Mapping Change at the Arctic Coast: A Socio-Ecological Ecosystem Services Approach in a Rapidly Warming Environment

The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the global average, with particularly profound impacts along Arctic coastlines. Coastal erosion is accelerating due to longer open-water seasons, stronger winds, and rising permafrost temperatures. These changes have far-reaching consequences for Arctic communities, whose livelihoods and cultural practices are closely tied to local ecosystems and the services they provide. Approximately 1162 seasonal and year-round settlements are located directly along Arctic coasts.

This study focuses on an Arctic summer settlement on Qikiqtaruk (Herschel Island) in northwestern Canada, a site where coastal environmental change has been documented by natural science research for several decades. Building on this long-term record, we conducted ecosystem services (ES) mapping to integrate social and natural science perspectives on these changes. Questionnaire-based interviews with a diverse range of stakeholder groups - including Yukon Territorial Park Rangers, Indigenous community members, a Yukon Parks Conservation Biologist and scientific groups from Canada and Europe - were combined with participatory mapping methods. The resulting maps identify a wide range of ES across this Territorial Park and reveal spatial patterns and hotspot areas of ES provision and change. These outputs provide a valuable foundation for future management and planning by linking observed environmental change with human use, values, and dependencies.

By bridging the natural and social sciences, this study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the consequences of a rapidly changing and highly sensitive Arctic coastal environment. As one of the first ES assessments conducted in an Arctic community, this work demonstrates the potential of an expanded ES approach to capture the complex socio-ecological impacts of climate change along Arctic coasts.