Impacts of climate change on north coast to be focus of new study

Press Release

Local Elders speak of changes they’ve seen over the years: eroding coastlines and shallower rivers, warmer winters and shorter seasons to use the ice road. They talk about species of birds, fish and animals that don’t seem to be as plentiful in the northern Mushkegowuk region as they once were.

“These changes being reported by our community members are a concern because it affects food security for those living off the land or even just their ability to travel from one place to another,” explained Roxanne Metlin, Climate Resilience Coordinator with the Cree Geomatics department of Mushkegowuk Council.

Cree Geomatics is part of a team spearheading an effort to document these changes and use them to develop adaptation plans with communities on the James Bay and southern Hudson Bay coasts. The plans will weave Indigenous knowledge with western science.

Metlin said warmer temperatures seem to have contributed to an observed rise in plants and animals moving into the area from the south. An adaptation plan, she explained, could potentially include information about how coastline residents can take advantage of some of these newly arrived species by learning to effectively harvest them.

CreeGeo is working in partnership with Mushkegowuk’s Lands & Resources department, Environment & Climate Change Canada, as well as Up North On Climate of Laurentian University which is a group that supports community-led climate change adaption planning.

Chantal Sarrazin-Delay, program lead with Up North On Climate, said the partners want northern Omushkego people to be informed of the project and to potentially contribute information.

“CreeGeo will be sending online invitations out to community members to share their observations and their traditional knowledge of the land,” said Sarrazin-Delay.

She said people may have observed gradual changes that are impacting animal habitats or even causing sandbars to form at certain spots along what-were-once deep rivers.

“The objective is to help communities create their own adaptation plans related to coastal risks.”

What does Sarrazin-Delay mean by ‘coastal risks?’

“For example, extreme weather could cause large waves and high erosion which would affect eel grass beds which geese depend on,” she explained. “Another risk involves the loss of permafrost. When permafrost is lost, riverbanks can erode and cause sedimentation to fill spaces between rocks where fish would normally go to spawn.”

The data collection process for this three-year study will include an aerial survey of the coastline to be conducted in July. The images from that survey will then be compared with archival maps and photos.

Metlin concluded by saying, “Our hope is that the First Nations will benefit by being better prepared for any changes they’ve observed and be equipped to make informed decisions about how to adapt to them.”

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