Community Adaptation and Vulnerability In Arctic Regions (CAVIAR) [Canada]

The assessment of vulnerabilities and adaptations has been identified as a priority area for research by policy makers, local and indigenous communities, the ACIA, the Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR), and the International Polar Year planning committee. The underlying purpose of the CAVIAR IPY project is to better understand how Arctic communities are affected by environmental and socio-economic changes in order to contribute to the development of adaptive strategies and policies. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) (2005) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007) outlined warming and attendant decreases in permafrost and sea ice for the Canadian Arctic. While there is general agreement that changes in climate, and associated conditions, are likely to pose significant challenges for communities, the nature of these risks and the most effective means of dealing with them are poorly understood. The particular environmental conditions to which local communities are sensitive have yet to be comprehensively documented. The strategies employed to deal with changing conditions in communities across the Arctic, and their effectiveness, have not been assessed. The conditions that facilitate or constrain the adaptive capacity or resilience of Arctic communities have not been substantiated. The wealth of information from local and indigenous knowledge has yet to be integrated with scientific knowledge to understand the nature of the opportunities to better deal with changing conditions. The broad goal of the CAVIAR research program is to enhance the theory, empirical understanding, and practical application of processes that shape adaptation and vulnerability in communities across the polar region by: further developing the concept of vulnerability and refining an integrative interdisciplinary research framework for vulnerability studies; applying the framework to a selection of communities across the Canadian Arctic to identify the social and environmental factors, processes and interactions that shape differential vulnerability and adaptive capacity; comparing results among Arctic communities to identify commonalities and transferable lessons; and improving understanding of interrelations between local vulnerability and decision-making related to adaptation, across multiple scales from local to international.

政策制定者、地方与原住民社区、北极气候影响评估（Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, ACIA）、《北极人类发展报告》（Arctic Human Development Report, AHDR）以及国际极地年规划委员会，均将脆弱性与适应能力评估列为核心研究优先领域。本CAVIAR国际极地年（International Polar Year, IPY）项目的核心宗旨，在于深入剖析北极社区受环境与社会经济变化的影响机制，以期为适应型战略与政策的制定提供科学支撑。北极气候影响评估（ACIA，2005）与政府间气候变化专门委员会（Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC，2007）均指出，加拿大北极地区正经历气候变暖，并伴随永久冻土与海冰的持续缩减。尽管学界普遍认为气候变化及其关联态势或将给社区带来严峻挑战，但此类风险的本质以及应对风险的最优手段，目前仍未得到充分认知。地方社区所敏感的特定环境条件，尚未得到全面系统的记录与梳理。北极各地社区为应对环境变化所采取的适应策略及其实施成效，均未得到系统性评估。助力或制约北极社区适应能力与恢复力的各类条件，尚未得到实证验证与厘清。地方与原住民知识体系中蕴含的海量信息，尚未与科学知识实现有机整合，以充分认知应对环境变化的各类机遇的本质内涵。CAVIAR研究项目的总体目标，是完善塑造极地地区社区适应能力与脆弱性的相关过程的理论体系、实证认知与实践应用，具体实现路径包括：进一步拓展脆弱性概念的理论内涵，优化脆弱性研究的整合型跨学科研究框架；将该框架应用于加拿大北极地区的部分选定社区，以识别造成差异化脆弱性与适应能力的社会、环境因素、过程及其相互作用机制；对比北极各社区的研究结果，提炼共性特征与可推广的实践经验；深化对从地方到国际多尺度下，地方脆弱性与适应相关决策之间相互关系的科学认知。