Climate Change Adaptation Research Group

National Geographic: Climate Change Linked to Waterborne Diseases in Inuit Communities

Will Vanderbilt — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:00:35 +0000

Work from our team’s IHACC project was recently profiled in a National Geographic Daily News post by Ker Than. Read the full article on the National Geographic website.

Gordon Wiltsie, National Geographic

As global warming triggers heavier rainfall and faster snowmelt in the Arctic, Inuit communities in Canada are reporting more cases of illness attributed to pathogens that have washed into surface water and groundwater, according to a new study.

The findings corroborate past research that suggests indigenous people worldwide are being disproportionately affected by climate change. This is because many of them live in regions where the effects are felt first and most strongly, and they might come into closer contact with the natural environment on a daily basis. For example, some indigenous communities lack access to treated water because they are far from urban areas.

Read the Full Article

“In the north, a lot of [Inuit] communities prefer to drink brook water instead of treated tap water. It’s just a preference,” explained study lead author Sherilee Harper, a Vanier Canada graduate scholar in epidemiology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. ”Also, when they’re out on the land and hunting or fishing, they don’t have access to tap water, so they drink brook water.”

The experiences of the Inuit and other indigenous communities as they struggle to adapt to changing climate conditions could help guide humanity in the coming years when the effects of climate change are felt universally, scientists say.

“These societies are like crystal balls for understanding what could happen when these changes start materializing over the next few decades down south, as they surely will,” said James Ford of McGill University, an expert in indigenous adaptation to climate change who was not involved in the study.

“Scientists often talk about how if global temperature increases by 4 degrees Celsius [7°F], there will be catastrophic climate change effects, Ford said, “but where I work in the Arctic, we’ve already seen that 4-degree Celsius change.”

Weather and Illness

Ford said the new study is the first to draw a link between climate change and disease in Canadian Arctic communities. “Water issues have been largely neglected in the [climate change] scholarship,” he said.

“Before this study, there was very little understanding of the burden of illness of waterborne disease in the Arctic . . . The baseline that we have from this study will allow us to track whether changes in behavior make a difference in the future,” said Ford.

Harper’s Inuit research, published in a recent issue of the journal EcoHealth, is part of a multiyear comparative study of how extreme weather events affect waterborne disease outbreaks in aboriginal communities around the globe.

The team is conducting similar studies among the Batwa pygmies in Uganda and the Shipibo people in Peru. The trials are still under way, but preliminary results suggest that, like the Inuits, these groups are also starting to feel the health effects of climate change-related weather patterns.

Boosting Native Health Systems

For each of the communities studied, Harper and her team documented the local weather patterns using weather stations; conducted weekly water tests; and searched clinical records for reports of vomiting and diarrhea. The team also conducted surveys to gather information about local lifestyles.

Combining and analyzing these various data together uncovered some interesting patterns. For example, “our research found that after periods of heavy rainfall or rapid snowmelt, there is an increase of bacteria [such as E. coli] in the water, and about two to four weeks later there is an increase in diarrhea and vomiting,” Harper said.

In Uganda, the team found that families that don’t keep their animals in shelters are about three times more likely to get sick after periods of heavy rain. The team suspects pathogens from the animal feces are getting washed into the drinking water.

Harper’s studies are part of a larger endeavor—the Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change, or IHACC, project. It aims to combine science and traditional knowledge to strengthen health systems in indigenous communities.

One of the IHACC project goals is to use data from the studies to advise local policymakers and help develop ways to improve the health of those in the affected communities. Strategies for reducing waterborne disease, for example, might be as simple as building animal enclosures or establishing protected sources of water for drinking, Harper said.

(Related: “Tapping Wisdom of the Elders“)

Widespread Changes

In Rigolet, a small Inuit town studied by Harper’s team, the findings from the study have already led to changes in the community, said Charlotte Wolfrey, mayor of the town.

“We’re asking people when they go to their cabin not to drink brook water and instead take water that has been chlorinated to eliminate bacteria,” Wolfrey said. “We also have posters around town reminding people that if they’re going to drink [untreated] water, they need to boil it first.”

Wolfrey, who has spent nearly 40 years of her life in Rigolet, says that climate change has forced the people in her town to question things that were once taken for granted, such as places in the ice where one can safely cross, or seasonal water routes for boats.

“With climate change, that knowledge that was passed down from generation to generation doesn’t count anymore,” she said. “We can’t trust it.”

The lessons learned in Rigolet and other indigenous communities could someday benefit humanity as a whole because their problems could soon become global problems. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), for example, most of the climate change-related disease burden in the 21st century will be due to diarrheal diseases.

“The climate change impact on waterborne disease is not just an Arctic issue, or just an indigenous issue,” Harper said.

McGill University’s Ford agreed. “If we look at what happens in the Arctic and how climate change plays out with its societies and people, we’ll increase our understanding of how as a globe we are going to respond to climate change,” he said.

Ford says his time among the Inuit has made him “cautiously optimistic” that climate change is a problem that humans will be able to adapt to, if not solve.

