User:Evanalst93/Climate change and indigenous peoples

Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples

There are over 370 million indigenous peoples found across 90+ countries. Approximately 22% of the planet's land is comprised of indigenous territories, varying slightly depending on how indigeneity and land usage is determined. Indigenous peoples have a myriad of experiences because of the widely varying geographical areas they inhabit across the globe and because of diverse cultures and livelihoods they pursue. They have a wide variety of experiences that Western science is beginning to include in research of climate change and its potential solutions with the notions of ancestral knowledge and traditional practices being more respected and considered.

Indigenous peoples in climate governance

The International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), established in 2008 is the caucus that represents indigenous populations in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This platform was created in response to the exclusion of the 2007 UNDRIP from numerous international climate change negotiations and indigenous groups being excluded from the COP21 Climate Summit in Paris, France. The key issues the IIPFCC are concerned with are: climate change impacts, adaptation, mitigation, finance, recognition of Indigenous peoples rights, full and effective participation, FPIC (free, prior, and informed consent), and recognition of traditional knowledge.

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) of 2007 was based on the 1989 "Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples"

Latin America

Indigenous Peoples Background

Although some cultures thrive in urban settings, Indigenous peoples in Latin America populate most of the rural poor areas. Indigenous people consist of 40 million of the Latin American-Caribbean populations. This makes these populations extremely susceptible to threats of climate change due to socioeconomic, geographic, and political factors. Formal education is limited in these areas which caps contributions of skills to the market economy. Mostly living in the Amazon Rainforest, there are more than 600 ethnographic-linguistic identities living in the Latin American region. This distinction of cultures provides different languages, world-views, and practices that contribute to Indigneous livelihoods.

Impacts of Climate Change on Indigenous Peoples

Extractive industries in the Amazon and the Amazonian Basin are threatening the livelihood of Indigenous persons. These extractive policies were originally implemented without the consent of indigenous people are now being implemented without respect to the rights of indigenous people, specifically in the case of REDD. Not only do deforestation and fragmentation of forests negatively affect the areas and livelihoods of inhabitants, but contributes to the release of more carbon into the atmosphere, as the trees provided as carbon sinks, which exacerbates climate change even more. Thus, deforestation has and will continue to have disproportionate effects on Indigenous people in Latin American tropical forests, including the displacement of these communities from their native lands. Also, in the Amazon Basin where fish are a main resource, precipitation and flooding greatly impact fish reproduction drastically. Likewise, this inconsistency in precipitation and flooding has affected, and decreased the reproduction of fish and turtles in the Amazon River. Furthermore, climate change has altered the patterns of migratory birds and changed the start and end times of wet and dry seasons, further increasing the disorientation of the daily lives of Indigenous people in Latin America.

As most of the contributions and the roles of combatting climate change, the rights and resources of Indigenous peoples often go unrecognized, these communities face disproportionate and the most negative repercussions of climate change and from conservation programs. Due to the close relationship with nature and Indigenous peoples, they are among the first to face the repercussions of climate change and at a large devastating degree.

Adaptation Strategies

Due to Indigenous peoples' extensive knowledge and ability to predict and interpret weather patterns and conditions, these populations are vital to adaptation and survival of posed climate threats. From hundreds of years experimenting with nature and developing inherently sustainable cultural strategies, has allowed for Indigenous peoples to pass on their knowledge to future generations. This has made Indigenous people crucial to understanding the relationship between nature and people, and conserving the environment. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples are restructuring and changing agricultural practices in adaptation to climate changes. They are also moving and relocating agriculture activities from drought inflicted areas to areas with more suitable, wetter areas. It is imperative for the Americas and the Caribbean to continue pursuing conservation of the environment as 65% of indigenous land has not been developed intensely.

The Caribbean

Impacts of Climate Change on Indigenous Peoples

The impacts of climate change are taking a disproportionate toll on Indigenous peoples, when Indigenous peoples contribute least to climate change.

In the Caribbean, people have reported erosion of beaches, a reduction in vegetation, a noticeable rise in sea-level, and rivers that are drying up.

Adaptation Strategies

Among changing agricultural practices, it is imperative for Indigenous peoples and inhabitants of these regions to integrate disaster plans, national sustainable development goals and environmental conservation into daily lives.

As indigenous lands are constantly under attack, from governments to industries, it is imperative for Indigenous peoples to partner with groups such as the Rainforest Alliance to fight and protest for Indigenous rights.

