“Straight from the heavens into your bucket”: domestic rainwater harvesting as a measure to improve water security in a subarctic indigenous community

Background: Black Tickle-Domino is an extremely water-insecure remote Inuit community in the Canadian subarctic that lacks piped-water. Drinking water consumption in the community is less than a third of the Canadian national average. Water insecurity in the community contributes to adverse health, economic, and social effects and requires urgent action. Objectives: To test the ability of domestic rainwater harvesting (DRWH) for the first time in the subarctic with the goal of improving water access and use in the community. Design: This project utilised quantitative weekly reporting of water collection and use, as well as focus group discussions. DRWH units were installed at seven water-insecure households chosen by the local government. Results were measured over a 6-week period in 2016. Results: Participants harvested 19.07 gallons of rainwater per week. General purpose water consumption increased by 17% and water retrieval efforts declined by 40.92%. Households saved $12.70 CDN per week. Participants reported perceived improvements to psychological health. Because no potable water was collected, drinking water consumption did not increase. The study identified additional water-insecurity impacts. Conclusion: DRWH cannot supply drinking water without proper treatment and filtration; however, it can be a partial remedy to water insecurity in the subarctic. DRWH is appropriately scaled, inexpensive, and participants identified several significant benefits

Towards Indigenous community-led monitoring of fish in the oil sands region of Canada: Lessons at the intersection of cultural consensus and fish science

In the Oil Sands Regions of Alberta, Canada, Indigenous reassertion of rights and responsibilities has lead to a renewed leadership in monitoring the effects of industries on various environment receptors. This study, conducted with Cold Lake First Nations, Alberta (CLFN), sought to explore local concerns regarding fish consumption safety and population health in response to multiple anthropogenic stressors focusing upon oil extraction. We undertook this work using a novel research design comprised of two distinct approaches including a participatory fish health and toxicology study and a cultural consensus survey of CLFN members. The cultural consensus study assessed similarities and differences in knowledge and perceptions of CLFN members. The fish toxicology and health research involved implementing a co-designed protocol to collect and sample fish for toxicants and overall population health using scientific indicators. We discuss the results of each study as well as the tangible application of our work in achieving a Multiple Evidence Base approach. Our work highlights that complementarities between our studies as part of a negotiated research process can form a single cohesive narrative to better inform fisheries management while respecting community knowledge, culture and rights to access land, water and country foods.Full Tex