“When I first went to work up north more than ten years ago, there were all sorts of news reports about how climate change was going to threaten the Inuit. But when I started working with them, the thing that struck me is that many people said, ‘We’re resilient. We’ll adapt.’ So I think we’ll stand a good chance of weathering whatever changes might happen,” Ford said.

But, he added, “Things will have to be done to get there. We can’t just wait and hope we adapt. We have to be proactive.”

(Related: “Learning from Inuit Widsom“)

Responses to Food Insecurity (IPY 2012 Presentation)

James Ford — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:32:36 +0000

Marie-Pierre presented on our Food Security work in Iqaluit last Friday at the IPY 2012 conference.

Engaging with people and communities “where they’re at”

Will Vanderbilt — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:40:25 +0000

Will gave a talk at IPY this afternoon about our group’s recent communication efforts. You can download his slide deck below:

View more presentations from James Ford

The projects will discussed were:

Feeding the Family in times of stress – Public Dissemination Booklet
Iqaluit Food Security Videos – The Iqaluit Community Tukisigiarvik Society
Sara – Food Security in Iqaluit – Dissemination website
Nauvikhaq – Ulukhaktok Oral History Database (temporary username: reviewer password: forreview1)

You can get in touch with Will by email at wvanderbilt@gmail.com.

Maude’s Masters Poster wins a first place award the IPY 2012 conference

James Ford — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:00:07 +0000

Maude Beaumier’s poster, Vulnerability of Inuit women’s food system to climate change in the context of multiple socio-economic stresses, won a $500 first place award at the IPY 2012: From Knowledge to Action conference last week in Montreal. Congratulations, Maude!

The Dynamic Nature of Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate-Related Risks and Change: The Iqaluit Land Use Monitoring Project

James Ford — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:39:19 +0000

Presentation by Dr. James Ford to IPY 2012 Conference in Montreal, given on April 24, 2012.

Inuit Food Security – Sara’s IPY presentation

James Ford — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:11:54 +0000

Sara Statham spoke about her recent completed Masters thesis at the 2012 IPY Montreal conference on Monday April 23, 2012. To learn more about Sara’s work, visit her dissemination website.

Mapping the Human Dimensions of Climate Change in the Canadian Arctic – IPY presentation

James Ford — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:14:37 +0000

Dr James Ford talked about our recent collaboration with ITK, a systematic review of climate change adaptation in the eastern Arctic, at the IPY 2012 conference in Montreal.

You can download the report from ITK’s website, and also explore a google map of the publications citied within it.

Environmental Research Web: Health-relevant adaptation to climate change “still in its infancy”

Will Vanderbilt — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:00:56 +0000

Photo by Graham McDowell

Alex’s recent paper in ERL was recently profiled in a story on environmental research web by Liz Kalaugher.

In the first study of its kind, researchers from McGill University, Canada, examined the Fifth National Communication (NC) reports sent to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by Annex I parties (mainly developed countries) in 2009 and 2010. This provided information on health adaptation measures taken by 38 of the 41 countries; Malta, Monaco and Turkey did not submit their data in time for the study.

Read the rest of the article at Environmental Research Web.

“We wanted to know what level of adaptation countries were reaching, and what kinds of health vulnerabilities were drawing adaptation responses,” Alexandra Lesnikowski toldenvironmentalresearchweb. “This is not the first time that a systematic assessment of adaptation has been conducted, but it is the first time we are aware of that this approach has been applied specifically to health adaptation.”

The scientists found that health adaptation is still a developing area. Only 15% of the 1,912 actions were being taken specifically with human health in mind; the others were part of adaptation for sectors such as agriculture, water and spatial planning, which can all affect health, but the actions were “being carried out without the inclusion of the public-health sector or a recognition of linkages with public health”. There was only a vague link between adaptation research and actions.

What’s more, around 80% of the actions were “groundwork”, i.e. preparations such as impact assessments, adaptation research or strategic planning. “Only a fraction of the actions described in these reports were actually having a tangible affect on how government programmes are designed or implemented,” said Lesnikowski.

“Given that we are already beginning to experience health impacts of climate change – take, for example, the 2003 European heatwave, in which more than 70,000 excess deaths were recorded – these results indicate that health policy-makers need to be more engaged in doing adaptation,” said Lesnikowski. “Responses described in the NC5 tend to be led by non-health sectors – environment, water, agriculture – even where they affect community health, but only by including the health sector in adaptation planning will we get comprehensive adaptation approaches that address the full range of implications that climate change has for our communities.”

The UK, Australia, Finland and Canada each reported more than 100 actions. At the other end of the scale, Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Slovenia each had fewer than 25 initiatives. Flooding was the most widely recognised issue, discussed by 34 countries, followed by food safety and security, general extreme weather events, and extreme heat. Extreme cold was the least popular issue, addressed only by Greece, Canada and Lithuania. These trends were reflected in adaptation actions: 17 countries have pursued adaptation on flooding and water safety and security; 14 have addressed food safety and security; and 13 reported adaptations concerning extreme heat.

