Alaska Climate Change Adaptation Research Project Center for Water Advocacy NW Tribal Water Rights Conference Anchorage, Alaska, October 10, 2013 E. Barrett Ristroph, Esq. Ph.D. Candidate, University of Hawaii | 1

My Background  From South Louisiana, which is experiencing severe erosion due to O&G  Don’t want to see AK go same route as LA!  Lived in AK 5+ years and will return next September 2 NOAA  Taking coursework for 1 year at University of Hawaii’s Planning Department and working at the Natural Disaster Preparedness Training Center  Ph.D. dissertation on legal, institutional, and cultural barriers to climate change adaptation

Vulnerability  Indigenous communities in AK, low-lying Pacific Islands, and South La. are some most vulnerable due to  Eroding coast lines  Lack of financial and institutional capacity  Strong interconnection with traditional lands  Concerned that climate change means loss of homeland and identity  2009 Government Accountability Office report: 86% of AK Native Villages threatened by flooding and erosion  31 facing imminent threats  At least 12 to relocate or explore relocation options 3

Need for Research  Adaptive response to climate change could strengthen the capacity to cope with climate change risks and impacts for some period of time, even if migration ultimately required  Adaptation assessments have led to a general awareness of adaptation needs and options, but little action  Existing research has assessed impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation planning, but little assessing the implementation and evaluation of actual adaptation actions 4 USGS

Goal of Research  Focus on two Alaska Native Villages that wish to remain in place for as long as they can  Assess the current environment, cultural conditions, and legal framework governing climate change in Alaska villages and in indigenous settlements in coastal Louisiana and U.S. Pacific islands  Examine barriers to implementation of adaptation measures  Consider implications for policy reform  Integrate community (traditional) knowledge and raise its profile in social science research 5

Questions to Consider  What changes to the climate and landscape have been observed in the last two decades, particularly those associated with storms, flooding, and erosion?  What laws and policies address climate change adaptation in terms of mitigating and responding to disasters such as flooding and erosion, fortifying or relocating infrastructure, and the resettlement of an entire community?  What are the potential adaptation measures the community has considered? Which measures does the community believe are likely to be successful and why? 6 NDTPC, Kivalina airport adaptation

Obstacles communities have encountered in change adaptation planning?  Lack of coordination between levels of government?  Lack of local control and capacity?  Lingering impacts of colonization on indigenous settlements?  In Alaska  Loss of ACMP that would allow for local input?  Lack of tribal sovereignty over land?  Divisions that communities may experience as a result of ANCSA system?  No action from Alaska governor’s sub-cabinet on climate change ? 7

Analysis  Similarities and differences between adaptation measures and barriers in two Alaska villages, and between Alaska and other vulnerable American jurisdictions?  Can lessons about climate change adaptation be transferred between American jurisdictions?  Reforms that could be made to federal, state, or local laws to provide for climate change adaptation, particularly in context of traditionally marginalized communities? 8

Collection of Community Knowledge  Multiple visits to the Alaska villages and possibly other locations to collect community knowledge on  Current state of the environment  Potential adaptation measures  Likelihood of their success  Barriers to adaptation and community resilience  Semi-directed interviews and possibly questionnaires may be used  Aim is to highlight importance of community knowledge in planning research and decision-making 9

Need Help!  I am looking for coastal communities who would like to be involved in this project, and individuals who would be willing to share their stories  I am concerned about communities getting burnt out from too many studies and meetings and not enough action  I would like to work with communities to come up with practical ideas that cane be used and implemented, beyond a dissertation that will sit on a shelf 10