NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Qikiqtaaluk Region

Tags: social sciences, climate change, traditional knowledge, food security, participatory research

Objective(s): To assess the vulnerability of Déline community members to climate change impacts with a focus on impacts to harvesting practices and country food security now and in the future.

Project Description: The objectives of this research project are to: 1. assess the vulnerability of Déline community members to climate change impacts with a focus on impacts to harvesting practices and country food security now and in the future; 2. identify adaptation strategies currently employed or possible for future application by community members in order to mitigate any adverse impacts to traditional harvesting practices and community health and well-being; 3. create community plan for climate change adaptation and food security; 4. communicate about food security and climate change using various technologies (photo voice, the web, social media, and a poster); 5. maintain the potential for traditional harvesting practices to ensure that wildlife and harvested plants continue to provide an important component of affordable, sustainable healthy eating for community members; 6. continue documenting and monitoring climate change impacts with adaptive management responses in order to sustain traditional harvesting practices; 7. build capacity within the community of Déline for effective environmental coordination and climate change adaptation planning; 8. increase youth understanding of climate change, food security and health challenges and opportunities in the Sahtú Region and beyond, toward greater youth participation in planning for food security; and, 9. further the efforts of Sahtú communities to be self-determining both in food security planning and in creating policies and strategies to promote health in the community. Climate change vulnerability and adaptation strategies will be explored through a Community-Based and Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology and used to engage with community members. This will ensure the research is community driven and that it responds to the needs of the community stakeholders. Workshops and community events will be held to establish the research questions at the intersection of climate change and access to country food that are important to the community. The community priorities from these workshops will be the basis for semi-structured interviews/focus groups to be conducted with Elders, harvesters, women and youth. A workshop and a series of seasonal food security camps will be held so that preliminary adaptation strategies can be further discussed and explored, ultimately resulting in an adaptation plan for the community. The photo voice research methodology will also be used in combination with our PAR approach. Photo voice is a method based on participation, empowerment and self-documentation that is aimed at providing a means for individuals to capture images and describe them in the context of their everyday life, thereby enabling others to see an insider’s view of life in their community. This method will be used with youth during food security camps to learn about and document the complex issues associated with climate change, food security and health in their community. The method will allow youth to take photographs to do capture their experiences and the experiences of others in their community dealing with climate change impacts on health. Results from the photo voice project will be presented to the community at the final workshop, and be a forum for sharing youth experiences with climate change with other communities. Capacity building within the community of Déline to address the impacts of climate change is a key goal behind this project. Through community engagement, workshops and events, the research team hope to empower the community to generate enhanced dialogue and to take actions with regards to the impacts of climate change. Leading participation of the community researcher and ?ehdzo Got’i?ne staff person working with visiting resource people will further enhance capacity in completing research and planning activities related to health and climate change. Community representatives in Déline feel strongly that young people must play a central role in climate change initiatives, and need better tools to make good decisions as future leaders of healthy communities. This project will deepen their understanding of climate change; learn about vulnerability assessment methodology, gain important leadership skills, and build advocacy and communication skills. In collaboration with project and community partners, the research team will also help to facilitate a youth photo-voice project to document their work and observations associated with changing climatic condition, declining food security and consequent health impacts. Through the ongoing development of a local youth group as part of the Sahtú Youth Network, youth will be given every opportunity to be involved in project activities. Traditional Knowledge is the foundation of this project. Following the approach established through earlier projects in the community, the research team will look to Elders, harvesters and women to share their stories and experiences and how they understand the impacts of climate change on food security. Through these stories the research team will not only be able to document community vulnerabilities, but share current adaptive practices in securing country food alternatives, learn from each other and develop community-driven solutions. This project is based on community outreach and participation. Community members will be invited to all activities and results workshops. Outreach will be done through ongoing posts on the Sahtú Wildlife and Déline Facebook pages and translated into Dene languages. Primary adaptation strategies will be synthesized into an accessible and visually appealing poster translated to the Dene languages and distributed throughout the community. Webpages will also be added to the Sahtú Renewable Resource Board website. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from August 20, 2015 to December 31, 2015.