Climate change is occurring at accelerated rates in the Arctic, and its impacts are being experienced by human communities in the context of other environmental and societal stressors. This paper argues that an assessment of human vulnerability to climate change requires knowledge of these stressors, including the interactions among them that influence people’s sensitivity to climate risks and adaptability. This paper examines the role of multiple stressors in adaptation to climate change through a case study of Paulatuk, Northwest Territories, Canada. It is based on collaborative research involving semi-structured interviews with 28 participants, participant observation, and analysis of secondary sources of information. In the context of subsistence harvesting, climatic stressors have affected access to, and the availability of, some fish and wildlife and are making travel conditions more unpredictable and dangerous. These stressors are being experienced at the same time as societal stressors such as financial and social barriers to participating in subsistence, challenges with local schooling, lifestyle changes, housing shortage and overcrowding, and addiction. Many of the coping strategies used by people in Paulatuk to deal with stressors involve trade-offs, such as leaving the community for school or leaving school to participate in subsistence and switching species harvested in response to a decline in one species, which has undermined resilience to other stressors. This research demonstrates the need to consider the role of pre-existing environmental and societal stressors and diversity within communities in climate change adaptation planning in the Arctic.

北极地区的气候变化正在加速发展，人类环境正在其他环境和社会压力源的背景下经历气候变化的影响。本文认为，评估人类对气候变化的脆弱性需要了解这些压力源，包括它们之间的相互作用，这些相互作用会影响人们对气候风险和适应性的敏感性。本文通过加拿大西北地区保拉图克的案例研究，考察了多种压力源在适应气候变化中的作用。它基于合作研究，涉及对28位参与者的半结构化访谈，参与者观察以及对次要信息源的分析。在维持生计的情况下，气候压力因素影响了获得，一些鱼类和野生动植物，使出行条件变得更加难以预测和危险。这些压力源与社会压力源同时经历，例如参与生计的财政和社会障碍，本地学校教育的挑战，生活方式的改变，住房短缺和人满为患以及成瘾。保拉图克人用来应对压力的许多应对策略涉及权衡取舍，例如离开社区上学或离开学校参加自给自足，以及为应对某一物种的减少而交换收获的物种，这削弱了复原力对其他压力源。这项研究表明，有必要考虑北极地区先前存在的环境和社会压力源以及社区内部的多样性在气候变化适应规划中的作用。