Eleven countries described public awareness and outreach programmes addressing the risks of extreme heat, for example France’s Plan Canicule and the Italian Heat Health Watch Warning System. Eleven countries were discussing climate-change-related alterations to regulations on water safety and security. Potential developments in infrastructure and technology included expanding city sewage systems in Estonian capital Tallinn to cope with higher volumes of water; Belgium’s Integrated Coastal Safety Plan to build protective barriers along waterfronts to reducing flooding from storm surge and sea-level rise, Japan’s development of alternative seed varieties, and Czech plans to improve drainage and irrigation systems. Only Lithuania revealed plans to improve medical preparedness to address climate-change risks.

It’s likely that groups such as the elderly, women, indigenous peoples, people with pre-existing or chronic conditions, and individuals living in poverty will be more vulnerable to the health effects of climate change. The NC5 reports focused most frequently on the elderly, people with pre-existing or chronic medical conditions and children, with extreme heat and air quality the issues raising the most concern. Canada, New Zealand, the US and Australia discussed indigenous groups but other vulnerable groups such as women, disabled individuals or those living in poverty was minimal. “Integration of vulnerable groups into adaptation initiatives remains underdeveloped and uneven across Annex I parties,” write the researchers in ERL.

Now the researchers would like to expand their systematic approach to analysing health-adaptation plans to middle and low-income countries, as well as to adaptation in other sectors. They plan to use data sources such as National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) submitted to the UN.

Join our team: Undergraduate Science Communication Assistant

Will Vanderbilt — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:39:12 +0000

The Climate Change Adaptation Research Group (CCARG) is based in the Department of Geography at McGill University. Led by Dr James Ford, the group’s research takes place at the interface between science and policy, with a strong focus on adaptation to the health effects of climate change among Indigenous populations, stakeholder engagement for adaptation planning, novel approaches for tracking adaptation at global to regional levels, and knowledge synthesis.

We are seeking a continuing undergraduate student to join our team part-time beginning in Summer or Fall of 2012 (Summer preferred). The student’s primary responsibilities will be to help group members communicate the progress and findings of ongoing projects to the media, general public, and study communities.

The successful candidate will also:

Develop and maintain websites for the CCARG and the IHACC project, and assist with the regular posting of field notes, new publications, and special projects.
Assist with the design of major conference presentations, posters, and policy summaries.
Work with team researchers to develop community dissemination packages and design print and multimedia materials to compliment outreach activities.
Maintain the group’s presently under-utilized twitter account (@ccadapt).
Produce short videos documenting the work of new McGill-Based team members.
Propose and develop exciting new projects that fit within the CCARG’s focus areas.

We’re looking for a students who:

Have a design background (and a portfolio of work to share with us).
Understand the basics of online publishing systems, HTML, and CSS.
Are interested in environmental policy and practice, and familiar with the vocabulary of Climate Change.
Can work independently on many projects at once.
Have a strong academic background.

Bonus points:

You’re also interested in contributing to or developing a research project within the group, potentially as an undergraduate Honour’s thesis.
You’ve hacked up a wordpress theme.
You’ve taken courses in Environment, Geography, or related fields.

The work is part-time @ $12 per hour, ~10 hours per week, and may increase or decrease depending on workload. Send a short cover letter, CV, and portfolio (if you have one) to wvanderbilt@gmail.com, with the subject line “CCARG Design Position” before April 13 at 5pm EST.

Find us at the AAG annual meeting in New York

James Ford — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 14:49:06 +0000

This weekend, a few members of the Climate Change Adaptation Research Group are presenting and attending the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers. Sara Statham is presenting her M.A. thesis work on Sunday afternoon, and Alexandra Lesnikowski and Will Vanderbilt are available to chat about the group’s projects.

3578 – Resilience, Adaptation, and Innovation: Applied Geographies of Climate Change (part 2)
Sunday, 2/26/2012, from 2:40 PM – 4:20 PM in Park Suite 2, Sheraton Hotel, Fifth Floor

Sara presents her thesis “Inuit Food Security: Vulnerability of the traditional food system to climatic extremes during winter 2010/2011 in Iqaluit, Nunavut” from 3:40 PM – 4:00 PM.

Session Description: The papers published in the 2010 special issues of the Annals of the Association of American Geographers and the Journal of Applied Geography demonstrated the importance of a place-based approach in understanding the severity of the impacts of climate change. While celebrating the breadth of contributions that geographers have made to a very important topic of 21st century, the papers also call for integrating variations between physical and human systems in future research. This means expanding the landscape of climate change research to consider broader sets of issues, including institutional, social and cultural. Institutions, operating at multiple scales, mediate responses to climate change while also rapidly changing and adapting to new demands. Effective responses to climate change require innovation – technological as well as institutional and relational. Innovations are human adaptations to changing needs and socio-economic conditions, embedded in social and cultural processes. Understanding the severity of the impacts of climate change also demands putting climate change research into local context whereby institutions constantly interact with culture, economy, and social values. This panel focuses on analyzing local social innovation in the contexts of adaptation to climate change and associated variability, investigating the value of emerging novel institutional spaces, networks and coalitions. While the panel is built around a special issue on social innovation and climate adaptation, to be published in early 2012 in the Journal of Applied Geography, we encourage any papers that examine the value of institutional space in mediating the process climate adaptation.