Coastal Community Resilience

Coastal resilience in Alaska

Temperatures in the Arctic are warming at four times the global average. Many residents of Alaska, a geographically and culturally diverse state, are experiencing thawing permafrost, significant erosion, coastal inundation, ocean acidification, invasive species, and other impacts to their way of life. This is impacting traditional activities such as subsistence activities and commercial fishing, which provide food security and economic well-being to coastal communities. Although there are significant impacts to the coasts and resources Alaskans rely on and are connected to, coastal residents are resilient and are learning to adapt.

Diagram showing relationships among climate stressors, bio-ecological systems, socio-economic systems, and adaptation actions in Alaska communities. Central green circle labeled Salmon connects to species like halibut, herring, crab, deer, and clams. Top red box Climate Stressors includes fish size, warmer conditions, range shift, and uncertainty. Bottom orange box Socioeconomic System includes ecosystem health, subsistence, food security, co-production, and traditional knowledge. Right blue box Adaptation Actions includes management, local knowledge, and monitoring. Yellow box Barriers to Action lists capacity, funding, governance. Purple box Movements Toward Adaptation links barriers and actions. Arrows show bidirectional relationships among all components. — **Long Description:** The diagram consists of interconnected colored boxes and circles representing socio-ecological interactions in Alaska communities.

**Climate Stressors (red box):** Large circles labeled "Fish Size", "Warmer Conditions", "Range Shift". Smaller circles include "Uncertainty", "Ecological Change", "Scale of Impacts", "Timing", "Magnitude".

**Bio-Ecological System (green box):** Central large circle labeled "Salmon". Surrounding circles include "Halibut", "Herring", "Crab", "Deer", "Clams". Additional smaller circles: "Ecosystem", "Health", "Society".

**Socioeconomic System (orange box):** Large circles labeled "Ecosystem Health", "Subsistence". Smaller circles include "Food Security", "Co-production", "Traditional Knowledge", "Community Well-being".

**Adaptation Actions (blue box):** Large circle labeled "Management". Smaller circles include "Local Knowledge", "Monitoring", "Partnerships", "Capacity Building", "Research", "Policy Development".

**Barriers to Action (yellow box):** Circles labeled "Capacity", "Funding", "Governance", "Coordination", "Expertise", "Resources", "Policy", "Communication", "Trust", "Equity".

**Movements Toward Adaptation (purple box):** Circles labeled "Pathways", "Networks", "Collaboration".

Red and green arrows indicate bidirectional relationships among all components, showing feedback loops between climate stressors, ecological systems, socioeconomic systems, and adaptation strategies.

Social, Economic, and Environmental Stressors (red) and Resilience and Adaptation Strategies (green) in Gulf of Alaska Communities. Gulf of Alaska Ocean Acidification Regional Vulnerability Assessment, Alaska Sea Grant and NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Figure by Abigail Sweetman, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.Click on the image to enlarge it in a new tab.

The Alaska Sea Grant Coastal Resilience Program provides expertise, research, and extension services to communities across Alaska. Our team facilitates workshops and other activities by building trusted collaborations. We provide data and decision support tools to Alaskans to adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions, build resilience, and enhance community well-being. Our team facilitates workshops and other activities to empower the communities we serve to enhance their community well-being, including but not limited to community and environmental health, economic development, workforce development, and other aspects that make communities more resilient.

Climate adaptation StoryMap

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Adapt Alaska

Adapt Alaska logo Developed by Alaska Sea Grant and partners, Adapt Alaska provides a guide for resilience and adaptation planning. The website provides an overview of changes that are impacting coastal communities across Alaska. The core function of the website is to guide users through the resilience and adaptation process, from initiating a community conversation to monitoring and mitigation activities, and ultimately to resilience and adaptation planning. Each step of the process includes case studies from resilience and adaptation efforts statewide, along with useful resources.

News

Record low level of Bering Sea ice causes profound, widespread impacts

December 10, 2019

“This is an extreme event with immediate and long-lasting repercussions. It’s indicative of very rapid change in the entire northern Bering Sea ecosystem. It has ramifications for everyone in the region,” said lead author Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

Report suggests how to prepare for Arctic oil spills

November 21, 2019

A new report is out on how communities can anticipate, plan for and build resiliency around oil spills. The report is the product of regional workshops in Anchorage, Alaska; Virginia…

KDLG Radio: City council weighs options as rapid erosion threatens Dillingham sewer

November 8, 2019

Erosion is eating away the coastline by Dillingham’s sewage lagoon. The city council held a meeting with contract engineers to discuss options for the lagoon before it’s too late. Alaska Sea Grant’s Gabe Dunham has studied the coastline by the lagoon since 2016. In a project with Alaska Sea Grant, Dunham and three other scientists installed three transects, including a camera, to measure how much land is being lost.

overlooking Kodiak harbor, with mountains and dramatic clouds

Kodiak workshop helps fishing community build resilience

November 7, 2019

More than 70 people gathered in Kodiak recently for a workshop to address how the island community can build resilience and adaptability in the face of climate change. The October…

Kodiak Daily Mirror: Kodiakans discuss future of sustainable energy

October 28, 2019

The two-day Adapt Kodiak workshop was organized by Alaska Sea Grant and funded by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the National Park Service and the Aleutian and Bering Sea Islands Initiative.

NYT Opinion: Where the sea ice recedes, so does an Alaska way of life

September 25, 2019

With climate change, animals that sustain Native hunters are disappearing, and harmful algae are contaminating waters. This opinion article was written by Gay Sheffield, Alaska Sea Grant marine advisory agent, Vera Trainer, president of the International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae, and Rick Thoman, climate expert at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy.

Volunteers trained to respond to whale entanglements

June 4, 2019

When whales get entangled in fishing gear or other marine debris, it’s a potentially life-threatening event that takes a group of trained specialists to provide help. And with whale entanglements…

aerial view of men in raft using pole to cut line from entangled whale

Unalaska uses teamwork and technology to save whales

November 13, 2018

Humpback whale sightings are becoming increasingly common in Unalaska, and so are whale entanglements. In late October 2018, Alaska Sea Grant’s Melissa Good helped coordinate efforts to successfully free a…