Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Adaptation And Sustainability In A Small Arctic Community: Results Of An Agent-Based Simulation Model, Matthew Berman, Craig Nicolson, Gary Kofinas, Joe Tetlichi, Stephanie Martin

Craig Nicolson

Climate warming and resource development could alter key Arctic ecosystem functions that support fish and wildlife resources harvested by local indigenous communities. A different set of global forces—government policies and tourism markets—increasingly directs local cash economies that communities use to support subsistence activities. Agent-based computational models (ABMs) contribute to an integrated assessment of community sustainability by simulating how people interact with each other and adapt to changing economic and environmental conditions. Relying on research and local knowledge to provide rules and parameters for individual and collective decision making, our ABM generates hypothetical social histories as adaptations to scenario-driven changes in …