Climate Action Funding Opportunities

The Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre (QHRC) is here to help Nunavummiut with applying for climate change adaptation or climate monitoring funding. QHRC works in partnership with federal departments Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC).

What is Climate Change Adaptation?

Climate change adaptation are actions that reduce the negative impact of climate change. Adaptation can be reactive, occurring in response to climate impacts, or anticipatory, occurring before impacts of climate change are observed.

What is Community-Based Climate Monitoring?

In the context of this funding program, community-based monitoring means “monitoring by the community for the community” using Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and science. This can be done by:

      1. Collecting information on weather variables such as air temperature, rainfall, and wind speeds, through observation and/or scientific instruments.
      2. Tracking the effects of climate change on the environment. For example: water quality and quantity; sea ice thickness; permafrost conditions; and the health and distribution of animals and plants.

Do you have a project idea you and your community would like to undertake that is linked to the changes in weather and environment?

Read more below and contact the Climate Change Community Research Coordinator (CCCRC) to discuss your idea and see if it is eligible for this funding.

Your project can have both climate change adaptation and climate monitoring elements in the same project.

Programs

There are three Federal community-focused funding programs.
Have a look at the table below to see an overview of each program.

The programs are flexible and can fund projects that fit into more than one column.

Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program (CCHAP)

Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program (CCPN)

Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring (ICBCM) Program

About

The Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program (CCHAP) funds Inuit led projects in the north that help communities adapt to the health impacts of climate change.

The Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program (CCPN) funds northerner-led projects that help communities adapt to climate change impacts on their community.

The program provides funding to support Indigenous communities in the development and implementation of community-based climate monitoring projects.

Program Categories

Projects usually fall within one of these categories:

  • Food Security
  • Resilience Building
  • Knowledge Transfer
  • Access to the Land
  • Water Quality
  • Adaptation Planning

Adaptation Planning (non-structural adaptation measures):

    • Vulnerability and risk assessment of climate change impact.
    • Development of hazard maps.
    • Development of adaptation plans ​and options such as sea-ice monitoring equipment.

Implementation of ​Adaptation Measures (structural​ adaptation measures)

      • For example, ​implementing ​the redesign or retrofit infrastructure ​ such as drainage or coastal defences.

Monitoring climate or the effects of climate change on weather, land and water, and wildlife and vegetation through Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit observations and/or scientific instruments.

Examples of things to track/monitor:

  • Weather: Air temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, extreme weather events.
  • Land and water: Permafrost conditions, coastal erosion, landslides, drought, water quality and quantity, water salinity, water temperature, flooding, glacier retreat, freshwater ice, sea ice, sea level, snowpack, storm surges.
  • Wildlife and vegetation: Population, distribution, health, seasonal timing, habitat quality, species at risk, invasive species, traditional medicines.

Eligiblity Requirements

Have a strong connection to climate change and addresses the impacts of climate change on health

Be adaptation action oriented, or provide information that will inform future adaptation actions

Have strong links to climate change that contribute to the communities’ efforts to adapt to the environmental impacts caused by climate change.

Community-led

Related to monitoring climate or effects of climate change

Include Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and/or science methodologies

Build capacity amongst community members in climate monitoring or related areas

Provide knowledge transfer opportunities between generations and support Inuit culture continuity

Examples of Projects Funded

Short term research and monitoring in Kugluktuk to identify climate change impacts on the Coppermine River

Funding to support the design and development of food security strategies in the Inuvialuit Region and within the Selkirk First Nation (2 separate projects)

Funding to pair youth and elders in the Tłı̨chǫ communities to teach harvesting skills and stock community freezers

Sea ice monitoring projects in several Nunavut communities

Funding to support the assessment, and climate related planning of, municipal drainage in Arviat and Cape Dorset.

Funding to support geotechnical investigations of soil and permafrost conditions to inform the design of building foundations (Nunavut Housing Corporation).

Funding to support sea-ice monitoring for local adaptive change in Grise Fiord, SmartICE Inc.

Funding to support on-the-land knowledge exchange of adaptation in traditional harvesting with the Arviat Young Hunters Program and Kitikmeot Heritage Society.

Hiring and training of local community members in Pond Inlet as Environmental Monitors to record data on biometrics, behaviour observations, and GPS information of marine mammals to track their health, distribution, and population. Read more about the project here.

The Young Hunters Program in Arviat, mentors youth, males age 8-18, to become masters in sustainable harvesting and environmental monitoring through hands-on, on-the-land experiential learning with Elders and program graduates. The youth monitor the health, harvest rate, and consumption rate of seal and caribou. Read more about the project here.

