The Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic, or SLiCA, is an international joint effort of research and indigenous people to measure and understand living conditions in the Arctic. This website is intended to promote the use and understanding of SLiCA data.

Environmental changes and degradation pose a threat to the integrity of the traditional food system and the health of Aboriginal Peoples in the Circumpolar North. The overall objective for this proposal is to develop a comprehensive food monitoring program and environmental health research program for Aboriginal communities that will integrate information on toxicology of environmental contaminants, food composition and nutrient requirement, food availability and effects of environmental changes, local and traditional ecological knowledge, cultural and socioeconomic factors. Education and communication initiatives are also planned to assist individuals in making their own informed decisions on food choice. The participatory nature of the research will ensure Aboriginal Peoples’ involvement and/or training in all stages of research projects, including the initiation, planning, implementation, and results communications.

Thawing permafrost could release large amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere causing even more global warming !

This initiative was launched because there is considerable concern and increased awareness both within the international scientific community and the general public about the effects that global warming could have on frozen grounds in Arctic regions (Main Photo). A significant proportion of this permafrost would start to thaw out over the coming decades, with a potential release of large amounts of greenhouse gases (both carbon dioxide and the much more potent methane) to the atmosphere from previously frozen soil organic matter that will start to decompose. This is a so-called positive feedback within the Earth System, as climate warming results in permafrost thawing that causes a further increase of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere resulting in even more warming. We are not dealing only with a gradual process related to progressive thawing of the ground with depth over time. Also more dramatic events like ground subsidence due to melting of buried ice bodies (Photo 2) and lateral erosion along the edges of thaw lakes (Photo 3) would accelerate the release of greenhouse gases.