Grant: Team Grant: Environments and Health: Intersectoral Prevention Research

A changing climate will affect food through a range of effects on agriculture, livestock, water systems, and wildlife, which have implications for food security, foodborne disease, and malnutrition. Indigenous populations who rely on the environment for livelihoods are considered highly sensitive to these impacts. The Climate Change and Indigenous Food System, Food Security, & Food Safety (Climate Change IFS3) research program addresses a significant deficit in understanding the food-related health (agri-health) dimensions of climate change among Indigenous populations globally. The research program has created a multinational intersectoral team to characterize the vulnerability and resilience of Indigenous food systems to climate change to inform, enhance, and expand climate change adaptation interventions and adaptation planning. The program responds to needs identified by communities, public health units, Indigenous organizations, governments, and the United Nations through ongoing partnerships with Inuit (Canada), Batwa (Uganda), and Shawi (Peru) populations. Working within these regions, the program has 3 research pillars: 1) Community-driven environment and health surveillance, 2) Projecting climate change impacts on agri-health outcomes, and 3) Developing place-based adaptation pathways. Within the foci of food and climate, we will examine how culturally defined gender roles and age impact vulnerability and resilience, and highlight the importance of Indigenous Knowledge. Comparative analysis is an explicit goal and is built into program design through the use of consistent methodologies across regions. Our participatory, community-based approach will offer best practice guidance for other initiatives, will create community and scientific leaders with expertise in Indigenous agri-health and climate change, and demonstrate the importance of Indigenous Knowledge for adaptation, seeking to empower communities to manage the agri-health effects of climate change.