The human implications of climate change for indigenous communities in the Arctic

This paper builds upon work done by the author in collaboration with the traditional Inuit communities of Arctic Bay and Igloolik, Nunavut, on the human implications of climate change. The work uses the vulnerability approach developed by Ford and Smit (2004). Special emphasis in this approach is placed on the resource use options and risk management strategies employed by people (past and present) to manage climatic and environmental conditions and changes, and those characteristics of the human system which influence the ability to manage risks.The paper argues that these responses are instructive; how communities experience and manage future climate change will be facilitated and constrained by the same processes and conditions which have determined the efficacy, availability, and success of past and present adaptations.(Adapted from author)