Prepare for change: Dr. Barnard on the urgent need to invest in Arctic Science
On 9 May 2024, Dr. Christine Barnard, Executive Director of ArcticNet, participated in the meeting of the Standing Committee on Science and Research at the House of Commons.
Since its inception in 2004, ArcticNet has been recognized as a global leader in developing multidisciplinary research to address ongoing Arctic challenges. Dr. Barnard shared her views on the need to invest in Arctic science with the Standing Committee on Science and Research at the House of Commons.
Investment in northern research contributes to sovereignty and national security, increases resilience to climate change, and promotes reconciliation and self-determined research while upholding Canada as a leader in Arctic research and Indigenous partnerships. In her remarks, Dr. Barnard stressed the urgent need for more investment in Arctic Science in order to better understand and prepare for change in the North. She emphasized that traditional Indigenous knowledge is critical in understanding the emerging climate and socio-economic issues in the Canadian North and global Arctic. While progress has been made, developing northern-led and Indigenous-led research requires time and considerable resources.
Below you can find the full statement. The recording of the Committee meeting is accessible here. Dr. Barnard’s statement begins at 12:10:15.
As we are now seeing, climate change is happening in the North at unprecedented rates, more than 3 to 4 times faster than the rest of the world. The consequences are dramatically affecting northern communities and all of us in the South.
Melting glaciers and rising oceans are affecting coastal communities whose houses are threatened to fall into the sea. Safe access to hunting grounds is impeded due to unpredictable weather. Wildfires are devastating communities and ecosystems, while acting as vectors for the long-range transport, transformation, and accumulation of contaminants.
These are a just a few of the many dramatic impacts that demand investment in science to better understand and prepare for change and to monitor how systems are evolving and interacting, from sea ice to human health.
After a pandemic and in a time of intense geopolitical tension, we should keep in mind a few lessons. Decisions must be based on evidence emanating from science and Indigenous knowledge. Science can be humanity’s exit strategy from a crisis whether it be a pandemic, or the cumulative effects of climate change. Cross cultural, national and international collaborations are key to developing and deploying solutions.
The need for science in understanding and mitigating the effects of climate change and biodiversity decline is the most pressing issue of our time, in my opinion. The need for Indigenous Knowledge is critical in recognizing and respecting its importance in understanding the North and the globe in a more holistic way.
One of the most important lessons we have learned in ArcticNet, is that research in the North is completely different from conducting research in the South. It requires more time to build and nurture relationships, to co-develop projects and exchange throughout a project’s life span. It requires more travel, therefore more funds, as work in the North is tremendously expensive and can be dangerous, with people needing the right safety and cultural training to ethically work with communities.
Northern Indigenous peoples currently have access to several funding pots, but they do not necessarily have the capacity yet, nor the pool of researchers, to apply or to fulfill the mandates. The partnerships with academic institutions remain critical to uphold our commitments to achieve knowledge advancement in the North. There are certainly not enough funds going to researchers in post-secondary institutions, given the realities mentioned earlier of conducting northern research and the required engagement and relationship-building.
Inadequate research infrastructure is certainly hindering progress of Arctic research. There are a few great research centres that are operational within the vast territory of the North, such the Nunavik Research Centre, Nunavut Research Institute, and Aurora College. But, out of the 60+ research stations, only one, operated by POLAR Knowledge Canada, receives adequate funding, while the other 60+ stations, distributed across all northern geographic regions and ecosystems, are in dire need of operations and maintenance funds. This is urgent to ensure safe and well-equipped stations are accessible to locals and researchers.
ArcticNet, Polar Continental Shelf Program, Centre d’études nordiques, Amundsen Science, and many others offer logistical support to access remote stations, vessels and sites. But again, the funding does not meet the demand.
Investing in northern-led and Indigenous-led research has become the mantra of the North. Yet, we must recognize that this will take time and considerable investments. Funds must be invested in training and capacity building in the North, but this should not be at the detriment of academic research in partnership with communities to ensure we are exploring emerging issues and that there are no gaps in long term monitoring initiatives.
It should be noted that capacity and readiness is not homogenous across northern communities, as some are extremely effective at conducting research while others are not there yet. Each nation and territory has its distinct issues and aspirations. Decisions must be made according to local, regional and cultural distinctions.
The conduct of research in the North is far from perfect, but giant strides have been taken to engage more meaningfully with Indigenous partners, and to support reconciliation through self-determined research. So how we do research is just as important as what we research in the North.
One of the approaches we have seen to be most effective at ArcticNet is applying the principles of the National Inuit Strategy on Research to our projects. ArcticNet also co-created the world’s first Inuit-led research program. There are opportunities to build on this.
Investment in northern research contributes to sovereignty and national security, increases resilience to climate change and contributes to reconciliation while upholding Canada as a leader in Arctic research and Indigenous partnerships.