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

Loring, Philip A.; Gerlach, S. Craig; Atkinson, David E.; Murray, M. S.

doi:10.14430/arctic4081

Cited by 28 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 69 publications

(82 reference statements)

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“…In fishery systems worldwide, the ability of fishers to maintain a diverse portfolio of fishing strategies within and across fisheries is important for maintaining adaptive capacity when faced with multiple pressures (e.g., Cinner & Bodin, ; Loring et al., ). For example, Dungeness crab revenues stabilized income for U.S. West Coast commercial fishers when salmon and groundfish revenues declined (Little, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thirty years of change and the future of Alaskan fisheries: Shifts in fishing participation and diversification in response to environmental, regulatory and economic pressures

et al. 2019

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Heterogeneity in human responses and decision‐making can contribute to the resilience of social–ecological systems in the face of environmental, political and economic pressures. In fishery systems worldwide, the ability of harvesters to maintain a diverse portfolio of fishing strategies is important for building adaptive capacity. We used a case‐study approach to examine the complexity of factors that inhibit or promote diversification in fisheries of Alaska, one of the major fishing regions of the world. Through a combination of harvest records and literature review, we explored shifts in participation and portfolio diversity in Alaskan fisheries over three decades. The four case‐studies examined the responses of fishers, fleets and communities to multiple, intersecting pressures, including biological declines, market and price dynamics, fishery privatization and the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. These cases illustrate how stressors acting at multiple scales can encourage or constrain opportunities for diversification, and that these opportunities may be spread inequitably across participants. Overall, we found evidence for reduced participation and increasing specialization in Alaskan commercial fisheries. While numerous factors explain these trends, policies like individual quota systems and the increasing cost of entry into fisheries are forcing consolidation at local to regional scales. A portfolio approach to managing fisheries that reduces barriers to diversification and includes broad representation of resource users and communities in management may help to maintain opportunity and choice for fishers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thirty years of change and the future of Alaskan fisheries: Shifts in fishing participation and diversification in response to environmental, regulatory and economic pressures

et al. 2019

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“…In addition, changes in resource dynamics may cause a change in subsistence regulations, which could further limit subsistence activity. For example, dismal king salmon runs on the Yukon River in recent years have resulted in several closures to the fishery (Loring et al 2011). Therefore, activity levels among subsistence users that concentrate their efforts on king salmon may be as limited by regulations as by gasoline costs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities

Brinkman¹,

Maracle²,

Kelly³

et al. 2014

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Most rural residents in Arctic communities rely on motorized transportation to hunt, fish, trap, and gather subsistence resources. Although these technologies have created advantages, one significant disadvantage is that peoples' ability to meet their nutritional and cultural needs now depends on consistent opportunities for wage employment and availability of affordable fuel. Recent qualitative research suggested that rising fuel prices have disrupted subsistence lifestyles in the Arctic. Our objectives were to collaborate with subsistence users in rural Alaskan communities to quantify how rising fuel costs have impacted subsistence activities and explore ways local residents may adapt to the trajectory of change. We conducted interviews with 178 subsistence harvesters in 8 communities. During the last 10 years, 81% of the harvesters reduced the distance they traveled for subsistence and 89% reduced the number of subsistence trips they took because of gasoline costs. During the last 10 years, the median distance traveled to perform subsistence decreased by 60%, and the median annual number of trips taken to perform subsistence decreased by 75%. The change in subsistence activity was similar across and within communities. Eighty-five percent of the people interviewed reported that they were making sacrifices with serious consequences, such as putting off paying monthly bills, to buy gasoline for subsistence activities. To adapt to high gasoline prices, most participants said that they are using more efficient modes of transportation (69%), followed by more sharing of gasoline costs with family and friends (37%), and conducting more multipurpose subsistence trips (20%). With subsistence practices being critical to food security and cultural identity in the Arctic, our results suggest that unaffordable fuel has threatened social resilience. Because global markets drive gasoline prices, we suggest that future research focus on the effectiveness of adaptation options that build resilience into subsistence systems.

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“…This disparity of views can be an adaptation barrier in itself [34,15] [68]. At the same time, the different voices helped to flesh out the obstacles faced by both ANVs and decision-makers [42,76] [69]. Where there is agreement on barriers and facilitators to adaptation, solutions may be more feasible to implement [70,96] [71,58].…”

Section: Interviews With Those Outside Anvsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presenting a Picture of Alaska Native Village Adaptation: A Method of Analysis

Ristroph¹

2017

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Alaska is a large state with 229 nationally recognized tribes, known as Alaska Native Villages (ANVs). Efforts to understand ANV climate change adaptation have often been limited to a particular concern (i.e., flooding and erosion) in a particular part of Alaska (i.e., the west coast). My study is the first that I am aware of attempting to identify adaptation actions, strategies and barriers across the entire state of Alaska and recommend ways for laws and institutions to facilitate adaptation. In this article, I explain a distinct method for identifying adaptation actions, strategies, and barriers that draws on literature, community plans, laws, and interviews and conversations with 153 participants (including ANV residents and those that make or influence policy affecting ANVs). Rather than coding particular segments of an interview or plan, I numerically code interviews and plans as a whole, based on themes expressed therein and from the literature. At the same time, I keep track of quotations that help clarify these themes. This method yields a complex picture of ANV adaptation that shows different views of climate change and adaptation strategies among different sources. Preliminary results of the study suggest a need for measures to improve implementation of community-level adaptation actions, rather than perpetuating a system of government-sponsored planning and data collection in narrow areas. Institutional changes need to be incremental in order to gain political support, yet they must be holistic in addressing the many challenges that ANVs face.

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

Cited by 28 publications

References 69 publications

Thirty years of change and the future of Alaskan fisheries: Shifts in fishing participation and diversification in response to environmental, regulatory and economic pressures

Thirty years of change and the future of Alaskan fisheries: Shifts in fishing participation and diversification in response to environmental, regulatory and economic pressures

Impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities

Presenting a Picture of Alaska Native Village Adaptation: A Method of Analysis

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