Community Perspectives on the Impacts of Increased Shipping and Climate Change Along the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic

The rapid increase of shipping propelled by climate change poses significant threats to the Arctic region. In response to the increase in shipping activity, the Canadian Government has proposed the creation of Low Impact Shipping Corridors as an adaptation strategy to support coastal resilience – to minimize the negative impacts and increase the safety of shipping in the Arctic. While a large amount of data has been used to generate these corridors, traditional knowledge from Arctic communities has yet to be considered in much detail. Thus, the corridors as they are currently prioritized, lack fundamental local perspectives among the people who know the area best. My research plan for the MEOPAR award involves building on the Arctic Corridors Northern Voices (led by Dr. Jackie Dawson) project with a specific focus on considering the impacts of climate change and shipping in communities located along the Northwest Passage (NWP). Because of their positioning along the NWP, communities in this area are expected to experience some of the highest rates of increase in shipping in the future.