The impacts of coastal erosion on Alaska’s North Slope communities: a co-production assessment of land use damages and risks

ABSTRACT

The impacts of coastal erosion on municipal infrastructure and property have been widely documented within coastal Alaska. Less is known, however, about erosion-related impacts on natural resource-based land uses that contribute to the well-being of Alaska’s Native residents. This study explores erosion impacts on resource-based land uses on Alaska’s North Slope. The study utilized a collaborative mapping workshop approach, in which research participants defined major categories of land use impacts, identified locations most at risk, and described key local and regional effects of erosion. The study findings highlight three critical types of land use impacts associated with coastal erosion. These include: (1) disruption of subsistence hunting; (2) losses associated with damaged military radar assets (DEW-Line); and, (3) constrained hydrocarbon related development opportunities on land controlled by Native corporations. Through specification of locally relevant land use impacts, the study findings contribute to a better understanding of how climate change is undermining cryosphere-related ecosystem services, particularly buffering cultural and economic activity from coastal storms. The study results reinforce the utility and value of co-production approaches for Arctic climate impact assessments. Through integration of local perspectives on erosion risks, the study contributes to collective regional knowledge about climate change risks to Arctic communities.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate impact assessment
• Alaska North Slope
• land use
• coastal communities
• co-production
• ecosystem services

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant 1523191. Additional fieldwork, travel, and other support was provided by NSF International Polar Year Grant 0903589, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Department of Geography and School of Arts and Sciences Excellence Fellowship, NSF Research Coordination Network Arctic-FROST (NSF # 1338850), NSF Partial Support for the Ninth International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (NSF # 1703634), United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) Scholarship Program, and Applied Research in Environmental Sciences Nonprofit. Opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF or other affiliations. This work is based on the first author’s doctoral dissertation written in the Department of Geography at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and he would like to acknowledge his dissertation committee members, Drs. Robin Leichenko, Richard Lathrop, Åsa Rennermalm, Hal Salzman, and Kenneth Mitchell. The authors wish to thank the residents and visitors of Wainwright, Utqiaġvik, Kaktovik, and Nuiqsut for participating in the study; Iñupiat Heritage Center, Cities of Wainwright and Kaktovik, and the Barrow Arctic Research Center (BARC) for providing community space and staff to support mapping workshops; North Slope Borough Planning & Community Services Department for providing office space, staff, and other research support, Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) Science for logistics and workshop support, and Iḷisaġvik College for providing student workshop support. The authors also wish to thank the NSF Research Coordination Network Arctic-FROST (NSF # 1338850) for hosting a workshop in Qaqortoq, Greenland where this paper was presented and discussed, and Drs. Jessica Graybill and Diane Hirshberg for their advice. The authors also thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions on an earlier draft of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) [grant number 1523191]. Additional fieldwork, travel, and other support was provided by NSF International Polar Year [grant number 0903589], Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Department of Geography and School of Arts and Sciences Excellence Fellowship, NSF Research Coordination Network Arctic-FROST [NSF # 1338850], NSF Partial Support for the Ninth International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences [NSF # 1703634], United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) Scholarship Program, and Applied Research in Environmental Sciences Nonprofit.