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There are over 370 million indigenous peoples [1] found across 90+ countries.[2] Approximately 22% of the planet's land is comprised of indigenous territories, varying slightly depending on how indigeneity and land usage is determined.[3] Indigenous peoples have a myriad of experiences because of the widely varying geographical areas they inhabit across the globe and because of diverse cultures and livelihoods they pursue. They have a wide variety of experiences that Western science is beginning to include in research of climate change and its potential solutions with the notions of ancestral knowledge and traditional practices being more respected and considered.

Indigenous peoples in climate governance

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The International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), established in 2008 is the caucus that represents indigenous populations in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).[4] This platform was created in response to the exclusion of the 2007 UNDRIP from numerous international climate change negotiations and indigenous groups being excluded from the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris, France.[1] The key issues the IIPFCC are concerned with are: climate change impacts, adaptation, mitigation, finance, recognition of Indigenous peoples rights, full and effective participation, FPIC (free, prior, and informed consent), and recognition of traditional knowledge.[5]

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) of 2007 was based on the 1989 "Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples"[1]

North America

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A map that depicts the different indigenous territories in North America and their respective population densities.
Indigenous Territories of North America with Population Density

Environmental changes due to climate change that have effected and will continue to effect Indigenous peoples in North America include temperature increases, precipitation changes, decreased glacier and snow cover, rising sea level, increased floods, droughts and extreme weather.[6] These environmental changes will have implications on the lifestyle of Indigenous groups which include, but are not limited to, Alaska Natives, Inuit, Dene, and Gwich'in people. Food and water insecurity, limited access to traditional foods and locations, and increased exposure to infectious diseases are all human dimension impacts that will most likely follow the environmental changes stated above. [6] The Indigenous populations in the United States and Canada are communities that are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to socioeconomic disadvantages.[7][8] There are higher rates of poverty, lower levels of access to education, to housing, and to employment opportunities in indigenous communities than there are in non-indigenous communities within North America. These conditions increase indigenous communities' vulnerability and sensitivity to climate change.[6] These socioeconomic disadvantages not only increase their vulnerability and in some cases exposure, they also limit indigenous groups' capacity to cope with and recover from the harmful effects climate change brings.


Arctic

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Climate change is having the most dramatic impact on the Arctic with a temperature increase twice the magnitude of the increase in the rest of the world.[9] This is resulting in significant sinking of the ice in the Arctic Sea. Satellite images of the ice show that it currently has the smallest area in recorded history.[10] If left unchecked, climate change in the Arctic will lead to a faster rise in sea level, more frequent and increasingly intense storms and winds, further decreases in the extent of sea ice, and increased erosion due to higher waves.[11]

This consequence of climate change will have a number of effects on the native Inuit people in a variety of ways. Eroding coasts and thinning ice have changed the migration patterns of the numerous animal species such as killer whales, marine polar bears, caribou, and seals.[12] Seals are one of the numerous animals hunted by the Inuit people upon which they depend. The seals are just one of the various species whose population is diminishing due to melting of ice sheets on which they are dependent for raising their young on. Additionally, the rapid melting of the sea ice creates a more hazardous and unpredictable terrain to hunt in, posing a new risk within their subsistence economy.[13]

Simultaneously, increased temperatures and melting permafrost will make it harder for Inuit people to freeze and store food in their traditional way, creating issues of food security. Furthermore, climate change will bring new bacteria and other micro-organisms to the region, which will bring yet unknown effects to the Peoples of the region.[10]

The benefits of indigenous participation in climate change research and governance

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Within IK there is a subset of knowledge referred to as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). TEK is the knowledge that indigenous peoples have accumulated through the passing of knowledge from generation to generation.[14] TEK is specifically knowledge about the group's relationship with and classifications of other living beings and the environment around them. More recently, an increasing number of climate scientists and indigenous activists advocate for the inclusion of TEK into research regarding climate change policy and adaptation efforts.[15]

The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) emphasized their support for the inclusion of IK in their Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5°C saying:

There is medium evidence and high agreement that indigenous knowledge is critical for adaptation, underpinning adaptive capacity through the diversity of indigenous agro-ecological and forest management systems, collective social memory, repository of accumulated experience and social networks...Many scholars argue that recognition of indigenous rights, governance systems and laws is central to adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development.[16]

IK should be considered a complement, rather than a substitute, for knowledge of global knowledge systems.[17]

Benefits of integrating IK into formal climate change adaptation/mitigation strategies [17]

  1. Employ communities in the formulation of solutions to climate change.
  2. Foster an environment where multiple ways of understanding, both western and indigenous, can be accepted and celebrated.
  3. Provide direct assistance on the community-level for those seeking out concrete ways to protect themselves from climate-change related issues.
  4. Encourage teamwork for devising solutions for climate change that satisfy both western and indigenous points of view.
  5. Strengthen communication networks of tribes, scientists, and other anti-climate-change actors so that collaboration can provide more specific fixes to climate change.

