The main objectives of the consultation meetings held in Ilulissat, Greenland, during the fall 2024 was to introduce and to invite questions, feedback and dialogue about the ILLUQ project, its objectives and research plans, to present key research findings from the Nunataryuk project, and to present the Arctic Permafrost Atlas.
The consultation meetings in Greenland took place in a variety of settings including a main public consultation held in the City Hall that was open to all community members, as well as a series of smaller and more targeted meetings across a number of relevant municipality departments, public institutions, and private industry between scientists and targeted stakeholders over a period of 6 days.
The public part started with formal presentations and a Q&A session followed by a feedback activity. In this activity participants were asked to consider the general question: What do you see as some of the main challenges from climate change?
The activity illustrated a broad diversity in perceptions about climate change and permafrost thaw challenges, and evaluated them based on the degree of importance. Issues such as uneven roads, drinking water quality, increased rainfall affecting snow mobile, dog sledging and fishing activities as the ice melts in the rain, economic consequences for piping and unstable and thawing soil were among the top concerns of the community members.
In municipalities, the concerns were more technical in nature. In the Qaanaaq region and in particular in Siorparluk, permafrost-thaw is creating significant problems with land and mudslides, lost roads, bridges and hunting cottages. The waste dump is leaching into the ocean and increased contamination in mussels have been monitored in Siorparluk, similar problems being observed in Qaanaaq but without documentation.
The municipality also needs data regarding the risks of Tsunamis when evaluating where to allow constructions.
In Ilulissat some of the main questions and concerns relate to saltwater intrusion into drinking water. Questions like "how long time do we have before the “bubble breaks” and our water goes salty? How quickly will it go?" are regular. In addition, water quality deterioration due to snowmobiles driving in the water catchment area is an issue, as is dirt from the inland ice melting off and impacting the water quality. The most pressing problem, however, are the roads on silt and the buildings that sink.
