Staying in place during times of change in Arctic Alaska: the implications of attachment, alternatives, and buffering

Abstract

The relationship between stability and change in social-ecological systems has received considerable attention in recent years, including the expectation that significant environmental changes will drive observable consequences for individuals, communities, and populations. Migration, as one example of response to adverse economic or environmental changes, has been observed in many places, including parts of the Far North. In Arctic Alaska, a relative lack of demographic or migratory response to rapid environmental and other changes has been observed. To understand why Arctic Alaska appears different, we draw on the literature on environmentally driven migration, focusing on three mechanisms that could account for the lack of response: attachment, the desire to remain in place, or the inability to relocate successfully; alternatives, ways to achieve similar outcomes through different means; and buffering, the reliance on subsidies or use of reserves to delay impacts. Each explanation has different implications for research and policy, indicating a need to further explore the relative contribution that each makes to a given situation in order to develop more effective responses locally and regionally. Given that the Arctic is on the front lines of climate change, these explanations are likely relevant to the ways changes play out in other parts of the world. Our review also underscores the importance of further attention to the details of social dynamics in climate change impacts and responses.

Changing access to ice, land and water in Arctic communities

“…The importance of Indigenous knowledge (IK) in affecting trail usage and adapting to climate change is well-documented 49,50 , although this is the first study to quantify the magnitude of the impact on trail access. If training and experience resulted in all low tolerance users shifting to become normal tolerance users by developing competence and confidence in traveling in a broader set of conditions, this could potentially improve access by 45 days per year across transport types.…”

Applying the food–energy–water nexus concept at the local scale

“…Loss of mail subsidies could lead to food substitution and poorer health outcomes over time, though food security may appear unaffected in the short-term 22 . Such lags and buffers have been seen in demographic responses to economic and environmental disruptions in rural Alaska 49,50 . In our study, we found a more complex system with more subtle interactions than we had anticipated.…”

‘Staying’ as climate change adaptation strategy: A proposed research agenda

“…More recently, 'adaptive' or 'evolutionary' approaches to resilience have emerged highlighting the need to view resilience as an on-going process of adaptation and re-adaptation (Hayes et al, 2019). Such a perspective can therefore be used to facilitate a more nuanced understanding of how individuals' everyday lives are often subject to constant negotiation and re-negotiation and which may, in turn, lead to strategies of staying (rather than moving) as a response to climate change (Huntington et al, 2018). Viewing resilience in this way also emphasises how individuals and communities change their expectations and ways of living over time and space (Adger et al, 2009).…”