Water ways: vulnerability to freshwater changes in the Inuit settlement region of Nunatsiavut, Labrador

• Main Author: Goldhar, Christina Alison
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2012
• Subjects: Nain; Rigolet; inuit
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/6112/; https://research.library.mun.ca/6112/1/Goldhar_ChristinaAlison.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/6112/3/Goldhar_ChristinaAlison.pdf

This thesis explores the vulnerability of Nunatsiavut residents to changes in freshwater through case studies in Nain and Rigolet. The current implications of these changes on community water security, food security, and livelihoods are discussed through an approach that emphasizes local perceptions and preferences, considering the experiential dimensions of freshwater changes. A total of 121 individual and household interviews and 13 targeted interviews were conducted in Nunatsiavut in fall 2009 and fall 2010. These findings were complemented by climate data, river discharge records, municipal water system characteristics, and other data gathered from secondary sources. Findings reveal residents have experienced freshwater changes that are presently challenging their ability to access preferred drinking water sources and food sources, and are exacerbating existing financial barriers that restrict time spent on the land. These challenges may intensify in future due to projected implications of climate variability and change on freshwater ecosystems in the region.