Greetings colleagues!

President Obama has been in Alaska this week to communicate his agenda on climate change policy. In my recent sabbatical work, I was engaged as a technical advisor to the Arctic Athabaskan Council, one of the six (indigenous) permanent participants of the Arctic Council (www.arctic-council.org) where international Arctic environmental policy is set. The United States is currently chair of the Arctic Council for the next two years. I have assisted these institutions in creating a project, which involves our College of Charleston undergraduates, that will inform the Arctic Council’s work on a Freshwater Ecosystem Assessment. This project is a workshop that will bring Indigenous community members from the Yukon (US/Canada), Tena (Norway/Finland) and Kamchatka (Russia) Rivers together to share knowledge and concerns of Indigenous communities across the Arctic about salmon, a key resource for their food security, and a resource that is in crisis around the world.

However, what has amazed me about the whole process of doing (social) science for government is the complete lack of funding—and as a result, our government-sponsored official project is having to seek support through crowdfunding.

I hope I am not abusing this listserv by asking you to advertise our project across your networks:

To find more information, or to donate please visit:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/salmon-peoples-of-arctic-rivers/x/11514931#/story.

Thank you. I and the CofC students working on this project will be grateful for spreading the word to generate this support.

Annette Watson

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Dr. Annette Watson
Associate Professor, Human-Environment Geography
Department of Political Science
Faculty in the Master of Environmental Studies Program
College of Charleston
66 George St
Charleston, SC 29424
(843) 953-5864
@AnetWatson