Arctic Policy and Climate Change Adaption Planning Hal Shepherd Water Policy Consulting, LLC

Transcription

1 Arctic Policy and Climate Change Adaption Planning Hal Shepherd Water Policy Consulting, LLC (907)

2 Nowhere on Earth has Global Warming had a More Severe Impact than the Arctic Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Comprehensive international evaluation of arctic climate change and its impacts undertaken by hundreds of scientists over four years. The Arctic is extremely vulnerable to observed and projected climate change and its impacts [and] is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on Earth.

3 Arctic Impacts Because annual average arctic temperatures are increasing more than twice as fast as temperatures in the rest of the world, climate change has already caused severe impacts including: Deterioration in ice conditions, Decrease in the quantity and quality of snow, Changes in the weather and weather patterns, and A transfigured landscape as permafrost melts at an alarming rate, causing slumping, landslides, and severe erosion in some coastal areas.

4 Fed Announces New Arctic and Tribal Nations Initiatives Derived from President Obama s visit to Alaska in early September; Includes multiple new investments to combat climate change and assist remote Alaskan communities including: Federal coordinator for building climate resilience in Alaska; Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants to improve rural Alaska water systems; Releasing a compendium of Federal resilience programs for Alaskan communities; Investing in capacity in remote tribal communities; Developing equitable and responsible principles for relocation; Funding; Guidance for tribal disaster declarations; Expanding access to Arctic data and tools

5 Climate Resilience Toolkit Arctic Theme Of the 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States, 40 percent live in Alaska Native communities; Rapid pace of rising temperatures, melting sea ice and glaciers, and thawing permafrost in Alaska is having a significant negative impact on critical infrastructure and traditional livelihoods in the state; Some native coastal communities are being forced to relocate to higher ground after experiencing more extreme storm surges, flooding, and sea level rise; Sovereign Tribal Nations often work with a variety of partners in innovative ways to integrate traditional knowledge with technology tools and diverse research methods to effectively address climate change and related impacts;

6 Climate Resilience Toolkit Arctic Theme Website developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other Federal agencies that will enable decision-makers to take action; Consists of a new set of online climate data resources to help Arctic communities; Comprises more than 250 Arctic-related datasets and more than 40 maps, tools, and other resources designed to support climateresilience efforts in the Arctic.

7 Climate Resilience Toolkit Arctic Theme Will boost climate resiliency by using datadriven tools, information and subject-matter expertise; Also offers information from across the Federal government in one easy-to-use location Enables individuals to make decisions to improve resilience;

8 Climate Resilience Toolkit Arctic Theme To add your own tools not yet available above, or showcase your tribe s response to climate challenges contact: BIA Climate Change Program IT/GIS Coordinator, Margaret.Herzog@bia.gov (720)

9 Guidelines for Considering TEK in Climate Change Initiatives Increasing recognition of the significance of traditional knowledges in relation to climate changes; Intended to examine the significance of TKs in relation to climate change and the potential risks to indigenous peoples in the U.S. for sharing TKs in federal and other non-indigenous climate change initiatives; Although it is common to refer to traditional knowledge(s) as individual pieces of information, this term also refers to traditional knowledge systems that are deeply embedded in indigenous ways of life; Tribes and indigenous peoples use knowledges to emphasize that there are diverse forms of traditional knowledge and knowledge systems that must be recognized as unique to each tribe and knowledge holder; Should be used to inform the development of specific protocols in direct and close consultation with indigenous peoples;

10 Traditional Knowledge and the Arctic Environment Understanding changing dynamics of climate on flora and fauna in the Arctic requires personal knowledge and on-the-ground information; TEK, which is passed down from generation to generation in the Arctic, is an important part of our collective understanding; As the region experiences rapid climate change as well as increased vessel traffic and offshore oil and gas, mining and other development, policies should reflect local interests and knowledge about the function of the highly sensitive arctic ecosystem.

11 Traditional Knowledge Applications Bowhead hunters have long pointed out that the whales can be affected by smells; when approached bowheads that were downwind would dive or move away; Other marine mammals similarly display this same behavior; Biologists recently confirmed that the Bowheads do, in fact, have a sense of smell not been accepted by scientific community.

