Environmental Issues

The indigenous people represent just 4 of the Global population and they are stewards of the worlds major centers of biodiversity. Indigenous habitats occupy 22 of the land surface and they are habitats to 80 of the worlds biodiversity (Henriksen 412). Studies commissioned by the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) have shown that the indigenous peoples unwavering conservation strategies has effectively reduced the severe impacts of climate change by trapping significant amounts of carbon in trees and underground (UNPFII 541). In this paper I will discuss the impacts of climate change on the Inuit indigenous people of the Arctic region and elaborate the mitigation measures they have initiated to counter the devastating consequences of climate change.

The Inuit are the indigenous people of the Arctic coastal areas of Alaska, Russia, Greenland and Canada (Smith 41). Like other indigenous people, the Inuit are products of the physical environment in which they live. Their identity, culture and economy largely depend upon ice and snow. Consequently, climate change continues threaten their lifestyle, culture, personal security, housing, health and food (Smith 45). Since the industrial revolution of the 1950s Green House Gases (GHGs) from anthropogenic sources have enhanced unprecedented temperature rise and induced unprecedented warming in the arctic resulting in warming rates which are nearly twice the rates of the global average according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recent report.

Inuit are vulnerable to sea level rise and to changes in marine ecosystems because of their dependence on marine resources. Since the sea has an enormous capacity to store heat, warmer water combined with projected changes in ocean currents have an overwhelming impact on marine ecosystems and biodiversity hence affecting the livelihood of the Inuit (Oviedo, Maffi and Larson 150). The loss of coral reefs coupled with high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the water has impaired the deposition of limestone necessary for development of coral limestone representing a significant loss of revenue for the Inuit. Coral bleaching has caused uncertainty and loss of livelihoods of the Inuit fishermen because of the difficulties in maintaining the viability of fish and other marine floral and faunal species. The loss of coral reefs has further decreased marine life and destabilized the shoreline and resulted in losses of medicinal plants which depend on coral reefs.
 
The Inuit hunters have complained from thinning sea and rough ice conditions that make hunting dangerous in addition, changes to permafrost have altered spring run-off patterns, and a northward shift in seal and fish species has been witnessed and an extreme rise in sea levels which has resulted in more extreme fluctuations (McCarthy 224). Besides they have massive species extinctions and their hunting routes close to shorelines have disappeared due to high erosion precipitated by thawing and freezing of permafrost (Montenegro and Stephens 1868). Their villages have witnessed massive flooding in winter exacerbated by lessened and disappearing packs of ice that normally protect the shorelines from surging waters. Coupled with strong winds, they have caused rampant damage to villages and destroyed infrastructural developments situated along coastlines and riverbanks (Smith 62).

Coastal riverbank erosion and rising rivers have occurred due to warmer temperatures, thawing of permafrost, and melting of snow, glacier and sea ice. In addition, erosion of riverbanks has caused riverbeds to rise hence creating shallow waters which have threatened fish populations. This has negatively affected subsistence fishing, which is important economic activity of the Inuit (Oviedo, Maffi and Larson 156). The animal populations have declined due to warmer temperatures and new species have emerged due to warmer sea waters (IPCC 69). Furthermore, marked changes in animal and travel migration routes have occurred. Melting of sea ice has led to distinct shrinking of marine habitats for polar bears, ice-inhabiting seals and seabirds. New plant, animal, fish and insect species have been seen and these have introduced new diseases never seen in the Arctic before (McCarthy 239).

Extreme rains during winter have induced ice formations which make it harder for animals such as reindeer and caribou to access food and this has negative impacts on Inuits livelihoods. Their sovereignty has been severely threatened in their ancestral lands due to the opening up of the Northwest Passage. This has allowed foreign hunters, traders and corporations to extract resources from Inuits indigenous territory (UNPFII 550). The older generation of the Inuit community has lost community respect and trust on their indigenous knowledge to interpret their environment and make decisions because of the unpredictability of the weather conditions. For example, in Nunavut elders are unable to predict weather using indigenous knowledge and tourism which is the main source of income for Inuit has suffered because of the melting glaciers and loss of snow and ice.
Positive impacts have been recorded as well, for instance warmer temperatures have led to better whitefish harvests, clamming, spotted seal hunting, good access to caribou, Arctic fox harvests, and access to driftwood.

In order to counter the impacts of extreme variation of weather the Inuit have devised various adaptation strategies which include changes in food storage methods such as drying or smoking foods according to climate variability and corresponding availability of food change of varieties and species changes of living area and a variety of movement patterns to deal with climate variability.