The Forgotten North: Peoples and Lands in Peril

• Main Author: Kazarian, Urusula
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law 2008
• Subjects: environmental law; international law; Arctic; Climate change; Ice; permafrost
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/peel_alumni/113; https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/context/peel_alumni/article/1112/viewcontent/viewcontent.cgi

Arctic indigenous peoples are extremely susceptible to the immediate impacts of climate change. While many indigenous groups face serious battles over rights to land and resources, the Arctic groups face the impending, compounding factor of some of the most drastic impacts from climate change. Their dependence on the integrity of local ecosystems for their survival as autonomous groups makes them even more vulnerable to the melting of ice and permafrost and to the decline of local animal and fish species. This Article provides a broad overview of Arctic countries’ legal relationship to their respective indigenous groups and discusses legal tools available to Arctic indigenous groups to protect their traditional existence from the impacts of climate change in light of competing national interests.