Responding to Climate Change in the Canadian Sub-Arctic: The Role of Formal and Informal Institutions

The implications of climate change are already being observed in Canada's sub-arctic regions. In conjunction with persistent social, economic, political and cultural stresses, Inuit in the sub-arctic self-governing region of Nunatsiavut are noting significant change to local environments including delayed sea ice freeze up, decreasing snow fall and pack and changing wildlife abundance and migration patterns. These changes are affecting the livelihoods and wellbeing of natural-resource dependent residents of communities that inhabit this coastal region of Labrador. Adaptation is necessary in order to respond and build capacity to reduce future vulnerability to climate change. Interventions via informal norms and practices at the household and community level are already underway (e.g. pooling resources for hunting excursions, sharing harvested foods). Adaptation in the Arctic is also shaped by formal institutions and their respective governance processes across local, regional and national scales. Further complicating these processes are the intersecting roles of western scientific and local Inuit knowledge systems in which these institutions and governance processes operate.

This study provides an assessment of the influential roles that formal and informal institutions play in both facilitating and constraining capacity to adapt to changing conditions. It draws on insights derived through a community-based, multi-scale analysis of the institutions that govern resource use and access in the sub-arctic community of Hopedale, Nunatsiavut. This assessment also considers the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating different stakeholder knowledge systems into adaptation strategies. Existing socio-economic, political, cultural and environmental vulnerabilities are briefly summarized, and particular attention is paid to the pivotal role of institutions in enhancing capacity to respond to and prepare for future change. The applicability of these research findings in other arctic regions is also discussed.