Scientist Neal Pastick investigates erosion and permafrost thaw along the Arctic coastline near the North Slope village of Kaktovik in 2018. While numerous government programs exist to address climate change impacts on villages, bureaucratic hurdles make it diffiult for communties to access funds, says a report issued by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. (Photo by M. Torre Jorgenson/Provided by the U.S. Geological Survey)
Permafrost thaw, erosion, storm surges and other climate-change impacts in Alaska’s rural Native villages are not being properly addressed by federal programs because residents have too much trouble overcoming bureaucratic hurdles, said a report issued by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
“Legislative and programmatic changes are needed to remove barriers faced by small rural communities and to create more effective and equitable systems to deliver resources and services,” said the report, titled “The Unmet Needs of Environmentally Threatened Alaska Native Villages.”