The role of international law in socio-ecological resilience to climate change of coastal Arctic communities - An international law study of the case of Arctic bowhead whaling

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• Johanna Sophie Bürkert, Ph.D. fellow at Københavns University, Law Faculty
• Thursday 08 February 2024, 14:00-15:00
• Scott Polar Research Institute, Seminar Room.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Emilie Canova.

As climate change is warming the Arctic four times faster than the rest of the planet, irreversible changes to marine and terrestrial ecosystems, such as habitat shifts and species loss, are to be expected. This will lead to drastic changes in the Arctic environment, and directly affect the approximately 4 million people (10% of whom are indigenous) that call the Arctic their home. The effects of warming have been linked to shifts in bowhead whale migration, influencing timing of the hunt and availability, as well as changing sea ice conditions, which influence hunting, impacting food security and the exercise of cultural practices. Thereby, Arctic warming has both social and ecological effects, making it relevant to address it from a socio-ecological systems perspective. Centering around the concept of climate resilience, my project aims to map out which factors in international law can contribute to coastal socio-ecological system’s resilience to climate change. Despite the importance of law in resilience governance, the role of law in governing for socio-ecological resilience has only be touched upon in brief throughout the literature. At the example of three case studies (Communities in Greenland, Alaska and Canada that undertake bowhead hunting), I evaluate where the international legal framework on climate change, biodiversity and applicable human rights poses barriers or contributes to coastal Arctic socio-ecological climate resilience. A special focus in this presentation lies on the inclusion of western and Indigenous science on bowhead whaling and related nature conservation. Iterativity plays an important role in resilience, as the inclusion of science allows law to fit the environment in which it is set, However, the types of knowledge included matter, both for social and ecological resilience. This presentation addresses ways in which the respective treaty systems (IWC, CBD , CITES, UNCLOS , UNFCCC) address the production and inclusion of knowledge, and highlights benefits and disadvantages of the process. Moreover, the presentation expands to existing human rights to explore, whether the standards set therein can have an influence on the process to strengthen resilience.

This talk is part of the Scott Polar Research Institute - Polar Humanities and Social Sciences ECR Workshop series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• AUB_Cambridge Seminars
• Department of Geography
• Scott Polar Research Institute - Polar Humanities and Social Sciences ECR Workshop
• Scott Polar Research Institute, Seminar Room

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