KUGLUKTUK/COPPERMINE - Communities in the territory are being outfitted with plans to help deal with the impacts of climate change.

The Nunavut Climate Change Adaptation Project will provide communities with local climate change plans specific to their region, consultant Elisabeth Arnold with the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) said.

"What it means is that there are a number of different problems that result in communities as a result of climate change and we're helping them to find the best way to prepare for those possibilities," she said.

Research teams will visit Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay, Whale Cove, Arviat and Kugluktuk to consult with community members. Communities were chosen to ensure information was gathered from all regions of the territory, which will be used to develop guidelines for other communities, Arnold said.

"The purpose of the overall project is to develop tools that can be used by other communities throughout Nunavut," she said.

Arnold and colleague Kenneth Johnson visited Kugluktuk the week of March 1 to meet with residents and identify priorities in the community. This is their fourth trip to the hamlet since March 2009.

Since Kugluktuk is built on bedrock, permafrost degradation is not a threat to the hamlet, Arnold said. But residents have noticed changes in the nearby Coppermine River.

Shore ice is taking longer to melt in the spring, which is affecting accessibility both to the river itself and the trails alongside it, Johnson said. Community members also noted unpredictable ice conditions.

"The weather is not as constant, the impact is that it's not predictable and people that have been relying on that transportation corridor for generations can no longer rely on it being safe," Arnold said.

Grade 12 student Barbara Kapakatoak agreed.

Johnson and Arnold visited Kugluktuk High School while in the community to get input from local youth.

Kapakatoak said she has noticed fluctuating temperatures in the winter.

"The temperature is changing," she said. "It could be below 50 (-50 C) one day then the next day it could be below five (-5C), so that's a big change."

Events never before seen in the region, such as a huge rainfall a few years ago that wiped out many of the community's roads, were also discussed, Johnson said.

Arnold said the project aims to find ways communities can adapt to a changing climate, including what melting permafrost will mean for constructing new buildings in the territory and helping hunters deal with unpredictable ice conditions.

But residents also pointed out actually implementing climate change plans might be easier said than done.

"One other priority that we've heard from many people is the capability of the communities from a financial perspective and a human resources perspective to follow up on recommendations," Arnold said.

Johnson said determining which departments would be responsible for funding and implementing the plans is also being discussed during community consultations.

"Our task will be to come back in May and pull the suggestions together," he said.

Johnson said the final draft of the plan is scheduled to be finished in May. The Kugluktuk hamlet council will review the plan and have the option to adopt it.

Another aspect of the project is The Nunavut Permafrost Monitoring Network, which has been set up in Resolute, Iglulik, Arctic Bay Pond Inlet, Clyde River and Pangnirtung to study the impact of climate change on permafrost, according to the department of Indian and Northern Affairs website. The information will all be used in developing toolkits for communities.

The project is part of the Nunavut Climate Change Partnership involving the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Natural Resources Canada, the Government of Nunavut and the Ittaq Research Centre in Clyde River, according to INAC.

The project is scheduled to finish in March 2011.