Native Communities in Alaska: Vulnerabilities in Light of ClimateChange

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Introduction and Historical Background

The State of Alaska is characterized by long distances between economic centers, sparselypopulated rural communities, limited rescue personnel and equipment, and restrictedmeans for transport and hospital resources. Most importantly, the access to the necessaryresources in time of a crisis is not equally available to all the population of the state. NativeCommunities are especially vulnerable. There is a lack of effective level of preparedness toemergencies in the areas with high concentration of Native peoples. Public servicescoverage needs to be more inclusive. This includes access to fire and police stations, as wellas schools and stadiums for evacuation purposes and reliable transportation.

Alaska is home to forty percent (229 of 566) of the federally recognized tribes in the UnitedStates. Rural Alaska, the western portion of the state, is one of the most impoverished areasin the country. Alaska Native People constitute seventy eight percent of the rural region.

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Most of the American people derided the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867,questioning why the U.S. government would spend over seven million dollars on an “icebox.” However, the U.S. gained a strategic geographical position and access to the Arctic –a region rich in natural resources.[1] By the end of the nineteenth century, the Alaskanterritory drew attention from Americans due to the gold rush, the growing importance of thewhaling industry. During World War II and the Cold War, Alaska was of strategic militarysignificance to the U.S., which had a presence in the North Coast and Aleutian Islands,hosting and early-warning radar system for the air defense of North America. Today, thechanging climate presents economic opportunities in Alaska as well as future challenges.Receding ice due to warmer temperatures will lead to new shipping lanes and easier accessto natural resources, while a warmer climate will lead to an increased risk of naturaldisasters among other problems.

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Climate Change and Vulnerabilities to Natural Crises

Despite the economic opportunities, the negative implications of climate change in theregion cannot be underestimated. A warmer climate in Alaska will lead to increased risk ofnatural disasters, such as wildfires, earthquakes and floods. It is likely to impact theregion’s infrastructure affecting access to public services like schools and hospitals. It isessential that the federal and state governments not only recognize the opportunities in theregion, but also acknowledge future challenges and are prepared to manage them. Access tohospitals and shelters for evacuation, proximity to fire and police stations, and search andrescue services are integral parts of an adequate preparedness and risk management planfor future crises.

Climate change is the single biggest threat the world faces today. The Arctic’s placementputs it on the frontier of the warmer climate impacts. In the last sixty years, thetemperature across Alaska has increased by about three °F, more than double the warmingseen across the rest of the United States. The warmer climate in Alaska will impact thepermafrost, a frozen ground below the soil, which in turn could lead to natural crises.Eighty-five percent of Alaska’s surface is above permafrost, with the deepest layers locatedin the north. Thawing permafrost can lead to sinking of the soil, and therefore potentialdisturbance and damage to infrastructure, homes, and transportation. In rural Alaska,thawing permafrost will lead to disturbance of clean water supply and sewage system.

Increasing temperatures also mean increased risk of wildfires. According to theEnvironmental Protection Agency, wildfires in Alaska have destroyed more forest in the lastten years than any other decade, and are projected to double by 2050. In addition, perennialsea ice, a multi-layer ice, has been declining. In September 2012, the area of ocean coveredby ice was forty-nine percent below the 1979-2000 average, and the thickness was fiftypercent less compared to 1979. Sea ice along the coast protect settlements from floodingand erosion. In addition, the changing dynamic of the ice is potentially dangerous for NativeAmerican fishermen who are likely to travel further onto thinning ice in search for food.

Lastly, due to Alaska’s placement at the intersection of North American and Pacific tectonicplates, earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis are a real threat to Alaskan residents. In thetypical two-week period from November 17th – December 2nd, 2016, Alaska experienced1,188 earthquakes. Although many of these earthquakes are of low magnitude, over tenwere magnitude four or higher. Since 1760, there have been over 240 confirmed eruptionsfrom thirty Alaskan volcanoes (on average, at least one per year), in addition to dozens moreinactive volcanoes in the state. Ash from these volcanoes regularly results in damage tohuman health and economic losses to the aviation and oil industries. A strip of active

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volcanoes in Alaska, the Aleutian Volcanic Arc, stretches from the West to the Northeast indirection. The Northeast part of the volcanoes is located in the area which has a highconcentration of Native communities, therefore specifically endangering them.

Man Made Crises

In Alaska, eighty percent of state government revenue comes from the energy productionsector. Oil and gas exploitation on land and offshore, which accounts for nighty percent ofstate’s revenues, have various safety and environmental risks. Currently, there is noadequate oil spill recovery on ice technology, which exacerbates the risks of naturalresources exploration in the Arctic. Receding ice is creating easier access to offshore gasand oil extraction, but the thawing permafrost leads to serious safety concerns in regards topipeline durability. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline is a major domestic carrier of U.S. oil. It

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crosses from the North part of the state, where the deepest layers of permafrost are.Warmer climate creates uncertainties of what would happen to the pipeline if the soil startssinking. The area is also characterized by a highly concentrated Native population.

