NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

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

Tags: social sciences, policy development, climate change, adaptation planning

Objective(s): To examine community adaptation readiness in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) in order to identify trends in the adaptive readiness of communities in the ISR and provide recommendations to local and regional governments concerning existing gaps or barriers that may be hindering community readiness.

Project Description: To examine community adaptation readiness in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR), Northwest Territories in order to identify trends in the adaptive readiness of communities in the ISR and provide recommendations to local and regional governments concerning existing gaps or barriers that may be hindering community readiness. The Principal Investigator will conduct informal phone interviews with willing and relevant government employees involved in adaption planning in the ISR. The length of the interview process will last approximately 60 minutes. Participants will be asked to answer semi-structured interview questions relating to adaptation planning in the ISR. If participant's give their consent, their responses will be recorded on a handheld recording device. The intended participants are community and territorial government employees who have experience involved in climate change adaptation planning, management or policy development in the ISR. Participants will be recruited by the Principal Investigator with assistance from the Inuit Research Advisor. The information collected during this phase of the study will enhance the overall quality of the study and the utility of the study’s recommendations. The outcomes of this research will contribute to planning and policy development in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and provide insight on community climate change adaptation in the Canadian Arctic. The study will reveal how prepared the three study communities, Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, and Aklavik, are to adapt to the impacts of climate change and identify areas they may be hindering adaptation action in the communities. These insights will benefit local and regional leaders by providing them with new knowledge pertaining to community level adaptation and hopefully improve the long-term effectiveness of community adaptation in the Settlement Region. The results of this study will be communicated to the study participants and to the study communities via e-mail, or if requested, hard format. The findings of the study will also be presented to students and faculty members in the Marine Affairs Program at Dalhousie University in fulfilment of the Master's of Marine Management degree. Once completed, the study will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from September 14, 2015 to October 30, 2015.