Climate change, health, and vulnerability in Canadian northern Aboriginal communities.
BACKGROUND
Canada has recognized that Aboriginal and northern communities in the country face unique challenges and that there is a need to expand the assessment of vulnerabilities to climate change to include these communities. Evidence suggests that Canada's North is already experiencing significant changes in its climate--changes that are having negative impacts on the lives of Aboriginal people living in these regions. Research on climate change and health impacts in northern Canada thus far has brought together Aboriginal community members, government representatives, and researchers and is charting new territory.


RESULTS
In this article we review experiences from two projects that have taken a community-based dialogue approach to identifying and assessing the effects of and vulnerability to climate change and the impact on the health in two Inuit regions of the Canadian Arctic.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the two case projects that we present argue for a multi-stakeholder, participatory framework for assessment that supports the necessary analysis, understanding, and enhancement of capabilities of local areas to respond and adapt to the health impacts at the local level.
Furgal
Christopher
C
Nasivvik Centre for Inuit Health and Changing Environments, Public Health Research Unit, Centre hospitalier Universitaire du Québec-Centre hospitalier Université Laval, Quebec, Canada. chrisfurgal@trentu.ca
Seguin
Jacinthe
J
D000064:Acclimatization; D001110:Arctic Regions; D002170:Canada; D002980:Climate; D004782:Environmental Health / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D004930:Inuit