Africa

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The northernmost and southernmost countries within the continent of Africa are considered subtropical. Drought is one of the most significant threats posed by climate change to subtropical regions.[18] Drought leads to subsequent issues regarding the agricultural sector which has significant effects on the livelihoods of populations within those areas.[18] Pastoralists throughout the continent have coped with the aridity of the land through the adoption of a nomadic lifestyle to find different sources of water for their livestock.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Etchart, Linda (2017-08-22). "The role of indigenous peoples in combating climate change". Palgrave Communications. 3 (1): 1–4. doi:10.1057/palcomms.2017.85. ISSN 2055-1045.
  2. ^ "Indigenous Peoples". World Bank. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  3. ^ Sobrevila, Claudia (2008). The role of indigenous peoples in biodiversity conservation: the natural but often forgotten partners. Washington, DC: World Bank. p. 5.
  4. ^ "INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S FORUM ON CLIMATE CHANGE". INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S FORUM ON CLIMATE CHANGE. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  5. ^ "Key issues". INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S FORUM ON CLIMATE CHANGE. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  6. ^ a b c Ford, James D. (2012). "Indigenous health and climate change" (PDF). Am J Public Health. 102: 1260–6.
  7. ^ Norton-Smith, Kathryn (October 2016). "Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples: A Synthesis of Current Impacts and Experiences" (PDF). U.S. Forest Service.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Turner, Nancy J.; Clifton, Helen. "It's so different today: Climate change and indigenous lifeways in British Columbia, Canada" (PDF). Global Environmental Change. 19: 180–190.
  9. ^ McClintok, James; Ducklow, Hugh; Fraser, William (August 2008). "Ecological Responses to Climate Change on the Antarctic Peninsula: The Peninsula is an icy world that's warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, threatening a rich but delicate biological community". American Scientist. 96: 302–310 – via JSTOR.
  10. ^ a b "Report of the Indigenous Peoples' Global Summit on Climate Change." Proceedings of Indigenous People's Global Summit on Climate Change, Alaska, Anchorage.
  11. ^ Overeem, Irina; Anderson, Robert S.; Wobus, Cameron W.; Clow, Gary D.; Urban, Frank E.; Matell, Nora (2011). "Sea ice loss enhances wave action at the Arctic coast". Geophysical Research Letters. 38 (17). doi:10.1029/2011GL048681. ISSN 1944-8007.
  12. ^ Tsosie, Rebecca (2007). "Indigenous People and Environmental Justice: The Impact of Climate Change". University of Colorado Law Review. 78: 1625–1678.
  13. ^ Forbes, Donald (2011), State of the Arctic coast 2010: scientific review and outlook (PDF), Institute of Coastal Research
  14. ^ Alexander, Clarence; Bynum, Nora; Johnson, Elizabeth; King, Ursula; Mustonen, Tero; Neofotis, Peter; Oettlé, Noel; Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Sakakibara, Chie; Shadrin, Vyacheslav; Vicarelli, Marta (2011-06-01). "Linking Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge of Climate Change". BioScience. 61 (6): 477–484. doi:10.1525/bio.2011.61.6.10. ISSN 0006-3568.
  15. ^ Vinyeta, Kirsten; Lynn, Kathy (2013). "Exploring the role of traditional ecological knowledge in climate change initiatives" (PDF). General Technical Report. United States Department of Agriculture.
  16. ^ IPCC (2018). "Chapter 4: Strengthening and implementing the global response" (PDF). An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty.
  17. ^ a b Ajani, E.N; Mgbenka, R. N.; Okeke, M. N. (March 19, 2013). "Use of Indigenous Knowledge as a Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation among Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for Policy" (PDF). Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology. 2: 23–40 – via SCIENCEDOMAIN International.
  18. ^ a b Ishaya, S.; Abahe, I. B. (November 2008). "Indigenous people's perception on climate change and adaptation strategies in Jema'a local government area of Kaduna State, Nigeria" (PDF). Journal of Geography and Regional Planning. 1: 138–143.
  19. ^ Hansungule, Michelo; Jegede, Ademola Oluborode (2014). "The Impact of Climate Change on Indigenous Peoples' Land Tenure and Use: The Case for a Regional Policy in Africa". International Journal on Minority and Group Rights. 21: 256–292.
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