Projects

Project Profile: ARCA

Biocultural Heritage in Arctic Cities: Resource for Climate Adaptation?

Who?

Principal Investigators: Vera Kuklina, George Washington University, United States of America
Partners: Olga Kisseleva, ASCII, France
Victoria Miles, NERSC, Norway
Olga Povoroznyuk, University of Vienna, Austria
Aman Luthra, George Washington University, United States of America
Peter Schweitzer, University of Vienna, Austria
Nikolay Shiklomanov, George Washington University, United States of America
Tristan Glowa, FCAC, United States of America
Franziska Kraiczy, Pikene Broen, Norway
Jo Malbert Narvaez, Native Movement, United States of America
Diana Khaziakhmetova, George Washington University, United States of America
Olga Zaslavskaya, ASCII, France
Sponsors:

What?

Full Project Title: Biocultural Heritage in Arctic Cities: Resource for Climate Adaptation?
Full Call Title: CCH2023: CCH2023- Climate and Cultural Heritage
Website:

Why?

Project Objective: The project explores the intricate relationship between climate change and biocultural heritage a holistic concept, emphasizing the entanglement of natural and cultural elements. The project aims to understand whether and how traditional ecological and Indigenous knowledge, as well as human-environment relationships, that constitute the core of biocultural heritage can contribute to climate change adaptation in urban areas and surrounding landscapes. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and associated elements of biocultural heritage have been serving as critical resources for climate adaptation to generations of Arctic residents. Climate change processes threaten cultural and biological diversity, underscoring the urgency for adaptation and mitigation measures, especially in the Arctic that is changing four times faster than the rest of the world. Arctic cities and their associated subsistence landscapes that transform even faster emerge as interesting case studies for inquiries into the role of TEK and biocultural heritage in climate adaptation processes. Thus, the main research question of this project is, "How can biocultural heritage integrated into urban and natural landscapes contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts?"Working with local and Indigenous communities in Fairbanks and Nome in the USA, and Kirkene and Troms in Norway, the project will explore the potential of traditional knowledge and local land use practices as holistic and culturally sensitive tools for climate adaptation. The project team, consisting of social and natural scientists, artists and activists, will combine quantitative and qualitative methods of climate science, remote sensing, human geography, and social anthropology. The
integration of scientific data with Indigenous long-term observations and artistic explorations should lead to publicly accessible, co-produced and place-specific arts and science products. Results of the project will also be published in academic articles, disseminated via online media, as well as through art+science exhibitions.
Call Objective: This Call aims to support transdisciplinary and convergent research approaches on cultural heritage and climate change, to foster collaboration among the research community across several regions, and to contribute to knowledge advances and policy change at the global level. Applicants are invited to submit research proposals that address at least one of the three call themes:

1. The Impact of Climate Change on Cultural Heritage;
2. Cultural Heritage as a Resource for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation;
3. Sustainable Solutions for Heritage.

Where?

Regions:
Countries:

When?

Duration: 36 months
Call Date: 26 April 2023
Project Award Date: