Prioritizing Climate Change Adaptations in Canadian Arctic Communities

• Published in: Sustainability
• Main Authors: Clara Champalle, James D. Ford, Mya Sherman
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2015
• Subjects: adaptation; climate change; prioritization framework; multi-criteria decision analysis; network-centric approach; adaptation planning; Arctic; food security; Environmental effects of industries and plants; TD194-195; Renewable energy sources; TJ807-830; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Nunavut; Climate change
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/su7079268; https://doaj.org/article/48cf37b6507b4221be64b00dfd48f597

Arctic regions are experiencing the most rapid climate change globally and adaptation has been identified as a priority across scales. Anticipatory planning to adapt to the impacts of climate change usually follows a number of steps: assess current and future vulnerability, identify potential adaptations, prioritize options, implement prioritized options, and monitor and evaluate implementation. While most of these steps are well documented, there has been limited examination of the process of adaptation prioritization in Arctic communities. In this paper, we build upon existing tools and propose a framework for prioritizing adaptation options and guiding decision-making for implementation in Arctic regions. Using four adaptation performance criteria (timescale, equity, sustainability and total costs) to evaluate options through a multi-criteria decision analysis coupled with a network centric approach, our Adaptation Prioritization Framework promotes a participatory approach for adaptation prioritization and planning. We illustrate application of the framework using a hypothetical example from the territory of Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic.