Food and water security in a changing arctic climate

Abstract

In the Arctic, permafrost extends up to 500 m below the ground surface, and it is generally just the top metre that thaws in summer. Lakes, rivers, and wetlands on the arctic landscape are normally not connected with groundwater in the same way that they are in temperate regions. When the surface is frozen in winter, only lakes deeper than 2 m and rivers with significant flow retain liquid water. Surface water is largely abundant in summer, when it serves as a breeding ground for fish, birds, and mammals. In winter, many mammals and birds are forced to migrate out of the Arctic. Fish must seek out lakes or rivers deep enough to provide good overwintering habitat.Humans in the Arctic rely on surface water in many ways. Surface water meets domestic needs such as drinking, cooking, and cleaning as well as subsistence and industrial demands. Indigenous communities depend on sea ice and waterways for transportation across the landscape and access to traditional country foods. The minerals, mining, and oil and gas industries also use large quantities of surface water during winter to build ice roads and maintain infrastructure. As demand for this limited, but heavily-relied-upon resource continues to increase, it is now more critical than ever to understand the impacts of climate change on food and water security in the Arctic.

Prevalence of food insecurity in a Greenlandic community and the importance of social, economic and environmental stressors

“…The literature highlights multiple social, cultural, economic, and environmental stresses constraining the food security of many Arctic communities (3,(10)(11)(12)(13)17,19). Many of these stresses are predicted to accelerate in the future given the ongoing pace of resource development, globalization and climate change.…”

“…Many of these stresses are predicted to accelerate in the future given the ongoing pace of resource development, globalization and climate change. In this context, developing a baseline understanding of the prevalence and experience of food insecurity and its determinants has been identified as a research priority (16,(19)(20)(21). This is particularly pertinent in Greenland where limited research on food security has been conducted.…”

Sustainable Agriculture for Alaska and the Circumpolar North: Part I. Development and Status of Northern Agriculture and Food Security

“…In the 1970s, the Alaska State Legislature addressed food insecurity when the Commerce Committee drafted a resolution proposing actions to combat the vulnerability of Alaska to food shortage and limited local production, stating that: …a sound and sustained agricultural production, processing and marketing industry is necessary to the 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2009-2010 Population of Alaska (in thousands) Aspects of food security in Alaska have been discussed previously (Drew, 1977;Dearborn, 1979;Caulfield, 2002;Dunlap et al, 2007;Nord et al, 2007;White et al, 2007;Fazzino and Loring, 2009;Loring and Gerlach, 2009;Meadow, 2009;Stevenson, 2009aStevenson, , 2011Loring, 2010;Helfferich and Tarnai, 2010;Paragi et al, 2010), and it appears that increases in both rural and urban agriculture will be important for producing a more food-secure state, especially in view of some struggling wild food sources. Some authors report that federal and state resource management policies have made it difficult for Alaskan hunters to alter their harvest strategies effectively (Natcher and Davis, 2007), and others question whether changes in climate might affect movements and harvests of marine subsistence species such as walrus, seal, beluga whale, and salmon (Gofman and Smith, 2009).…”

“…Some authors report that federal and state resource management policies have made it difficult for Alaskan hunters to alter their harvest strategies effectively (Natcher and Davis, 2007), and others question whether changes in climate might affect movements and harvests of marine subsistence species such as walrus, seal, beluga whale, and salmon (Gofman and Smith, 2009). There is also no guarantee for the future that enough wild food will always be able to be harvested, processed, and stored to satisfy the needs of all communities or provide nutritious food throughout Alaska's long winters (White et al, 2007).…”

Ways to Help and Ways to Hinder: Governance for Effective Adaptation to an Uncertain Climate

“…Regional climatic and environmental changes are already having a notable, though unpredictable and often non-linear effect on subsistence activities, through changes in hydrology, seasonality and phenology, land cover, and fish and wildlife abundance and distributions (Nuttall et al, 2004;Rattenbury, 2006;White et al, 2007;McNeeley, 2009). Despite the broad-scale directional trends projected for warming and drying in the region (Chapin et al, 2006), the down-scale impacts of climatic change are being experienced not directionally, but in terms of greater interannual and interseasonal variability (McNeeley, 2009;Wendler and Shulski, 2009).…”