In the Kitikmeot Region, the Hunter and Trapper Organizations are working in partnership with the Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board to design and create a database to include both Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit observations and stories, as well as western science measurements. The idea to record and manage this information began with a concern about caribou herd health among all HTOs in the Kitikmeot Region.

Programs

There are three Federal community-focused funding programs.
Have a look at the table below to see an overview of each program.

The programs are flexible and can fund projects that fit into more than one column.

Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program (CCHAP)

About

The Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program (CCHAP) funds Inuit led projects in the north that help communities adapt to the health impacts of climate change.

Program Categories

Projects usually fall within one of these categories:

  • Food Security
  • Resilience Building
  • Knowledge Transfer
  • Access to the Land
  • Water Quality
  • Adaptation Planning

Eligiblity Requirements

Have a strong connection to climate change and addresses the impacts of climate change on health

Be adaptation action oriented, or provide information that will inform future adaptation actions

Examples of Projects Funded

Short term research and monitoring in Kugluktuk to identify climate change impacts on the Coppermine River

Funding to support the design and development of food security strategies in the Inuvialuit Region and within the Selkirk First Nation (2 separate projects)

Funding to pair youth and elders in the Tłı̨chǫ communities to teach harvesting skills and stock community freezers

Sea ice monitoring projects in several Nunavut communities

Helpful Resources

Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program (CCPN)

About

The Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program (CCPN) funds northerner-led projects that help communities adapt to climate change impacts on their community.

Program Categories

Adaptation Planning (non-structural adaptation measures):

    • Vulnerability and risk assessment of climate change impact.
    • Development of hazard maps.
    • Development of adaptation plans ​and options such as sea-ice monitoring equipment.

Implementation of ​Adaptation Measures (structural​ adaptation measures)

      • For example, ​implementing ​the redesign or retrofit infrastructure ​ such as drainage or coastal defences.

Eligiblity Requirements

Have strong links to climate change that contribute to the communities’ efforts to adapt to the environmental impacts caused by climate change.

Examples of Projects Funded

Funding to support the assessment, and climate related planning of, municipal drainage in Arviat and Cape Dorset.

Funding to support geotechnical investigations of soil and permafrost conditions to inform the design of building foundations (Nunavut Housing Corporation).

Funding to support sea-ice monitoring for local adaptive change in Grise Fiord, SmartICE Inc.

Funding to support on-the-land knowledge exchange of adaptation in traditional harvesting with the Arviat Young Hunters Program and Kitikmeot Heritage Society.

Helpful Resources

Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring (ICBCM) Program

About

The program provides funding to support Indigenous communities in the development and implementation of community-based climate monitoring projects.

Program Categories

Monitoring climate or the effects of climate change on weather, land and water, and wildlife and vegetation through Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit observations and/or scientific instruments.

Examples of things to track/monitor:

  • Weather: Air temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, extreme weather events.
  • Land and water: Permafrost conditions, coastal erosion, landslides, drought, water quality and quantity, water salinity, water temperature, flooding, glacier retreat, freshwater ice, sea ice, sea level, snowpack, storm surges.
  • Wildlife and vegetation: Population, distribution, health, seasonal timing, habitat quality, species at risk, invasive species, traditional medicines.

Eligiblity Requirements

Community-led

Related to monitoring climate or effects of climate change

Include Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and/or science methodologies

Build capacity amongst community members in climate monitoring or related areas

Provide knowledge transfer opportunities between generations and support Inuit culture continuity

Examples of Projects Funded

Hiring and training of local community members in Pond Inlet as Environmental Monitors to record data on biometrics, behaviour observations, and GPS information of marine mammals to track their health, distribution, and population. Read more about the project here.

The Young Hunters Program in Arviat, mentors youth, males age 8-18, to become masters in sustainable harvesting and environmental monitoring through hands-on, on-the-land experiential learning with Elders and program graduates. The youth monitor the health, harvest rate, and consumption rate of seal and caribou. Read more about the project here.

In the Kitikmeot Region, the Hunter and Trapper Organizations are working in partnership with the Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board to design and create a database to include both Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit observations and stories, as well as western science measurements. The idea to record and manage this information began with a concern about caribou herd health among all HTOs in the Kitikmeot Region.

Helpful Resources

How To Apply

Application Process

Who is the NC3A?

The NC3A has membership from various Inuit and northern organizations and meets about every 3 months to review project ideas and proposal applications. It provides feedback and funding recommendations for the CCHAP, CCPN, and ICBCM Programs.

Proposal Deadline

There is no deadline; you may apply at any time. Contact the CCCRC at climatechange@qhrc.ca for information on the next scheduled committee review.

Documents

Interested in applying? Want more info? Contact the CCCRC at climatechange@qhrc.ca