NSF-NFRF: Indigenous-led actions and solutions for food-water-energy

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

This project seeks to find more equitable and holistic solutions to climate risks based on Indigenous knowledge that will contribute novel solutions to how to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Indigenous peoples around the world are on the frontlines of climate change impacts and have the knowledge and leadership to find solutions that support our planet and the health and livelihoods of their communities and beyond. Specifically, our team will map the current and future costs of the energy transition on the health, well-being, and livelihoods of traditional peoples; identify Indigenous innovations and actions that enhance food-water-energy security; examine novel ways to manage forests and agriculture with minimum negative impacts and explore the transferability of these Indigenous solutions to other contexts. This project advances knowledge and informs solutions to social and environmental challenges faced in the U.S. The project will quantify the contributions of nature-based solutions to mitigating climate changes such as declining precipitation and hotter temperatures through using existing data sets and compare this evidence to what local communities express. It will examine ways in which their agriculture and agroforestry practices can be used to restore degraded areas and through ecosystem modeling examine whether they can enhance the cooling functions of forests thereby mitigating climate change. The project will also identify conservation and ecosystem services emanating from local knowledge through ethnographic procedures of data collection that respects Indigenous knowledge. Through climate modeling, the project will evaluate the risks to communities from climate change particularly the risks of flooding and drought. By working with Indigenous and traditional peoples as partners in discovery, the project offers opportunities to these communities to become part of the voyage of discovery that is scientific research. Education and training activities are an integral part of this effort to address the climate crisis by preparing a new generation to address the challenges of tomorrow. This partnership, emphasizing Indigenous-led and Indigenous-inspired research, provides a new approach for addressing climate change and the challenge of sustainability. This is a project jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and funding agencies from Canada, Brazil, Germany, and Switzerland via the 2023 International Joint Initiative for Research on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Competition. This Competition allowed a single joint international proposal to be submitted and peer-reviewed by Canada. Upon successful joint determination of an award recommendation, each agency funds the proportion of the budget that supports scientists at institutions in their respective countries. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.