IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/climat/v160y2020i1d10.1007_s10584-019-02647-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“The best scientists are the people that’s out there”: Inuit-led integrated environment and health monitoring to respond to climate change in the Circumpolar North

Author

Listed:
  • Alexandra Sawatzky

    (University of Guelph
    University of Alberta)

  • Ashlee Cunsolo

    (Labrador Institute of Memorial University)

  • Andria Jones-Bitton

    (University of Guelph)

  • Dan Gillis

    (University of Guelph)

  • Michele Wood

    (Nunatsiavut Government)

  • Charlie Flowers

    (University of Guelph)

  • Inez Shiwak

    (Rigolet Inuit Community Government
    Rigolet Inuit Community Government)

  • Sherilee L. Harper

    (University of Guelph
    University of Alberta)

Abstract

Amidst unprecedented variability and change in climate across the Circumpolar North, increasing attention has been directed towards integrated environment and health monitoring systems to inform responses to climate change impacts on Inuit health. Yet, existing monitoring systems are often not designed to consider Inuit-identified conceptualizations of wellbeing that can help identify, monitor, and respond to the more intangible losses and damages from climate change. This study—conducted in partnership with the Inuit community of Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada—aimed to characterize what Inuit value and want monitored to develop a conceptual framework for an Inuit-led integrated monitoring system. Using community-led research approaches, data were drawn from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 31 individuals including community members (n = 13), government representatives (n = 14), and healthcare professionals (n = 4) in Nunatsiavut between 2015 and 2016. Thematic analysis of these data was guided by a constant-comparative process. Interviewees described how monitoring climatic and environmental conditions was grounded in land-attachment, reciprocity, knowledge sharing, and self-determination. Findings enhance understandings of how Inuit-led monitoring in the North can guide climate change adaptation that considers intangible losses and damages to wellbeing and ways of living. Further, these findings illustrate how localized perspectives on climate change can contribute to place-based public health research and policy that reflect what matters most to communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandra Sawatzky & Ashlee Cunsolo & Andria Jones-Bitton & Dan Gillis & Michele Wood & Charlie Flowers & Inez Shiwak & Sherilee L. Harper, 2020. "“The best scientists are the people that’s out there”: Inuit-led integrated environment and health monitoring to respond to climate change in the Circumpolar North," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 45-66, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:160:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-019-02647-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-019-02647-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10584-019-02647-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10584-019-02647-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cunsolo Willox, Ashlee & Harper, Sherilee L. & Ford, James D. & Landman, Karen & Houle, Karen & Edge, Victoria L., 2012. "“From this place and of this place:” Climate change, sense of place, and health in Nunatsiavut, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 538-547.
    2. Durkalec, Agata & Furgal, Chris & Skinner, Mark W. & Sheldon, Tom, 2015. "Climate change influences on environment as a determinant of Indigenous health: Relationships to place, sea ice, and health in an Inuit community," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 136, pages 17-26.
    3. David L. Driscoll & Erica Mitchell & Rebecca Barker & Janet M. Johnston & Sue Renes, 2016. "Assessing the health effects of climate change in Alaska with community-based surveillance," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 455-466, August.
    4. Ramm, Timothy David & Graham, Sonia & White, Christopher John & Watson, Christopher Stephen, 2017. "Advancing values-based approaches to climate change adaptation: A case study from Australia," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 113-123.
    5. Ford, J.D. & Willox, A.C. & Chatwood, S. & Furgal, C. & Harper, S. & Mauro, I. & Pearce, T., 2014. "Adapting to the effects of climate change on inuit health," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(S3), pages 9-17.
    6. W. Neil Adger & Jon Barnett & Katrina Brown & Nadine Marshall & Karen O'Brien, 2013. "Cultural dimensions of climate change impacts and adaptation," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(2), pages 112-117, February.
    7. Ellis, Neville R. & Albrecht, Glenn A., 2017. "Climate change threats to family farmers' sense of place and mental wellbeing: A case study from the Western Australian Wheatbelt," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 161-168.
    8. Robin Gregory & Doug Easterling & Nicole Kaechele & William Trousdale, 2016. "Values‐Based Measures of Impacts to Indigenous Health," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(8), pages 1581-1588, August.
