The Climate Crisis and Disruption on Indigeneity
Major
Environmental Studies
Second Major
International and Global Studies
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
International Studies
Faculty Advisor
Carmela Ferradáns
Location
CNS Atrium
Start Date
4-12-2025 8:30 AM
End Date
4-12-2025 9:30 AM
Abstract
Earth’s temperature has increased by 2 ℉ since 1850, with the warmest historical period recorded between 2014 and 2023 (Lindsey & Dahlman, 2024). The effects of climate change will worsen without governmental intervention in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, investing in environmental projects, and building a climate-resistant society. Efforts to build a sustainable society may come with complications as it impacts groups of people differently. Therefore, mitigation and adaptation efforts are sustainable only if environmental approaches consider multiple perspectives– more specifically the perspectives of Indigenous and local peoples. The idea of local, Indigenous input is supported by the principles of sustainable adaptation and the participatory development theory to support further the idea of effectively instituting Indigenous perspectives and knowledge of sustainable development. This research will assess Papuans in Papua New Guinea, a country housing approximately 10 percent of the Earth’s species, most of which are endemic to the island (West, 2016b), and Mapuche-Williche in Chile, which is a country with historical and current systematic legislation affecting Indigenous rights and perceptions. Both case studies offer unique characteristics that benefit from discussion referring to the participatory development theory and the principles of sustainable adaptation, implying the importance of the individual history of a country’s relationship with Indigenous societies that affect their reactions to sustainable decisions made today.
The Climate Crisis and Disruption on Indigeneity
CNS Atrium
Earth’s temperature has increased by 2 ℉ since 1850, with the warmest historical period recorded between 2014 and 2023 (Lindsey & Dahlman, 2024). The effects of climate change will worsen without governmental intervention in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, investing in environmental projects, and building a climate-resistant society. Efforts to build a sustainable society may come with complications as it impacts groups of people differently. Therefore, mitigation and adaptation efforts are sustainable only if environmental approaches consider multiple perspectives– more specifically the perspectives of Indigenous and local peoples. The idea of local, Indigenous input is supported by the principles of sustainable adaptation and the participatory development theory to support further the idea of effectively instituting Indigenous perspectives and knowledge of sustainable development. This research will assess Papuans in Papua New Guinea, a country housing approximately 10 percent of the Earth’s species, most of which are endemic to the island (West, 2016b), and Mapuche-Williche in Chile, which is a country with historical and current systematic legislation affecting Indigenous rights and perceptions. Both case studies offer unique characteristics that benefit from discussion referring to the participatory development theory and the principles of sustainable adaptation, implying the importance of the individual history of a country’s relationship with Indigenous societies that affect their reactions to sustainable decisions made today.