Building Community Resilience for the Future
Coastal communities in Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta are facing big challenges because of climate change, like rising sea levels, erosion, and melting permafrost, which put their traditional ways of life at risk. These changes make it harder to get safe drinking water, reliable sanitation, and strong infrastructure. This research project integrates Indigenous Knowledge and western science while investigating three themes.
- Theme 1: Safe and Reliable Water and Sanitation Systems That Meet Community Preferences and Sustain Through Future Environmental Conditions
- Theme 2: Advancing Knowledge of Natural and Human Water Systems Through Community-Based Monitoring Programs
- Theme 3: Science and Education – Art and the Co-Production of Knowledge Community Engagement
Communities like Kongiganak and Mekoryuk are working together to find solutions that consider both the land and the people as they adapt to a changing Arctic.
Funded in part by the National Science Foundation Award Number 220560 Collaborative research partners include University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the University of South Carolina.
