Assessing Climate Change Risk and Resilience in the Yukon
Some of the most important actions that
build resilience are not just about climate
change they support people who face
greater risks.
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This includes, for example, ensuring adequate
housing, access to food, employment,
education and health. Issues such as health
and well-being, food security, and safe access
to the land are threatened by multiple and
interconnected climate change risks.
Implementing strategies such as the
Government of Yukon's Putting People First
report (Government of Yukon 2020b) and
2020 Agriculture Policy (Government of Yukon
2020a) will help build climate resilience.
Communities across Yukon are also leading the
way in addressing some of these challenges.
Climate action should support reconciliation.
Understanding the vulnerabilities, exposure
and risks that communities face means
confronting the historical events that shaped
Yukon including the 19th century whaling
industry at Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk, the
Klondike Gold Rush, the 1918 flu epidemic,
the construction of the Alaska Highway, and
residential schools. While First Nations and
the Inuvialuit continue to be resilient, the lived
reality of Indigenous people in the Yukon needs
to be understood and incorporated into
analyses of the distribution and experience of
climate-related impacts. In this regard, building
climate resilience cannot be separated from
First Nations' and Inuvialuit' self-determination
and reconciliation.
Bringing together diverse ways of knowing
builds resilience.
Indigenous knowledge offers teachings about
living with uncertainty, fostering relationships
to cope with changes, and broadening
understanding of resilience to maintain ways
of life and culture. Indigenous peoples and
communities are often leading adaptation
efforts across Yukon. The Umbrella Final
Agreement, the Inuvialuit Final Agreement and
the Yukon Transboundary Agreement of the
Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim
Agreement are important mechanisms to
support this work. They provide resources and
avenues for co-management and working
together by various government bodies.
5. The Yukon Transboundary Agreement (YTA) is a core part of the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement (GCLCA)
and it is known as Appendix C of the GCLCA.
CHAPTER 3 FINDINGS: WHAT IS RESILIENCE IN THE YUKON?
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