Summary

 WECLIFS is supported by Ouranos, Gouvernement du Québec, L'Institut nordique du Québec and regional organizations of Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik

CONTEXT

Local Indigenous food systems involve the harvest, consumption, and conservation of local biodiversity for health. Local food connects people and nature, contributing to the health, well-being, and cultural identity of Indigenous communities. Accordingly, research on local Indigenous food systems needs to move beyond the disciplinary assumption that the natural world, the social world, and the health of people can be studied as separate things. Climate change is the world's predominant environmental crisis. Observed warming has already exceeded forecasts of some of the highest emission scenarios, rendering adaptation imperative now and in the future. Community concerns about the negative impacts of climate change on local food security emphasize endangered or declining wildlife populations; changes in animal health, behaviour and distribution; and the difficulties and dangers associated with travelling across land, water and ice to access these resources. Better understanding of recent and contemporary impacts of climate change on local food systems and better-informed prediction of future impacts is a key knowledge and research priority. Identifying climate change impacts on local food systems and key food species, and the development of adaptation strategies able to maintain local food security in an era of rapid social and environmental change, are critical to the sustainability of northern communities and lifeways.

OBJECTIVES

• Document and anticipate the impacts of climate change on traditional food security in northern Québec, including the Cree communities of Eeyou Istchee and the Inuit communities of Nunavik, through the bringing together of existing knowledge and the co-creation of new knowledge;

• Support the adaptive capacity of northern communities in relation to the integrity of their local food systems and the contributions of local food to well-being, culture, and relationship to land.

METHODOLOGY

• Literature review, previous document & data analysis

• Workshops & forums on regional/local knowledge, observations, & priorities

• Interviews & participant observation with key informants & knowledge holders

• Community-partnered wildlife research & monitoring

• Remote sensing, biologging, & ecosystem modelling



VULNERABILITIES, IMPACTS AND ADAPTATION PROGRAM: NORTHERN ENVIRONMENT

PROJECT START DATE AND LENGTH: DECEMBER 2018 • DECEMBER 2021

INFORMATION: projet@ouranos.ca 514-282-6464 www.ouranos.ca

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Murray Humphries, Center for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment (CINE), McGill University

OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Numerous regional and territorial organizations and several academic institutions were involved in this project

ADDITIONAL FUNDING: This project is funded by the Government of Quebec and meets the objectives of the Plan pour une économie verte 2030 

BENEFITS FOR ADAPTATION

This collaborative project has co-identified, with local knowledge holders and regional organizations, adaptation and mitigation strategies that can minimize the negative impacts of climate change on local food systems, while strengthening the social-ecological resilience of Eeyou Istchee and Nunavik. Possible local food system adaptations to climate change include maintaining local food foundations; agricultural innovations; supporting harvesters; redefining food sharing networks; land, food, and culture-based learning; adapting harvest calendars and weather responses; harvesting more small-bodied species; managing invasive species; and supporting wellness.

RESULTS

Key findings on the process of community-engaged research and knowledge co-production on local Indigenous food systems include a) the necessity of transdisciplinarity, knowledge plurality, context-specificity, shared goals, and interaction, and b) graduate student internships with partner organizations improve research relationships, understanding, and reciprocity. Key findings related to the nature of local Indigenous food systems identify these as c) a value network created by people and the land (Figure 1), d) supported by availability, accessibility, adequacy, and use as stacked food security foundations, and e) culture-defining and valuable economically and nutritionally. Key findings related to wildlife harvest and local food consumption in northern Quebec focus on f) accelerating and inter-related social, economic, and environmental change, g) the diversity of fishes, birds, mammals, and plants used as local food, and h) their varied importance, nutritionally and economically, between regions, among communities, and over time. Key findings focused on the impacts of climate change on local food security indicate i) the importance of the sensitivities and adaptive capacities of each component part and the system as a whole, j) system responses likely to include increased biodiversity (Figure 2), including the northward expansion of southern species, k) higher exposure and sensitivity in the North might lead to larger system responses, l) community harvest practices and food use seem unlikely to simply change as local climate and ecological conditions change, and m) local knowledge prioritization of declines in abundance, health, and use of key food species. Key findings related to policy implications emphasize n) local food system policy intersects with many other generally siloed policies, o) climate change impacts and adaptations are embedded within multiple jurisdictions and multiple stressors, and p) future climate predictions are useful, but need to find the right balance between generality and complexity, evidence and uncertainty, immediate actions and need for more information, and supporting expert opinion and embracing humility.

Figure 1. A local Indigenous food system value chain, with colors reflecting typically siloed knowledge domains including natural science focus on the physical environment and wildlife populations (green), social science focus on knowledge and culture (gold), and health science focus on food, nutrition, and health (purple).

Figure 2. Quebec’s climate gradient in fish (green), bird (grey), mammal (brown), and summed diversity (black) in relation to annual average temperature (1981-2010 reference period). Horizontal arrows indicate projected climate change (RCP 8.5 high emissions scenario; 2041-2070 horizon) and vertical arrows indicate possible diversity change, indicated as number of species (% change).

FUTURE ACTIVITIES