According to the report by Pennsylvania State University, international research teams are nowadays encouraged through progressive initiatives to assess climate risks and resilience within Arctic and Pacific Indigenous communities.
Recently, the Belmont Forum alongside the U.S. National Science Foundation, the French National Research Agency, and the Research Council of Norway allocated $1 million for the implementation of the ResilienceS to Climate Risks: Lessons from Arctic and Pacific Communities (RETRACE) Project.
This Project aims to explore how Indigenous communities are responding to climate change and to develop more inclusive strategies for mitigating climate risks. The project will make the collected quantitative data publicly available in Norway, Alaska, and French Polynesia.
“Indigenous communities worldwide are significantly impacted by climate change, yet research in this area is severely underfunded,” said co-principal investigator Guangqing Chi, a professor of rural sociology and public health at Penn State. “These communities possess valuable knowledge and practices for adapting to climate change, and we aim to bridge that wisdom with western approaches to enhance resilience.”
The research will focus on two of the most vulnerable regions identified by climate scientists: the polar zones and Pacific Islands, concentrating on three Indigenous communities in Norway, Alaska, and French Polynesia.
“Indigenous peoples in these regions have developed, preserved, and integrated knowledge into their cultures to cope with climate risks,” noted co-principal investigator Pascal Egli, an associate professor at Norway’s Institute of Geography. “Unfortunately, these resilience strategies are often overlooked in international research and policy-making.”
The research team plans to interview community members to gather insights into their expertise, cultural practices, and concerns related to climate resilience.
“We aim to document the resilience of Indigenous communities based on their historical knowledge and understanding of their environments,” said principal investigator Charlotte Heinzlef, an associate professor specializing in climate risk and resilience strategies at the University of Paris Saclay-Versailles Saint-Quentin.
“Inclusive approaches to enhancing local resilience are more crucial than ever in addressing climate risks,” emphasized Chi, who has previously collaborated with Indigenous communities in Alaska.
Source: The Pennsylvania State University.
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