On The Front Lines, How Indigenous People Are Adapting To Climate Change

PARIS — In early September, widespread flooding affected more than 700,000 people in South Sudan. That came after four consecutive years of record-breaking rains and floods from 2019 to 2022, which displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the country. It is estimated that around 1.5 million people were displaced in South Sudan between 2020 and 2022 as a result of the flooding. And there are concerns that these displaced people will never be able to return to their lands.

The situation in South Sudan is yet another example of how climate change is exacerbating weather disasters and pushing people from their homes. Countries and international bodies from around the world are working together to tackle the effects of climate change and prevent mass migration. These international actors often propose climate initiatives that receive large amounts of funding, political support and media attention. But while some of these initiatives are aimed at helping Indigenous peoples, many still largely sideline these populations.

Although they have contributed the least to climate change, Indigenous people are the most vulnerable to climate-related disasters. But that does not mean they are helpless. Indigenous people in different climate zones are adapting to a warmer, less predictable planet.

From combating invasive species in New Zealand to dealing with melting ice in Alaska, Indigenous peoples are on the front lines of climate change adaptation. These tribes are doing whatever it takes to stay in their homelands and avoid becoming climate refugees.

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Māori people in New Zealand

The Māori people are the original inhabitants of the New Zealand islands, where they been living since approximately 1300. They have a rich history of cultural practices and beliefs that emphasize a connection with the land, sea and sky — a relationship that climate change is unfortunately threatening. Yet the Māori people have developed ways to adapt and combat climate change, with the ultimate aim of preserving the earth and their culture.

A major problem for Indigenous New Zealanders is invasive plants and wildlife. These plants and animals wreak havoc on the ecosystem. To stop and prevent the damage caused by these invasive species, the Māori people set traps to capture invasive animals and pests. They also reintroduce native plants back into the environment. These plants help preserve the land's natural filtration system and support biodiversity by providing food and shelter to native wildlife.

Māori leaders signed an innovative treaty that declared whales to be legally considered people.

Another area where the Māori people are fighting against climate change is the ocean. Climate change is melting glaciers and causing ocean temperatures to rise, resulting in increased acidification and freshwater dilution of the ocean. The result is the depletion of food, and the destruction of habitat for whales, which has devastating impacts on other ocean wildlife, such as sea algae.

This is serious not only for environmental reasons but also because whales are sacred creatures to the Māori people. In March 2023, Māori leaders, along with several other Pacific indigenous groups, signed an innovative treaty that declared whales to be legally considered people with inherit rights such as freedom of movement, a healthy environment, and the ability to thrive alongside humanity.

Iñupiaq in Alaska

The Iñupiaq people are indigenous to the U.S. state of Alaska and live 125 miles above the Arctic Circle. Prior to the major effects of global warming, this part of the globe rarely saw temperatures above 60 °F. But today, Alaska is warming three times faster than the rest of the world, and the Arctic Circle is warming at double the rate. In Point Hope, Alaska, where a large number of Indigenous people are located, there has been an annual temperature increase of 6 °F, while for the rest of the United States the annual temperature rate increase is only 2.6 °F.

This causes sea ice to form unpredictably and later in the year. Rising temperatures also cause the permafrost to thaw and flood the traditional ice cellars carved into the land known as siġauqs. These changes also make it harder for animals to survive, and thus the Iñupiaq people who depend on these animals. Indigenous tribes in the region are largely subsistence-based and do not rely on grocery stores for their food supply, which makes the effects of climate change especially pronounced in their communities.

Another stress on their food supply is overfishing, which is causing a sharp decline in salmon populations; the fish have been a staple food source for the Indigenous communities in Alaska. But as salmon populations decline, people are taking greater risks to get fish, which is resulting in increasing incidents of drowning. In 2014, Indigenous people put resources together to build a community pool to teach people how to swim and prepare them for increasingly difficult river conditions.

Indigenous people have also expanded their diet to less traditional food sources such as sockeye salmon and other less popular fish that are plentiful in the region. The Iñupiaq are also adapting their fishing methods, like using dip nets, which are large circular nets target these less popular fish populations.

Maasai in Tanzania and Kenya

The Maasai people are native to the highlands of Tanzania and Kenya. The land was known for being very green, but years of droughts have transformed the region and, for the first time ever left the land without grass. This is a disaster of apocalyptic scale for the 1.1 million people who are largely pastoralists in Kenya. These droughts are causing many people to lose their cattle and their sense of identity.

Despite the many challenges that come from a lack of rain, the Maasai have proven to be resilient and adapted to their more hospitable landscape. They have completely reorganized their grazing fields to allow for rotating herd movements, allowing the grass to regrow before the next herd grazes.

With the multi-story gardens, we can recycle our water.

Due to smaller herds, the Maasai people are shifting from a predominantly meat-based diet to one including more fruits and vegetables. Local groups dedicated to farming, such as Kopito Women, are building multi-story gardens to increase the number of fruits and vegetables needed to make up for the reduction of meat in their diet

Tunda, a member of the Maasai community and also a Kopito member, said that this model of farming has been adopted as opposed to more traditional means: "We can't cultivate much land because it is hard to water it during the dry season. But with the multi-story gardens, we can recycle our water. We filter the water we use in the kitchen or the house with ash overnight so that in the morning, we can use it to water our plants."

Ashaninka in the Western Amazon

The Ashaninka are indigenous to the Amonia River region in the Western Amazon. Historically, they are known to be fierce fighters, yet despite their best resistance, rubber trappers, loggers, cattle farmers, Maoist guerillas, drug traffickers, colonists and oil companies had wreaked havoc on the region and the Ashaninka people.

Yet over the past three decades, the Ashaninka have taken back their territory and begun rejuvenating the region. They developed a self-sufficient village by growing crops and protecting the forest — a model that now 12 other Indigenous tribes in the Western Amazon, covering an area roughly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware plan to adopt. Today, the Ashaninka showcase what Indigenous communities are capable of when they are given the rights to their land and legal protections from predatory exploitative industries.

The culprits for this live far from us. But if we start pointing fingers, we’ll waste a lot of energy and solve nothing.

Even with their incredible achievements, climate change still poses a major threat to the Ashaninka. In 2023, during a record drought, the Amonia River was so hot that thousands of fish died, and the Ashaninka people stopped bathing in it. This year, the Ashaninka are still suffering from drought, but intend to adapt to climate change.

“The culprits for this live far from us," Francisco Piyãko told U.S. News & World Report, "But if we start pointing fingers, we’ll waste a lot of energy and solve nothing. Instead, we’re focusing on adaptation. We’re identifying the best places to build houses and grow crops, improving access to water and managing fire risks.”

The practices that the Ashaninka have used to repair the land after decades of exploitation also help reinforce the tribe's resilience to climate change. They have developed a land management system that sustains various dimensions of their lives. This includes expansive traditional huts that are surrounded by fish ponds and land that combines forest and crops. The end result is enough food for their schooling, cotton for clothing, plants for medicinal use, and several other needs being met.