Grantee Research Project Results

Final Report: Impacts of Climate Change on Health Benefits of a Tribal Alaskan Resource:Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge with Risk Assessment Through Local Monitoring

Objective:

To conduct parallel, integrated simultaneous research to:

1) provide baseline assessment of the bioactivity (health risk mitigation properties) of berry resources as influenced by climatic stress factors relevant to global climate change, via cross-comparison of three geographically triangulated tribal communities characterized by inherently different climatic regimes in Alaska, and,

2) assess local traditional knowledge and risk perceptions regarding community health, berries, and climate change, and integrate with biophysical findings for informed local health related decision-making. 

Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):

Participatory research with community members in three Alaska communities (Akutan, Point Hope, and Seldovia) focused on the bioactive health properties of wild berries and their role in local knowledge and community practice. Screening of community berry resources demonstrated potent efficacy against Type II diabetes and obesity, as well as significant antimicrobial activity.  All berries contained the critical A-Type proanthocyanidins (phytochemicals) essential to this bioactive response, and usually deposited in response to environmental stressors.  Berry harvest and consumption were valued by communities both in terms of subsistence and nutrition, as well as a vehicle for social interaction and enjoyment of nature/the outdoors and family interaction.  Local communities noted strong apprehension about potential infringement on these valued resources by contamination, and possible climatic shifts.

1. National Public Radio (NPR). The People’s Pharmacy, Joe & Terry Graedon, for NPR stations nationwide, broadcast Saturday June 25, 2011, 7:00-8:00 a.m. EDT and rebroadcast 26 June at 3:00 p.m. EDT. On wild berries and phytochemicals that protect health. NPR Shows Feature Dr. Mary Ann Lila, Plants for Human Health Institute, June 27, 2011. http://plantsforhumanhealth.ncsu.edu/2011/06/24/npr-show-features-dr-lila/.
2. COSMOS (an Australia-based national journal on all things science), interview with free-lance reporter Jessica Wapner. “Where the wild berries grow” feature article w/photography. December 2011, www.cosmosmagazine.com/issues/2011/42/. 
3. The Ecologist, interviewed by free-lance reporter Jessica Wapner, The struggle to save Alaska's 'illness-busting' wild berries, printed September 7, 2011.

Conclusions:

A strong sense of community and solidarity clearly centered on the annual wild berry yields in Alaska Native communities. Scouting, family-centered wildcrafting/harvests, and preparations were highly anticipated events. Wild berries conditioned human consumer susceptibility to T2DM and metabolic syndrome on multiple fronts (different effects for different species of berry), including elevation of gut enzymes, which inhibit adipogenesis, and prevention of lipid deposition into adipose tissue.  In other words, the research findings suggest that berry consumption has the ability to increase human satiety and counter development of central obesity. Community members’ perspectives about the impacts of climate change on this tradition varied, and often risks were categorized along with other perceived threats to the subsistence berries (e.g., pollution threats). 

This methods development project has been completed; however, we continue to work with colleagues at Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium to find additional project funding to expand our work to the Juneau/Sitka area and to explore educational applications for the program’s toolkits.  A key impact of the project is the incorporation of some of the project’s participatory approaches and methods in current community health outreach work with ANTHC. 

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