Major man-made disasters from oil spills have occurred in Alaska in the past, and the riskremains for other incidents. In 1989, the major Exxon Valdez oil spill released eleven milliongallons of crude oil into pristine arctic waters, and damaged 1,300 miles of coastline. Thespill had “ecological, social, cultural, economic and psychological” impacts on NativeAlaskan communities, whose livelihoods depend on fishing and hunting. Contamination fromthe spill decimated animal and fish populations and wrecked the social fabric of many ofthese communities, with effects including strained community relations, housing shortages,and increased drug and alcohol abuse. Dozens of oil spills occur yearly in Alaska — althoughthe volume of these spills is less than one barrel in eighty five percent of cases, this

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indicates a major potential threat to Alaska’s natural environment and the Nativecommunities that depend on it.

Lastly, recent studies have revealed the connection between oil and gas extraction withearthquakes. Considering large oil and gas basins and already existing high risk ofearthquakes in Alaska, it is crucial to be prepared for man-made crises. Extensive offshoreoil and gas basins, have potential dire consequences on Native communities. An oil spill willhave social and economic impacts on Native people dependent on fishing. The areas of highconcentration of Native communities lack appropriate resources for search and rescue. As aresult the level of crisis preparedness is inadequate.

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Transportation

The risk of natural disasters and man-made crises is evident from the above sections. In thetime of a natural or man-made crises, an adequate transportation system is vital for aneffective level of preparedness. Road systems, especially in the North region of the state,which has a high concentration of Natives, is inadequate. The ferry ports only exist in theSouth of the state, and only due to tourism and fishing being a prominent economic sectorthere. Aircraft landings including public, private and military for all aircraft types are scarcein the North part of the state.

Public Services and Evacuation

Besides a robust transportation system, proximity to hospitals and fire stations is crucial in

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the event of a crises such as fire, earthquake, flood, or a disaster related to natural resourceextraction. There is limited access to hospitals in the areas with high concentration ofNative population.

Similar to hospitals, fire stations are not as prevalent in the areas with high concentrationsof Natives. Furthermore, the lack of fire stations in the North of the state is troublesomedue to the Trans-Alaska pipeline presence and offshore oil and gas development.

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Access to schools and stadiums is important in case of evacuation. According to the Alaskaevacuation planning guide, communities in the state rely on schools and stadiums forsheltering during major events. There is a lack of stadiums across the country: there areonly four stadiums located in urban area. The north part of the state has a limited number ofschools. Considering high concentration of Native communities in that region, this hasnegative implications for crisis management and preparedness.

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Conclusions and Suggestions

The Native population in Alaska does not have the same access to needed resources in caseof emergency compared to the rest of the state. It is essential that the state and federalgovernment invest in better roads, especially in the North. Considering rapid sea icedisappearance, investing in ferry ports in the West along the coast and north is necessary. Iflarge equipment has to be transported along the coast in case of emergency, ferries wouldprovide a reliable source of transportation. In terms of Native population’s access tohospitals and fire stations, it is evident that the rural region in the Northwest portion of thestate would benefit from a more substantial public services coverage. Similarrecommendation applies for the evacuation locations, such as schools and especiallystadiums. Overall, the state of Alaska currently does not have an adequate crisispreparedness level to assist Native communities in case of an emergency.

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References

Alaska Evacuation PlanningGuidehttps://www.ready.alaska.gov/Plans/documents/2014%20Alaska%20Evacuation%20Planning%20Guide%20FINAL.pdf

Alaska Public Lands Information Center https://www.alaskacenters.gov/permafrost.cfm

Emmerson, C. The future history of the Arctic (London: Vintage 2011):”73-94″,”48-51″

Environmental Protection Agencyhttps://www.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-alaska #Reference 3

Global Change: Alaskahttp://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/alaska#statement-17126

Holleman Marybeth, CNN, After 25 years, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Hasn’t Endedhttp://www.cnn.com/2014/03/23/opinion/holleman-exxon-valdez-anniversary

Kuchment Anna, Scientific America, Drilling for Earthquakeshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drilling-for-earthquakes

NOAA Alaska Fisheries, Alaska Oil Spill Risk Analysishttps://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/oilspillfactsheet1114.pdf

Picou and Martin, Long-Term Community Impacts of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Patterns ofSocial Disruption and Psychological Stress Seventeen Years after the Disasterhttp://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/B/243478793.pdf

Understanding Alaskahttp://www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/Publications/researchsumm/UA_RS10.pdf

University of Alaska Fairbanks https://earthquake.alaska.edu/earthquakes/about

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Viviane Gomide

Viviane V. Gomide is a Master of Public Administration Fellow at CIPA, with a concentrationin Public Sector Management. She is a "World Bank Joint Japan Graduate ScholarshipProgram" Fellow and Emerging Markets Institute Fellow. Before coming to CornellUniversity, she worked as a Director of Foreign Financial Credit Operations at theGovernment of Minas Gerais, Brazil.View all posts