The Sea Ice Never Stops. Circumpolar Inuit Reflections on Sea Ice Use and Shipping in Inuit Nunaat.

• Main Author: Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC)
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) 2014
• Subjects: ICC; Arctic; Canada; Greenland; Arctic Council; Chukotka; Climate change; inuit; Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment; Sea ice; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11374/1478

"This report from the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) contributes to the ongoing work of the Sustainable Development Working Group and the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment working groups of the Arctic Council. As a Permanent Participant at the Arctic Council, ICC speaks on behalf of all 160,000 Inuit living in Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Russia. The health and well-being of Inuit are inextricably tied to the Arctic environment. For millennia, we have been stewards of the Arctic, and our culture and subsistence traditions reflect our deep knowledge and respect for the land. Climate change is already impacting Inuit livelihoods, as melting sea ice and less predictable weather make it harder to utilize traditional knowledge. Increasingly uncertain weather and unstable sea ice have made it harder and riskier for us to travel and hunt on the land, infringing on our human right to a healthy environment. Inuit from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia are deeply concerned about current and potential impacts of climate change on our health, the health of our homeland, and the wellbeing of future generations. Traditional and scientific knowledge suggests that we have reached a critical point in terms of Arctic change; sea ice melt is quickening, and scientists predict an ice-free September by mid-century. The future health and wellness of our families and communities depends on our ability to maintain our livelihoods and pass on our cultural knowledge to the next generation. This report investigates Inuit use of sea ice. It looks at existing sources of information regarding land use and occupancy to understand sea ice use, augmenting this with responses from interviews with Inuit hunters from Canada, Alaska, Greenland, and Chukotka (Russia) to provide a pan-Inuit perspective. It includes general predictions about the future in light of climate change and reduced sea ice based on the experience and traditional knowledge of Inuit hunters. The central thread running through this study is that Inuit are a ...