Abstracts

Improving Canadian Understanding of Risks and the Importance of Capacity Building: Denendeh, an example

Chris Paci
Lands and Environment, Dene Nation
cpaci@denenation.com

If there is a typical climate change scientist, if we were to describe this person, what would they look like? Most are trained scientists. A few are members of CCIARNs. They either work in academia or for government, or both. Most are deeply committed to understanding the nature and extent of change in Canada. Some are interested in educating Canadians about climate change. A few go so far as to suggest possible alternatives in the way we conduct ourselves to mitigate the causes of change. Some deny climate is being changed under human influence. Some are not optimistic about the future. Most of the data that informs our assumptions about projected change comes from physical investigation of the environment. Much of the Canadian work builds on the body of scientific evidence on climate change that is being produced by scientists the world over. A few researchers focus on specific regions of the globe or of Canada. Most of the data on climate change comes from the global environment, with local examples serving to illustrate what is projected or observed as global processes. The science of climate change is evolving and learning to incorporate social perspective on change as well, but in doing this we are challenged to look at climate from local perspective, rather than from the top down. To provide a more complete picture of climate change in Canada, climate change researchers are asking the question what climate change means for Canada, for Quebec, for Montreal, for Old Montreal, and so on. Will our understanding of risk in Canada result from what we learn in Montreal? Canadian climate change policies and programs are being developed to both understand the nature of risk and the how capacity can be built to reduce the vulnerabilities that may occur. We offer some insight from our work in Denendeh, to complement what others are learning, to improve decision-making. In Denendeh, Traditional Knowledge held by Dene is the most important source of climate change knowledge. The majority of studies on climate change start with scientists measuring change and projecting with models what the future will be like. Traditional knowledge starts with what Dene have lived and what Elders are saying the future will be like. Most policy makers are informed by climate change scenarios and global models of change that may not necessary give us an appreciation or the knowledge necessary to understand or adapt to Climate Change in Canada. Like other Aboriginal Peoples, the Dene have a long connection with the land, which serves as an indication of past change and how climate change in the last decade differs (or is similar to the past). Local knowledge is embedded in a cultural context and is available to those with an interest to learn about local conditions. Traditional knowledge is the successful adaptation to past change. Dene have oral history, examples of incidents of climatic change. These examples are instructive when considering the question of adaptation. To understand risks we must know whose definitions and perceptions of risk are being used in developing an understanding. We must appreciate the variables the make communities more or less vulnerable to risk, including how adaptation (or mal-adaptation) functioned in the past. Following a discussion on risk assessment the presentation will touch on several important climate change programs Dene Nation is involved with. We will discuss specifically how these programs address capacity building. In light of the discussion on the history or climate change in Denendeh, Dene adaptation to change, and our "case studies" of climate change capacity building, we ask the question: do our efforts address historical and cultural contexts of climate change in northern Canada? Do we need specialized and directed climate change programs in the north? What might we need to best build capacity on climate change in northern Canada?

2005-04-05