Impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities
Most rural residents in Arctic communities rely on motorized transportation to hunt, fish, trap, and gather subsistence resources. Although these technologies have created advantages, one significant disadvantage is that peoples' ability to meet their nutritional and cultural needs now depends...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e0cf84803b07478498fa989b7c713c35 2023-05-15T14:56:49+02:00 Impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities Todd Brinkman Karonhiakta'tie B. Maracle James Kelly Michelle Vandyke Andrew Firmin Anna Springsteen 2014-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06861-190418 https://doaj.org/article/e0cf84803b07478498fa989b7c713c35 EN eng Resilience Alliance http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss4/art18/ https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087 1708-3087 doi:10.5751/ES-06861-190418 https://doaj.org/article/e0cf84803b07478498fa989b7c713c35 Ecology and Society, Vol 19, Iss 4, p 18 (2014) adaptation Alaska gasoline interviews social resilience subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06861-190418 2022-12-31T05:08:44Z Most rural residents in Arctic communities rely on motorized transportation to hunt, fish, trap, and gather subsistence resources. Although these technologies have created advantages, one significant disadvantage is that peoples' ability to meet their nutritional and cultural needs now depends on consistent opportunities for wage employment and availability of affordable fuel. Recent qualitative research suggested that rising fuel prices have disrupted subsistence lifestyles in the Arctic. Our objectives were to collaborate with subsistence users in rural Alaskan communities to quantify how rising fuel costs have impacted subsistence activities and explore ways local residents may adapt to the trajectory of change. We conducted interviews with 178 subsistence harvesters in 8 communities. During the last 10 years, 81% of the harvesters reduced the distance they traveled for subsistence and 89% reduced the number of subsistence trips they took because of gasoline costs. During the last 10 years, the median distance traveled to perform subsistence decreased by 60%, and the median annual number of trips taken to perform subsistence decreased by 75%. The change in subsistence activity was similar across and within communities. Eighty-five percent of the people interviewed reported that they were making sacrifices with serious consequences, such as putting off paying monthly bills, to buy gasoline for subsistence activities. To adapt to high gasoline prices, most participants said that they are using more efficient modes of transportation (69%), followed by more sharing of gasoline costs with family and friends (37%), and conducting more multipurpose subsistence trips (20%). With subsistence practices being critical to food security and cultural identity in the Arctic, our results suggest that unaffordable fuel has threatened social resilience. Because global markets drive gasoline prices, we suggest that future research focus on the effectiveness of adaptation options that build resilience into subsistence systems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Ecology and Society 19 4 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
adaptation Alaska gasoline interviews social resilience subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
adaptation Alaska gasoline interviews social resilience subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 Todd Brinkman Karonhiakta'tie B. Maracle James Kelly Michelle Vandyke Andrew Firmin Anna Springsteen Impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities |
topic_facet |
adaptation Alaska gasoline interviews social resilience subsistence Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Most rural residents in Arctic communities rely on motorized transportation to hunt, fish, trap, and gather subsistence resources. Although these technologies have created advantages, one significant disadvantage is that peoples' ability to meet their nutritional and cultural needs now depends on consistent opportunities for wage employment and availability of affordable fuel. Recent qualitative research suggested that rising fuel prices have disrupted subsistence lifestyles in the Arctic. Our objectives were to collaborate with subsistence users in rural Alaskan communities to quantify how rising fuel costs have impacted subsistence activities and explore ways local residents may adapt to the trajectory of change. We conducted interviews with 178 subsistence harvesters in 8 communities. During the last 10 years, 81% of the harvesters reduced the distance they traveled for subsistence and 89% reduced the number of subsistence trips they took because of gasoline costs. During the last 10 years, the median distance traveled to perform subsistence decreased by 60%, and the median annual number of trips taken to perform subsistence decreased by 75%. The change in subsistence activity was similar across and within communities. Eighty-five percent of the people interviewed reported that they were making sacrifices with serious consequences, such as putting off paying monthly bills, to buy gasoline for subsistence activities. To adapt to high gasoline prices, most participants said that they are using more efficient modes of transportation (69%), followed by more sharing of gasoline costs with family and friends (37%), and conducting more multipurpose subsistence trips (20%). With subsistence practices being critical to food security and cultural identity in the Arctic, our results suggest that unaffordable fuel has threatened social resilience. Because global markets drive gasoline prices, we suggest that future research focus on the effectiveness of adaptation options that build resilience into subsistence systems. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Todd Brinkman Karonhiakta'tie B. Maracle James Kelly Michelle Vandyke Andrew Firmin Anna Springsteen |
author_facet |
Todd Brinkman Karonhiakta'tie B. Maracle James Kelly Michelle Vandyke Andrew Firmin Anna Springsteen |
author_sort |
Todd Brinkman |
title |
Impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities |
title_short |
Impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities |
title_full |
Impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities |
title_fullStr |
Impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities |
title_sort |
impact of fuel costs on high-latitude subsistence activities |
publisher |
Resilience Alliance |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06861-190418 https://doaj.org/article/e0cf84803b07478498fa989b7c713c35 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Alaska |
op_source |
Ecology and Society, Vol 19, Iss 4, p 18 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss4/art18/ https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087 1708-3087 doi:10.5751/ES-06861-190418 https://doaj.org/article/e0cf84803b07478498fa989b7c713c35 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06861-190418 |
container_title |
Ecology and Society |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1766328886448095232 |