12 Arctic Executive Steering Committee Will work across agencies, the white house, and with state, local, and Alaska Native tribal governments; DOI, Hud and the erosion workgroup has been focusing on a group of native coastal villages that are in imminent danger; DOI has awarded a $1 million planning grant to the state of Alaska to work over four years with three communities at invite by the state as being in the most need includes Shismaref and Newtok.

13 Eight Arctic States: Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States; Six international organizations representing Arctic Indigenous Peoples have permanent participant status; National security, economic development and scientific research are important U.S. interests in the region; U.S. Arctic policy emphasizes environmental protection, sustainable development, human health and the role of indigenous people.

14 Goals & Programs U.S. delegation goals include improving economic and living conditions for people and addressing climate change impact in the Arctic including: Ocean Acidification Would like to spur more research into what that really means; Sea ice, snow cover, glaciers and permafrost are all diminishing due to Arctic warming; Accelerating loss of ice from the Greenland ice sheet contributes to global sea level rise; Black carbon, the dark particulate pollution also known as soot Carried northward on atmospheric currents, and it has a particular effect on the Arctic.

15 Inuit Circumpolar Council Alaska Non-profit corporation that represents and advocates for the Iñupiat of the Arctic Slope, Northwest, and Bering Straits, St. Lawrence Island (Siberian) Yupik; and Central Yup ik and Cup ik of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Southwest Alaska; Member country to the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) International non-governmental organization Represents the interest of approximately 155,000 Inuit of the United States, Canada, Greenland and Russia; Represents Inuit from Alaska at the ICC.

16 Inuit Circumpolar Council Petition Requests the assistance of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in obtaining relief from human rights violations resulting from the impacts of global warming and climate change caused by acts and omissions of the United States; Claims Broad scientific consensus that global warming is caused by the increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere as a result of human activity; United States is world s largest emitter of greenhouse gases Thus bears the greatest responsibility among nations for causing global warming;

17 Inuit Circumpolar Council Petition Claims Because Inuit culture is inseparable from the condition of their physical surroundings, the widespread environmental upheaval resulting from climate change violates the Inuit s right to practice and enjoy the benefits of their culture; All Inuit share a common culture characterized by dependence on subsistence harvesting in both the terrestrial and marine environments, sharing of food, travel on snow and ice, a common base of traditional knowledge, and adaptation to similar Arctic conditions; Subsistence harvesting also provides spiritual and cultural affirmation, and is crucial for passing skills, knowledge and values from one generation to the next, thus ensuring continuity and vibrancy.

18 Inuit Circumpolar Council Petition Claims Because Inuit have developed an intimate relationship with their surroundings, their culture, economy and identity depend upon the ice and snow; Impacts of climate change, caused by acts and omissions by the United States, violate the Inuit s fundamental human rights protected by the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and other international instrument including the rights to: benefits of culture, to property, to the preservation of health, life, physical integrity, security, and a means of subsistence, and to residence, movement, and inviolability of the home.

19 Alaska Polar Bears & Climate Change Listed as threatened under Endangered Species Act, by Secretary of Interior But exempted greenhouse gas emissions from regulation under the Endangered Species Act. In 2010 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protected 120 million acres of the species habitat Largest critical habitat designation in Endangered Species Act history; Bear s are impacted both by near-record Arctic sea-ice loss and continued development of oil and gas in critical habitat. TroubleForPolarBears.pdf

20 Walrus & Climate Change Losing haul-out habitat as the ice recedes north past the shallow shelf waters used by walrus for feeding; Results in driving the walrus to find beach areas where they can haul out and rest conserving valuable energy Especially in light of the significant loss of easy access to traditional feeding areas; This new trend makes it is problematic to try and identify what is likely to become critical haul-out Habitat and therefore what habitat needs protection.

21 Bearded, Ringed & Spotted Seals Winter sea ice in the Bering, Okhotsk and Barents seas, which is projected to decline by at least 40 percent by midcentury, is prime habitat for seals; In 2012 the National Marine Fisheries Service finalized protections for the bearded and ringed seals To make sure seals have ice on which to haul out; Spotted seal was denied those protections in the United States and granted safeguards only in China and Russia.

22 Speaking of Arctic Drilling Recent announcement by the federal government cancelling two impending offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas and denying two lease extensions; President Barack Obama's decision to ask Congress to designate million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a wilderness area, putting the land off-limits for oil Drilling In addition to the 7 million acres already designated as wilderness.

