| Climate Change, Health, and Vulnerability in Canadian Northern Aboriginal Communities Christopher Furgal1 and Jacinthe Seguin2 1Nasivvik Centre for Inuit Health and Changing Environments, Public Health Research Unit, Centre hospitalier Universitaire du Québec – Centre hospitalier Université Laval, Department of Political Science, Laval University, Québec City, Quebec, Canada; 2Climate Change and Health Office, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Abstract
Background: Canada has recognized that Aboriginal and northern communities in the country face unique challenges and that there is a need to expand the assessment of vulnerabilities to climate change to include these communities. Evidence suggests that Canada's North is already experiencing significant changes in its climate—changes that are having negative impacts on the lives of Aboriginal people living in these regions. Research on climate change and health impacts in northern Canada thus far has brought together Aboriginal community members, government representatives, and researchers and is charting new territory. Methods and Results: In this article we review experiences from two projects that have taken a community-based dialogue approach to identifying and assessing the effects of and vulnerability to climate change and the impact on the health in two Inuit regions of the Canadian Arctic. Conclusions: The results of the two case projects that we present argue for a multi-stakeholder, participatory framework for assessment that supports the necessary analysis, understanding, and enhancement of capabilities of local areas to respond and adapt to the health impacts at the local level. Key words: Aboriginal, adaptive capacity, Arctic, climate change, Inuit, vulnerability. Environ Health Perspect 114: 1964–1970 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.8433 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 11 July 2006]
This article is part of the mini-monograph "Climate Change and Human Health: National Assessments of Impacts and Adaptation." Address correspondence to C. Furgal, Department of Indigenous Studies and Department of Environmental Resources Studies/Science, Gzowski College, Trent University 1600 East Bank Dr., Peterborough, Ontario, Canada K9J 7B8. Telephone: (705) 748-1011, ext. 7953. Fax: (705) 748-1416. E-mail: chrisfurgal@trentu.ca We acknowledge the participation and contribution made by northern residents and organizations to this work to date. C.F. acknowledges Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute for Aboriginal Peoples' Health for support to his work provided through a grant to the Nasivvik Centre. Thanks are also extended to three anonymous reviewers for their comments. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 17 June 2006 ; accepted 11 July 2006.
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