Climate Change and Arctic Property Rights

Climate change is irreversibly altering Arctic ecosystems and landscapes. Rising sea levels and thawing permafrost are negatively impacting food security, land and water resources, community livelihood, and health.

A warming Siberian tundra is changing reindeer migration patterns, challenging resource access for Indigenous Peoples and threatening livelihoods. Melting glaciers in Iceland are creating the unusual problem of rising land, which is damaging infrastructure and complicating land use policies. And in Alaska, some coastal villages are forced to relocate due to rising ocean waters—presenting a financial and moral challenge to communities whose worldviews and cultural heritage are largely tied to their land.

These challenges may seem local, but the drastic consequences for housing, land, and property rights in the Arctic will play out globally in the coming decades. So what can we learn from these Arctic experiences? This blog series on property rights in the Arctic explores the intersection of land and climate change, and discusses local, national, and international responses to an increasingly dire situation up north.