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Sustainable climate change adaptation in Indian Country

Sustainable climate change adaptation in Indian Country 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. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Weather, Climate, and Society American Meteorological Society

Sustainable climate change adaptation in Indian Country

Weather, Climate, and Society , Volume preprint (2017): 1 – Mar 20, 2017

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Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Copyright
Copyright © American Meteorological Society
ISSN
1948-8335
eISSN
1948-8335
DOI
10.1175/WCAS-D-16-0121.1
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

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.

Journal

Weather, Climate, and SocietyAmerican Meteorological Society

Published: Mar 20, 2017

References