    9. Petrasek MacDonald, Joanna & Cunsolo Willox, Ashlee & Ford, James D. & Shiwak, Inez & Wood, Michele, 2015. "Protective factors for mental health and well-being in a changing climate: Perspectives from Inuit youth in Nunatsiavut, Labrador," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 133-141.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fiona Charlson & Suhailah Ali & Tarik Benmarhnia & Madeleine Pearl & Alessandro Massazza & Jura Augustinavicius & James G. Scott, 2021. "Climate Change and Mental Health: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-38, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Petra Tschakert & Jon Barnett & Neville Ellis & Carmen Lawrence & Nancy Tuana & Mark New & Carmen Elrick‐Barr & Ram Pandit & David Pannell, 2017. "Climate change and loss, as if people mattered: values, places, and experiences," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(5), September.
    2. Alexandra Sawatzky & Ashlee Cunsolo & Andria Jones-Bitton & Jacqueline Middleton & Sherilee L. Harper, 2018. "Responding to Climate and Environmental Change Impacts on Human Health via Integrated Surveillance in the Circumpolar North: A Systematic Realist Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-37, November.
    3. Nelson, Sarah E. & Wilson, Kathi, 2017. "The mental health of Indigenous peoples in Canada: A critical review of research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 93-112.
    4. Middleton, Jacqueline & Cunsolo, Ashlee & Jones-Bitton, Andria & Shiwak, Inez & Wood, Michele & Pollock, Nathaniel & Flowers, Charlie & Harper, Sherilee L., 2020. "“We're people of the snow:” Weather, climate change, and Inuit mental wellness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    5. Nia King & Rachael Vriezen & Victoria L Edge & James Ford & Michele Wood & IHACC Research Team & Rigolet Inuit Community Government & Sherilee Harper, 2018. "The hidden costs: Identification of indirect costs associated with acute gastrointestinal illness in an Inuit community," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-21, May.
    6. Katy Davis & James D. Ford & Claire H. Quinn & Anuszka Mosurska & Melanie Flynn & IHACC Research Team & Sherilee L. Harper, 2022. "Shifting Safeties and Mobilities on the Land in Arctic North America: A Systematic Approach to Identifying the Root Causes of Disaster," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-23, June.
    7. Galway, Lindsay P. & Esquega, Elizabeth & Jones-Casey, Kelsey, 2022. "“Land is everything, land is us”: Exploring the connections between climate change, land, and health in Fort William First Nation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    8. Ellis, Neville R. & Albrecht, Glenn A., 2017. "Climate change threats to family farmers' sense of place and mental wellbeing: A case study from the Western Australian Wheatbelt," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 161-168.
    9. Ford, James D. & Macdonald, Joanna Petrasek & Huet, Catherine & Statham, Sara & MacRury, Allison, 2016. "Food policy in the Canadian North: Is there a role for country food markets?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 35-40.
    10. Harper, Sherilee L. & Edge, Victoria L. & Ford, James & Thomas, M. Kate & McEwen, Scott A., 2015. "Lived experience of acute gastrointestinal illness in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut: “Just suffer through it”," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 86-98.
    11. Megan J. Grace & Jen Dickie & Phil Bartie & Caroline Brown & David M. Oliver, 2023. "Understanding Health Outcomes from Exposure to Blue Space Resources: Towards a Mixed Methods Framework for Analysis," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-20, November.
    12. Heather McMillen & Lindsay K. Campbell & Erika S. Svendsen & Renae Reynolds, 2016. "Recognizing Stewardship Practices as Indicators of Social Resilience: In Living Memorials and in a Community Garden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-26, August.
    13. Stephanie E. Austin & Robbert Biesbroek & Lea Berrang-Ford & James D. Ford & Stephen Parker & Manon D. Fleury, 2016. "Public Health Adaptation to Climate Change in OECD Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, September.
    14. Jeetendra Prakash Aryal & Tek B. Sapkota & Ritika Khurana & Arun Khatri-Chhetri & Dil Bahadur Rahut & M. L. Jat, 2020. "Climate change and agriculture in South Asia: adaptation options in smallholder production systems," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 5045-5075, August.
    15. Caviedes, Julián & Ibarra, José Tomás & Calvet-Mir, Laura & Álvarez-Fernández, Santiago & Junqueira, André Braga, 2024. "Indigenous and local knowledge on social-ecological changes is positively associated with livelihood resilience in a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    16. Iwowari Beatrice Dute, 2020. "The Influence of Cross-Cultural Language and Background on Climate Change Perception – An Empirical Investigation," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 7(9), pages 50-55, September.
    17. Taylor, Chris & Cullen, Brendan & D'Occhio, Michael & Rickards, Lauren & Eckard, Richard, 2018. "Trends in wheat yields under representative climate futures: Implications for climate adaptation," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-10.
    18. Ethan Gordon & Federico Davila & Chris Riedy, 2022. "Transforming landscapes and mindscapes through regenerative agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 809-826, June.
    19. Koteswara Rao Kodirekkala, 2018. "Cultural adaptation to climate change among indigenous people of South India," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 299-312, March.
    20. Ryan S. Naylor & Carter A. Hunt & Karl S. Zimmerer & B. Derrick Taff, 2021. "Emic Views of Community Resilience and Coastal Tourism Development," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:160:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-019-02647-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.