23 Increased Shipping Challenges and Opportunities Increased Commercial and Military activity in the North; Vulnerability related to human safety, environment, and vessels/installations; Maritime & Commercial Operations Challenges; limited infrastructure, low temperatures with ice and icing, polar lows, conflicting interests among stakeholders; Region is both ecologically sensitive and remote; Coast Guard taking steps to plot 4 mile wide shipping route that will help ships safely navigate the 53-mile wide Bering Strait waterway.

24 Coast Guard studies shipping lanes for Bering Sea routes We don't have good response capabilities. We don't have a good salvage response up there. We have inadequate pollution-fighting equipment up there. If something were to go wrong, it really could compound itself Lt. Kody Stitz, Project Officer, Waterways Management Branch.

25 Coast Guard studies shipping lanes for Bering Sea routes One of the vessels planning to transit the Bering Strait next year is the 820-foot luxury cruise ship, the Crystal Serenity, which will travel from Seward, Alaska, to New York by way of the Northwest Passage; What if this happened in The Arctic?

26 Environmental Concerns Safety, E.g - Diomede Islands provides nesting colonies for largest bird concentration in Alaska; Speed limit? Bering Strait is passageway for hundreds of thousands of animals that migrate from the North Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, including bowhead and gray whales; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - proposed lane should be shifted west in the southern Bering Sea to protect endangered right whales; More study to determine if the lane overlaps with migratory routes of bowhead whales?

27 Shipping in the Arctic Oil & Gas Transport

28 Social Un-rest & Climate Change Human Security is a condition that exists when the vital core of human lives is protected, and when people have the freedom and capacity to live with dignity; Environmental Security is a process where solutions to environmental problems contribute to national security objectives of increasing stability and decreasing instability; Climate Security concerns the direct and indirect security implications of climate change. By placing strains on the infrastructure and resources necessary for the viability of the nationstate system and the well-being of its populations, and by physically changing the geostrategic environment. The Center for Climate and Security.

29 Trauma Informed Communities Environmental security variables and attendant impacts.

30 Global Climate Change Impacts - Primarily Through Water and Food

31 Russia to station military unit in the Arctic by 2018 Creation and arming of Russian military units should be completed by 2018; Also building several new air basis and rebuilding 6 soviet era air bases. Sergie Shoiga, Russian Defense Minister. Russian heavy bombers flew more out-of-area patrols in 2014 than in any year since the Cold War. Arctic Security Initiative

32 World Wide Ice Breaker Distribution

33 Climate Change and Litigation in the Arctic Native Inupiat village of Kivalina, Alaska Suit against oil, power and coal companis from damages leading to relocation due to global to climate change Nelson Kanuk & 6 Other Young Adults Sued State of Alaska Claiming State has not adequately addressed carbon emissions and global warming; Cited direct impacts from climate change, including the river in front of the Kanuk family s home in the Western Alaska village of Kipnuk was carving away the melting permafrost beneath their land.

34 Our Children s Trust 21 young people from across the United States (including Alaska) filed constitutional climate change lawsuit against the federal government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon; Asserts: in causing climate change, the federal government has violated the youngest generation s constitutional rights to life, liberty, property, as well as failed to protect essential public trust resources by promoting the development and use of fossil fuels; No less important than in the Civil Rights cases Seeks a court order requiring the President to immediately implement a national plan to decrease atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) to 350 ppm by the year 2100.

35 The Paris Talks International Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Climate Change is organizing regional preparatory meetings to elaborate a consolidated position and advocacy strategy; Dialogue meeting between States and indigenous peoples is planned for November 27; Indigenous Caucus will convene a preparatory meeting on November 29 for all indigenous peoples' representatives attending the talks.

36 Indigenous Peoples Demands States take urgent action to tackle global warming and climate change and commit to keeping global temperature increase below 1.5º C; Parties should ensure an overarching human rights approach to all climate change interventions, procedures, mitigation strategies and adaptation; See: International indigenous peoples' recommendations to the Zero Draft of the Paris Agreement and COP decisions, October 2015; Indigenous peoples' key demands for the Paris Agreement, its implementation and monitoring

37 Any Questions?