Manitoba Climate Change Task Force - International Institute for ...

Flin Flon
The Pas
Brandon
Winnipeg
Thompson
Churchill
Province of Manitoba
Winter Roads System
2000 - 2001
www.gov.mb.ca/hwy/map/index.html
Inuit Observations
Residents of the tiny community
of Sachs Harbour on Banks
Island in Canada’s western Arctic
have recently observed startling
climate-related changes, including
the earlier break-up and later
freeze-up of sea-ice that makes
hunting and trapping more
difficult and dangerous. New
species of insects, fish and
mammals are appearing for the
first time. Permafrost, the permanent
layer of frozen ground, is
melting, causing town buildings
to shift, and increasing the rate
of slumping on the coastline and
along the shores of inland lakes.
The melting has already caused
one inland lake to drain into the
ocean, killing the freshwater fish.
Given the dramatic changes that
local people have observed, the
Winnipeg-based International
Institute for Sustainable
Development and the Hunters
and Trappers Committee of
Sachs Harbour collaborated on a
two-year project to document
the evidence of Arctic climate
change and communicate it to
Canadian and international
audiences. The production of a
video documentary has provided
decision-makers, the media and
civil society worldwide with
evidence of climate change from
a human perspective.
www.iisd.org/casl/projects/inuitobs.htm
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