global nature conservation imperatives, a nascent and intentional dialogue has emerged on transboundary connectivity conservation between the two countries. In February and April 2021, two meetings were remotely convened, bringing together more than 160 participants from key government agencies, non-governmental organizations and Indigenous Nations engaged in conservation in both countries. Participants generated 25 concrete ideas for key next steps and 11 broad strategies that, when considered together, comprise 11 priority policy directions. Among these, four core policy imperatives include (1) prioritizing opportunities to coordinate within and among Indigenous communities, (2) creating formalized memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and funding commitments between the US and Canada, (3) mainstreaming connectivity into sectors and society, and (4) initiating systemwide changes in governance and economic structures. Together, these policy directions represent important strategies at this crucial inflection point. Only rarely are nations given historic policy alignment opportunities to redefine and reinvigorate their common conservation goals. Particularly salient is the drive to embrace transboundary connectivity conservation as a nature-based solution to climate change adaptation. We see this dialogue as a beginning in securing the peace that defines two countries and numerous Indigenous Nations that are inextricably linked by ecology and culture.

In response to recent alignment of political leadership in Canada and the United States with respect to global nature conservation imperatives, a nascent and intentional dialogue has emerged on transboundary connectivity conservation between the two countries. In February and April 2021, two meetings were remotely convened, bringing together more than 160 participants from key government agencies, non-governmental organizations and Indigenous Nations engaged in conservation in both countries. Participants generated 25 concrete ideas for key next steps and 11 broad strategies that, when considered together, comprise 11 priority policy directions. Among these, four core policy imperatives include (1) prioritizing opportunities to coordinate within and among Indigenous communities, (2) creating formalized memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and funding commitments between the US and Canada, (3) mainstreaming connectivity into sectors and society, and (4) initiating systemwide changes in governance and economic structures. Together, these policy directions represent important strategies at this crucial inflection point. Only rarely are nations given historic policy alignment opportunities to redefine and reinvigorate their common conservation goals. Particularly salient is the drive to embrace transboundary connectivity conservation as a nature-based solution to climate change adaptation. We see this dialogue as a beginning in securing the peace that defines two countries and numerous Indigenous Nations that are inextricably linked by ecology and culture.