NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region

Tags: social sciences, climate change, traditional knowledge, adaptation planning

Project Description: This project will consist of community workshops on selected climate change issues. A specific impact will be identified as a theme for a 1-2 day workshop in up to 5 regions across the NWT, and strategies to deal with those impacts will be mapped out. Objectives are to bring traditional knowledge holders and scientists together to share observations and predictions, discuss what likely impacts will be, and the best ways to prepare for those changes. Discussions will: identify existing and likely regional impacts, identify possible adaptive strategies for the impact, identify areas for further research, and use the results from regional workshops to contribute to the development of a Territorial climate change adaptation strategy. Community residents will be asked to participate in the workshop. The workshops will focus on specific climate change impacts identified by the community. During the workshops, the researchers plan on taking a popular education approach. Informal presentations and plain language will be stressed. Workshop participants will be encouraged to participate through group discussions. When the budget permits, individuals from the community or region will be asked to lead parts of the workshop. The results of individual workshops will be reported back to communities. Notes from individual workshops will be sent back to participants for their review before finalizing. To share the learning and help communities anticipate and prepare for further climate change impacts, a summary document containing the results from all workshops will be produced and distributed to all NWT communities and Aboriginal, Territorial and the Federal government departments. The study will be conducted at selected communities within the NWT.