
765
Human Security Chapter 12
12
2
003; Furgal and Seguin, 2006; Catto and Parewick, 2008; Fazey et al.,
2010; Gero et al., 2011; Harries and Penning-Rowsell, 2011; Anik and
Khan, 2012; Sudmeier-Riuex et al., 2012; Adler, et al., 2013). Specifically,
this literature finds that community participation in risk and vulnerability
assessments produces more sustainable solutions (Ardalan et al., 2010;
Gero et al., 2011) and that co-management of resources and learning
increase adaptive capacity (Ford et al., 2007; Dumaru, 2010; Fazey et
al., 2010; Armitage et al., 2011). Much of this literature recognizes,
however, the structural barriers to community-led action and limited
participation that can hinder effective community adaptation to climate
change (Singleton, 2000; Davidson et al., 2003; King, 2008; Ensor and
Berger, 2009; Nielsen and Reenberg, 2010; Onta and Resurrection,
2011). Further studies highlight barriers to widespread community
responses that result from colonial history (Marino, 2012) and from
political and economic globalization (O’Brien et al., 2004; Keskitalo,
2009).
12.3.2. Indigenous Peoples
There are around 400 million indigenous people worldwide (see
Glossary for an inclusive definition), living under a wide range of social,
economic, and political conditions and locations (Nakashima et al.,
2012). Indigenous peoples represent the world’s largest reserve of
cultural diversity and the majority of languages (Sutherland, 2003).
Climate change poses challenges for many indigenous peoples, including
challenges to post-colonial power relations, cultural practices, their
knowledge systems, and adaptive strategies. For example, the extensive
literature on the Arctic shows that changing ice conditions pose risks
in terms of access to food and increasingly dangerous travel conditions
(Ford et al., 2008, 2009; Hovelsrud et al., 2011; see also Section 28.4.1).
Accordingly, there is a strong research tradition on the impacts of
climate change in regions with substantial indigenous populations that
focuses on indigenous peoples and their attachment to place. Most
studies focus on local, traditional, and rural settings (Cameron, 2012)
and hence have been argued to create a knowledge gap regarding new
urban indigenous populations. Indigenous peoples are often portrayed
in the literature as victims of climate change (Salick and Ross, 2009)
and as vulnerable to its consequences (ACIA, 2005). However,
traditional knowledge is increasingly being combined with scientific
understanding to facilitate a better understanding of the dynamic
conditions of indigenous peoples (Huntington, 2011; see also Section
12.3.4).
There is high agreement that, historically, indigenous peoples have had
a high capacity to adapt to variable environmental conditions. This
literature also suggests indigenous peoples also have less capacity to
cope with rapidly changing socioeconomic conditions and globalization
(Tyler et al., 2007; Crate and Nuttall, 2009). Documented challenges for
indigenous cultures to adapt to colonization and globalization may
reflect resilience and the determination of indigenous peoples to
maintain cultures and identities. Furthermore, historical legacies affect
the way that indigenous populations adapt to modern challenges:
anthropological research has documented clear linkages between
historical colonization and the way the way indigenous peoples respond
to current climatic changes (Salick and Ross, 2009; Cameron, 2012;
Howitt et al., 2012; Marino, 2012).
M
ost of the literature in this area emphasizes the significant challenge
of maintaining cultures, livelihoods, and traditional food sources under
the impacts of climate change (Crate and Nuttall, 2009; Rybråten and
Hovelsrud, 2010; Lynn et al., 2013). Examples from the literature show
that traditional practices are already under pressure from multiple sources,
reducing the ability of such practices to enable effective responses to
climate variability (Green et al., 2010). Empirical evidence suggests that
the efficacy of traditional practices can be eroded when governments
relocate communities (Hitchcock, 2009; McNeeley, 2012; Maldonado
et al., 2013); if policy and disaster relief creates dependencies (Wenzel,
2009; Fernández-Giménez et al., 2012); in circumstances of inadequate
entitlements, rights, and inequality (Shah and Sajitha, 2009; Green et
al., 2010; Lynn et al., 2013); and when there are constraints to the
transmission of language and knowledge between generations (Forbes,
2007). Some studies show that current indigenous adaptation strategies
may not be sufficient to manage the projected climate changes (Wittrock
et al., 2011).
Assessments of the cultural implications of climate change for human
security illustrate similarities across indigenous peoples. Indigenous
peoples have a right to maintain their livelihoods and their connections
to homeland and place (Howitt et al., 2012) and it is suggested that the
consequences of climate change are challenging this right (Box 12-1;
Crate and Nuttall, 2009). Some raise the question whether the Western
judicial system can uphold indigenous rights in the face of climate
change (Williams, 2012) and that there is a need for justice that facilitates
adaptation (Whyte, 2013). In addition, there are uneven societal
consequences related to climate change impacts (e.g., use of sea ice:
Ford et al., 2008), which add complexity to adaptation in indigenous
societies. Heterogeneity within indigenous groups and differentiated
exposure to risk has been found in other contexts, for example, in
pastoralist groups of the Sahel (Barrett et al., 2001).
Much research on indigenous peoples concludes that lack of involvement
in formal, government decision making over resources decreases resilience:
the literature recommends further focus on indigenous perceptions of risk
and traditional knowledge of change, hazards, and coping strategies and
collective responses (Ellemor, 2005; Brown, 2009; Finucane, 2009; Turner
and Clifton 2009; Sánchez-Cortés and Chavero, 2011; Maldonado et al.,
2013). Though providing economic opportunities, tourism development
and industrial activities are particular areas of risk for indigenous peoples
when affected populations are not involved in decision making (Petheram
et al., 2010). Lack of formal participation in international negotiations
may pose risks for indigenous peoples because their perspectives are
not heard (Schroeder, 2010). However, there are examples of successful
indigenous lobbying and advocacy, as in the case of managing persistent
organic pollutants and heavy metals in the Arctic (Selin and Selin, 2008).
12.3.3. Local and Traditional Forms of Knowledge
There is high agreement among researchers that involvement of local
people and their local, traditional, or indigenous forms of knowledge in
decision making is critical for ensuring their security (Ellemor, 2005;
Kesavan and Swaminathan, 2006; Burningham et al., 2008; Mercer et
al., 2009; Pearce et al., 2009; Anik and Khan, 2012). Such forms of
knowledge include categories such as traditional ecological knowledge,