North America

Environmental changes due to climate change that have effected and will continue to effect Indigenous peoples in North America include temperature increases, precipitation changes, decreased glacier and snow cover, rising sea level, increased floods, droughts and extreme weather. These environmental changes will have implications on the lifestyle of Indigenous groups which include, but are not limited to, Alaska Natives, Inuit, Dene, and Gwich'in people. Food and water insecurity, limited access to traditional foods and locations, and increased exposure to infectious diseases are all human dimension impacts that will most likely follow the environmental changes stated above. The Indigenous populations in the United States and Canada are communities that are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to socioeconomic disadvantages. There are higher rates of poverty, lower levels of access to education, to housing, and to employment opportunities in indigenous communities than there are in non-indigenous communities within North America. These conditions increase indigenous communities' vulnerability and sensitivity to climate change. These socioeconomic disadvantages not only increase their vulnerability and in some cases exposure, they also limit indigenous groups' capacity to cope with and recover from the harmful effects climate change brings.

Case Studies

Indigenous Territories of North America with Population Density

There have been multiple ethnographic studies of Native American tribes throughout the United States that express the perceptions of indigenous peoples and how they are seeing the change in climate.

Randy A. Peppler conducted an ethnographic study in Oklahoma speaking with the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Wichita, and Delaware tribes about their perceptions of change. Changes in the bearing of fruit by fruit trees, a decrease in the level of plant diversity (many of which had important cultural uses), and a noticeable difference in expected seasonal weather and the what actually comes about are just some of the differences noted by the Indigenous peoples interviewed.

Indigenous People of Australia and Climate Change[edit]

The majority of the world’s biological, ecological, and cultural diversity is located within Indigenous territories. Indigenous people have the important role of being the main knowledge keepers of this diverse knowledge. Because of this, Indigenous people hold a major role in maintaining this knowledge and continuing social-ecological systems. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People recognizes that Indigenous people have specific knowledge, traditional practices, and cultural customs that can contribute to the proper and sustainable management of ecological resources. Indigenous communities in Australia have specific generational traditional knowledge about weather patterns, environmental changes and climatic changes. These communities have adapted to climate change in the past and have knowledge that Western, non-Indigenous people may be able to utilize to adapt to climate change currently and in the future.  Despite having little input in terms of the creation current international and local policies to adapting to climate change, Indigenous people have pushed back on this reality, by trying to be active members in the conversation surrounding climate change including at international meetings. Specifically, Indigenous people of Australia have traditional knowledge to adapt to increased pressures of global environmental change.

Indigenous People of Australia Community Responses to Climate Change[edit]

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Climate Change Threats and Adaptation[edit]

Indigenous knowledge has been passed down through the generations through the practice of oral tradition. Aboriginal Australians have observed short and long term environmental changes are keenly aware of weather and climate changes.  Some of these changes include a rise in sea levels, getting hotter and for a longer period of time, and more severe cyclones during the cyclone season. The communities most effected by climate changes are those in the North where Aboriginal Australian people make up 30% of the population.  Aboriginal Australian communities located in the coastal north are the most disadvantaged due to social and economic issues and their reliance on traditional land for food, culture, and health. This has begged the question for many community members in these regions, should they move away from this area or remain present. Given the historical relationship between the land and the people and the larger ecosystem Aboriginal Australians choose to stay and adapt in similar ways to their ancestors before them.

Many communities have argued for more community input into strategies and ways to adapt to climate issues instead of top down approaches to combating issues surrounding environmental change. This includes self-determination and agency when deciding how to respond to climate change including proactive actions.  Indigenous people have also commented on the need to maintain their physical and mental well being in order to adapt to climate change which can be helped through the kinship relationships between community members and the land they occupy.

A protest sign reads "Indigenous land management not corporate greed" at the Melbourne Climate Strike

Impact of Climate Change on Health[edit]

Aboriginal Australians who live in isolated and remote traditional territories are more sensitive than non-indigenous Australians to changes that effect the ecosystems they are a part of. This is in large part due to the connection that exists between their health (including physical and mental), the health of their land, and the continued practice of traditional cultural customs. Aboriginal Australians have a unique and important relationship with the traditional land of their ancestors. Because of this connection, the dangerous consequences of climate change in Australia has resulted in a decline in health including mental health among an already vulnerable population. This vulnerability comes from remote location where indigenous groups live, lower socio-economic status, and reliance of natural systems for economic needs.  Climate issues include wild fires, heatwaves, floods, and erosion. In order to combat health disparities among these populations, community based projects and culturally relevant mental and physical health programs are necessary and should include community members when running these programs.

The benefits of indigenous participation in climate change research and governance

Within IK there is a subset of knowledge referred to as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). TEK is the knowledge that indigenous peoples have accumulated through the passing of knowledge from generation to generation. TEK is specifically knowledge about the group's relationship with and classifications of other living beings and the environment around them. More recently, an increasing number of climate scientists and indigenous activists advocate for the inclusion of TEK into research regarding climate change policy and adaptation efforts.

Indigenous communities in Northern Australia have specific generational traditional knowledge about weather patterns and climatic changes. These communities have adapted to climate change in the past and have knowledge that Western, non-indigenous people can utilize to adapt to climate change in the future.