The Norton Bay Watershed’s Climate FutureHal Shepherd

Center for Water AdvocacyHal.shepherd@tcfwa.org

(907)491-1355www.tcfwa.org

The Norton Bay Watershed

Climate change

What does this mean for Alaska?• Northern latitudes, including Alaska, may see an

11.5°F increase in average annual temperature by 2100 (EPA).

• Winter temperatures will increase at a higher rate than summer temperatures.

• More precipitation will fall as rain rather than snow.

• Many locations will be dryer in the summer as evaporation rates increase (Norton Bay for example).

• Storm intensities are likely to increase, resulting in more flooding.

• Coastal erosion will impact coastal communities as permafrost melts and fall storms pound shores lacking protective sea ice.

Shishmaref, Alaska. Jan 22nd 2008

Sea Ice Decline & Marine Mammals

• Ocean acidification threatens fisheries as they face the fastest shift in ocean chemistry in 65 million years (UN Report)

Production of shellfish will be most at risk.

Ocean acidification will damage coral reefs - vital nurseries for many fish stocks.

About a billion people worldwide rely on fish as their main source of protein.

The seafood industry provides 78,500 job in Alaska (ADF&G).

Norton Bay Climate Change Adaption Plan

Goal 1: Obtain funding for emergency preparedness and/or relocation of native villages in the Norton Bay Watershed most critically impacted by coastal erosion and flooding.Goal 2: Mitigate and/or adapt to impact of rising water temperature/stream bank erosion on aquatic habitat. Goal 3: Increase safe access to subsistence resources watershed.Goal 4: Protect subsistence resources in Watershed.Goal 5: Increase education and outreach opportunities for local communities to learn about climate change impacts with a focus on local issues and adaptation strategies.Goal 6: Set precedent in Norton Sound Region for data collection, watershed assessments and management and adaption planning.Goal 7: Improve economic conditions of Native Villages

To view the plan: www.laochconsulting.com

Human Rights

• International human rights standards - guideline to address climate change

• Moral and legal obligations to protect and promote human rights • Universal Declaration of Human

Rights • Core Universal Human Rights

Treaties

Application to Native village communities

• Like other indigenous peoples of the world many Alaska villages are struggling to maintain and preserve their culture

• Loss of land base• Highly dependent on what is left to provide food

and shelter

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

• Requires that governmental policies must recognize indigenous peoples right to land and natural resources.

Seining Tubutulik River

Uranium Mining DemonstrationElim - 2007

Climate Change and Alaskan Native Litigation

• Native Inupiat village of Kivalina, Alaska

• Suit against – oil, power and coal companis from damages leading to relocation due to global to climate change

• Nelson Kanuk & 6 Other Young Adults Sued State of Alaska • state has not adequately addressed carbon emissions and

global warming• Barrow - a small town at the top of the world where melting ice

and permafrost are reshaping land and life.

HB 77

• State Instream Flow Reservations– Adjudication of application before any legal effect– Complex process allowing potentially injured parties to

protest application– Can get political - especially when the approval of a

particular application could impact resource extraction interests

– Backlog - 350 applications pending • None processed in 2008, and only 2 in 2009

– Temporary water use permits TWU – up to 30,000 g/day• Not environmental or public review

Constitutional Issues

• State Constitution– Water appropriation subject to general

reservation for fish and wildlife– “Water is a key natural resource” – State v.

Greenpeace– Chuitna Citizen’s Coalition v. DNR• Claim:

– right to an instream flow reservation – Const. protected interest in original priority date

Public Trust

• The Public Trust Doctrine In Alaska– Resources protected by the public trust include

subsistence and traditional uses– States own & manage water but:• Cannot impair public interest• Fish, wildlife and waters are reserved to people for

common use – Alaska Cons. Article Art. IV, Sect. 3• State cannot manage resources as private owner

seeking maximize income – Alaska Supreme Court– Must Manage for all people.

Federal Trust Duty

Tribal Water Rights

• Federal Reserved Water Rights– Winters Doctrine water rights were reserved for Native

people for "all their beneficial use…” – Applies to Reservations?• Executive Order Reservations in Alaska?– Reserves electing to acquire surface and subsurface

estates under section 19 (b) of ANCSA » include the six corporations who elected to take

title to their four reserves

Where Does Tribal Sovereignty Fit?• Provide precedent throughout Alaska, illustrating the ability of tribal

governments to effectively manage natural resources• Address water temperature change and protect the environment consistent

with the cultural and traditional needs of such tribes and villages. • Strengthen tribal governments and their ability to protect subsistence

resources and the health and welfare of their memberships• Improve the integrity of tribal governing bodies and their economic, social

political and jurisdictional base.

Tribes as Environmental Managers

• Tribes possess power unlike the federal government or state governments– extra-constitutional entities deriving their authority not from

the federal government but from their own inherent tribal sovereignty.

– Demonstrated ability to adapt, as proven by persistence in the face of federal policies of removal, assimilation and termination.

– significant connection to the land and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Many tribes exist as societies bound to nature and the environment.

– Gives tribes capacity for innovation within the realm of environmental law.

Water Flow MeasurementsTubutulik River

Setting Precedent for Data Collection

• No watershed scale climate change adaptation/mitigation planning is currently under way in Alaska

• Limited efforts to gather existing TEK or information about the impacts of climate change on traditional subsistence based economies

• Set precedent for incorporating such knowledge and data into a comprehensive Plan that will apply tribal expertise, knowledge and vision for mitigation and adaption.

Any Questions?