Alaska Climate Change
Adaptation Research Project
Center for Water Advocacy
NW Tribal Water Rights Conference
Anchorage, Alaska, October 10, 2013
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E. Barrett Ristroph, Esq.
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Hawaii
907.342.9090 | ebristroph@gmail.com
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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
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
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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
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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
USGS
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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
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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?
NDTPC, Kivalina airport
adaptation
 What are the potential adaptation measures
the community has considered? Which
measures does the community believe are
likely to be successful and why?
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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 ?
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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
of traditionally marginalized communities?
context
Collection of Community Knowledge
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 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
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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