Community-based monitoring of Indigenous food security in a changing climate: global trends and future directions

Abstract

Climate change is expected to exacerbate existing food security challenges, especially in Indigenous communities worldwide. Community-based monitoring (CBM) is considered a promising strategy to improve monitoring of, and local adaptation to climatic and environmental change. Yet, it is unclear how this approach can be applied in food security or Indigenous contexts. The objectives of this paper are to: (1) review and synthesize the published literature on CBM of Indigenous food security; and, (2) identify gaps and trends in these monitoring efforts in the context of climate change. Using a systematic search and screening process, we identified 86 published articles. To be included, articles had to be published in a journal, describe a CBM system, describe any aspect of food security, and explicitly mention an Indigenous community. Relevant articles were thematically analyzed to characterize elements of CBM in the context of climate change. Results show that the number of articles published over time was steady and increased more than two-fold within the last five years. The reviewed articles reported on monitoring mainly in North America (37%) and South America (28%). In general, monitoring was either collaborative (51%) or externally-driven (37%), and focused primarily on tracking wildlife (29%), followed by natural resources (16%), environmental change (15%), fisheries (13%), climate change (9%), or some combination of these topics (18%). This review provides an evidence-base on the uses, characteristics, and opportunities of CBM, to guide future food security monitoring efforts in the context of climate change.

Northern Canadian Indigenous and the environment

“…This is particularly true among Indigenous populations of Canada. Canadian Indigenous peoples share a strong, longstanding relationship with the natural environment and have been driven to adapt as a result of colonialism, systemic oppression and exclusion, forced displacement, and climate change [1][2][3]. Harmony between humans and the natural world is highly revered among Indigenous communities.…”

“…Canadian researchers, including Papadopoulos, have been attempting to develop culturally appropriate strategies to aid in Indigenous adaptation to climate change. These approaches have tended to utilize some form of collaborative, community-based monitoring, where members of Indigenous communities were actively involved in the monitoring of environmental change [2]. Firstly, traditional knowledge can help contextualize scientific observations and better scientific understanding of the local impacts of climate change.…”

“…However, these effects are extremely culturally dependent. Different cultures possess different values and priorities; therefore, it is essential to address impacts through a culturally dependent lens [2,3,6,12]. Papadopoulos explained that it's important for researchers, public health officials, or members of the government to recognize the specific values of communities and provide support in an appropriate manner.…”

“…In Geneva, the first World Health Organization [WHO] Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health was held in 2018. The chief aim of which was to catalyze a global response against air pollution, associated disease exposures, and overall cost to society [2]. This same objective is echoed by the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change [LCHCC], an annual, international, and multidisciplinary report that highlights and monitors the evolving landscape of health in the era of climate change [3].…”

Integrating climate in Ugandan health and subsistence food systems: where diverse knowledges meet

“…Existing surveillance systems and conventional epidemiological approaches, however, do not always consider broader contextual, cultural, historical, social and political processes of health inequities, and thus have the tendency to further discriminate against and omit marginalized groups of people [22][23][24][25][26]. Place-and community-based forms of monitoring and response are important in underpinning the development of both an integrated as well as equitable evidence base that will inform our understanding of climate-health impacts [27][28][29][30][31][32]. Meaningful engagement of local communities, Indigenous peoples, and experts in this surveillance process not only helps build an evidence base that is equitably diverse and locally meaningful, but also informs the usability of information and connects knowledges 1 into decisionmaking and action-oriented processes [32][33][34][35][36][37][38].…”