By Gunter Weller

As part of the National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, a regional report on Alaska was released in December 1999. The report was put together by an Alaskan regional assessment group headed by Prof. Gunter Weller and Dr. Patricia Anderson, both from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and by Dr. Bronwen Wang of the United States Geological Survey in Anchorage. The report was published by the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

This report was the culmination of five years of effort in which annual workshops attempted to improve and refine an understanding of the potential impacts of climate change on the Alaskan environment and its human population. As the focus advanced from scientific understanding to socio-economic impacts, the inclusion of stakeholders in the assessment process increased, and the workshops developed a well-balanced attendance from academia, government, and industry and the private sector.

The main impacts addressed were on fisheries, forestry, agriculture, subsistence, and transportation, energy and infrastructure. Cross-cutting issues included the thawing of Alaska under a warmer climate, water availability, coastal environmental changes, impacts on ecosystems, and social impacts on Native communities. It became apparent early in the assessment process that Alaska has experienced substantial warming over the last thirty years, which has resulted in sizeable impacts on the environment and on many economic sectors.

This latter finding led to great interest on the part of the media. For example, the British Broadcasting Corporation produced a 40-minute documentary on climate change in Alaska, interviewing key players in the Alaska regional assessment; the Arts and Entertainment Channel followed with a similar documentary. Results of the Alaska assessment were featured on the BBC World News, and participants have been interviewed by Japanese, Swedish, New Zealand and German reporters, both for TV and for the press. A one-page long article about the project appeared in The New York Times, as did articles in the International Herald-Tribune, the German Spiegel magazine and Japanese and local newspapers.

The final report summarized the results of the five-year effort for the general public, using colorful illustrations and readily understood text. To reach a wider audience, a color brochure and a poster have also been produced. The assessment team considers its main task to be to continue to disseminate widely the message that Alaskans should take the potential future impacts of climate change very seriously.

For more information, contact:
Gunter Weller, Director, Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR), 301 International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7740; phone: (907) 474-737; email: gunter@gi.alaska.edu