‘No longer solid’: perceived impacts of permafrost thaw in three Arctic communities

Autor(en)

Justine Ramage, Leneisja Dennie Marija Jungsberg, Alexandra Meyer, Susanna Gartler

Abstrakt

Permafrost characterizes ground conditions in most of the Arctic and is increasingly thawing. While environmental consequences of permafrost thaw are under intense scrutiny by natural and life sciences, social sciences' studies on local communities' perceptions of change is thus far limited. This hinders the development of targeted adaptation and mitigation measures. We present the results of a survey on communities' perceptions of permafrost thaw, with a focus on subsistence activities, carried out between 2019 and 2020 in Aklavik (Northwest Territories, Canada), Longyearbyen (Svalbard, Norway), and Qeqertarsuaq (Qeqertalik Municipality, Greenland). Results show that the majority of the 237 participants are well aware of the consequences of permafrost thaw on the landscape as well as the connection between increased air temperature and permafrost thaw. The majority perceive permafrost thaw negatively although they do not perceive it as a challenge in all life domains. Permafrost thaw is perceived as a major cause for challenges in subsistence activities, infrastructure, and the physical environment. Different perceptions within the three study communities suggests that perceptions of thaw are not solely determined by physical changes but also influenced by factors related to the societal context, including discourses of climate change, cultural background, and land use.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie

Journal

Polar Geography

Band

45

Seiten

226-239

Anzahl der Seiten

14

ISSN

1088-937X

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/1088937x.2022.2105973

Publikationsdatum

07-2022

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

504008 Ethnographie

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Geography, Planning and Development, Allgemeine Agrar- und Biowissenschaften, Allgemeine Erdkunde und Planetologie

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/30cf0267-89b4-4f48-bd6d-365c681a706e