Assessing Potential Non-Economic Loss & Damage from Climate Change, Partnership with the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians

Abstract

Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), non- economic loss and damage (NELD) has emerged as a new concept to capture the full extent of potential loss or damage of factors that cannot be captured in monetary terms reflecting their true meaning. Factors such as loss of cultural heritage and loss of identity are not always addressed in planning documents, and yet their potential loss can make a permanent impact on the well-being of a community. This study examines potential non-economic loss and damage from changes to the environment affecting the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American community in northern Wisconsin. The assessment identifies sources of resiliency within the community and is intended to inform the community’s climate action planning. The assessment also adds to the international policy-making discourse surrounding NELD. We conducted 20 semi-structured ethnographic interviews of a cross-section of tribal members in order to assess participants’ overall connection to the environment, their involvement in traditional practices, and the impact of potential cultural loss due to climate change.