Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
AbstractMuch of the academic literature and policy discussions about sustainable development and climate change adaptation focus on poor and developing nations, yet tribal communities inside the United States are an entire group of marginalized peoples and developing nations who face structural barriers to effectively adapt to climate change. There is a need to critically examine diverse climate change risks for Indigenous Peoples in the U.S. and the many structural barriers that limit their ability to adapt to climate change. Using a sustainable climate adaptation framework, I outline the context and the relationships of power and authority, along with different ways of knowing and meaning, to illustrate the underpinnings of tribes’ barriers to sustainable climate adaptation. I trace the background of those structural barriers for tribes and then use the case of water rights and management at the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming to illustrate the interplay of policy, culture, climate, justice, and limits to adaptation. I discuss how the rulings of the Bighorn Stream Adjudication hindered tribal climate change adaptation by limiting the quantity of tribal reserved water rights, tying those rights to the sole purposes of agriculture which undermines social and cultural connections to the land and water, and failing to recognizing tribal rights to groundwater. Future climate projections suggest increasing temperatures, and changes in the amount and timing of snowpack, along with receding glaciers, all of which impact water availability downstream. Therefore, building capacity to take control of land and water resources and prepare for climate change and drought at Wind River Reservation is of critical importance.
Weather, Climate, and Society – American Meteorological Society
Published: Mar 20, 2017
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.