Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Adaptation and Resilience of Arctic Communities to Oil and Gas Development  (Resilience of Arctic Communities)

Outline
I am proposing to the Human and Social Dynamics program at NSF a multi-year, interdisciplinary research inquiry into the socio-cultural impacts of oil and gas development in the Arctic, strategies for mitigation and adaptation, and assets for community resilience. The second year of the proposal (FY 2007) includes an educator on summer contract using our research to develop high school social science curriculum materials for IPY. When oil was discovered in 1994 eight miles from the Inupiat village of Nuiqsut, community leaders, armed with strong property rights and effective institutions, were able to secure for the community net benefits valued at more than $5 million a year. The blessing is mixed, however, as the success of the Alpine oil field unleashed a cascade of exploration and development activity in the surrounding areas. These cumulative effects are impairing traditional subsistence hunting activities on which the community depends. The negative impacts on cultural well-being and local control are marked. The social impacts are mixed and not well documented. The level of anxiety among the residents is very high, and community leaders are overloaded by the demands for monitoring, mitigation, conflict resolution, advocacy and marshalling resources. Seven other Inupiat and Inuit communities in Alaska and Canada—Tuktoyuktuk, Inuvik, Aklavik, Kaktovik, Atqasuk, Wainwright and Barrow—are now on the frontier of expanding oil and gas development. My proposal involves a research partnership with the Native Village of Nuiqsut to host a three day workshop for representatives from the seven target communities and an interdisciplinary team of researchers in six disciplines: economics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, political science and environmental health. A series of panels, each with several local speakers and one researcher, would discuss community assets for adaptation and resilience in four dimensions of community wellbeing: economy, environment, human capital and social capital. The second year of the project (FY 2007) would replicate this model, with the workshop hosted by Tuktoyuktuk, located in the heart of the MacKenzie Delta gas project. The intervening year would be used for primary data collection in all seven communities according to the research priorities set by the PI after the first workshop. In the third and final year (FY 2008) the workshop would be hosted by Kaktovik, located midway between the Alaska and Canadian oil and gas fields and proximate to new prospects off-shore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Development of arctic social science curriculum materials for the International Polar Year; and contributions to social science education in local high schools through these materials and lectures by visiting researchers.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
Collaboration of Alaskan and Canadian communities and researchers. Curriculum might incorporate research from other Arctic regions as well, such as the case studies in “Social and Economic Effects of Oil and Gas Activities in the Arctic,” Chapter 3 in a report by the Arctic Council to be published in 2007.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
North Slope of Alaska, Yukon and Northwest Territories.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 2006-7            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Meeting space and lodging for participants.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
No.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Other sources of support

Rental of existing community facilities for the workshops.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Only by interested collborators in Alaska and Canada.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Exp

See description above.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The PI, Sharman Haley, has research support at the Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
See description above.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
These details will be developed in the full proposal.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
NSF Human Social Dynamics

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Sharman Haley
Institute of Social and Economic Research
3211 Providence Drive
Anchorage AK
99508
USA

Tel: (907) 586-5429
Mobile: no
Fax: (907) 586-7739
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation