Colin West
Research Assistant Professor of Anthropology
PhD, Anthropology, University of Arizona, 2006.
B.A., Anthropology, University of Chicago, 1993.
Phone: (907) 786-5454
Fax: (907) 786-7739
E-Mail: apctw@uaa.alaska.edu
Map to my office
Colin West is a term research assistant professor of anthropology. He originally came to ISER as a NOAA post-doc in 2006. He is interested in issues related to climate change and rural Alaska Native livelihood systems.
Selected Publications
West, C.T., C. Roncoli, and F. Ouattara. 2008. Local Perceptions and Regional Climate Trends on the Central Plateau of Burkina Faso. Land Degradation and Development 19(3):289-304. Request a copy
West, C.T. and M. Vásquez-León. 2003. "Testing Farmers' Perceptions of Climate Variability: A Case Study from the Sulphur Springs Valley, AZ," in Weather, Climate, Culture. Edited by B. S. Orlove and S. Strauss. New York: Berg Publishers. Request a copy
Vásquez-León, M. and C.T. West. 2003. A Comparative Case Study of Livelihood Vulnerability to Climate Variability: Farmers and Ranchers in the Southwest U.S. and Northern Mexico. Global Environmental Change 19:213-222. Request a copy
Finan, T.J., C.T. West, D. Austin, and T.R. McGuire. 2002. Processes of Adaptation to Climate Variability: A Case Study from the U.S. Southwest. Climate Research 21:299-310. Request a copy
Current Funded Research
Revising Native Peoples and Languages of Alaska Map. Funding agency:UAA Chancellor's Fund. Research goals are: (1) recreate 1982 Native Peoples and Languages of Alaska map using GIS technology; (2) revise the map using contemporary designations for languages and peoples in consultation with AK Native organizations; (3) produce digital master of a new and revised version of the map with input from Alaska Native scholars and representatives.
ACCAP: Alaska Center for Climate Assessment & Policy. Funding agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Salmon Harvests in Arctic Communities: Local Institutions, Risk, and Resilience. Researchers will study subsistence salmon harvests in indigenous Arctic communities to better understand how aggregate risk influences the design and resilience of local institutions governing common pool resources. Funding agency: National Science Foundation.
Resilience of Human-Rangifer System. The study provided a comprehensive syntheses of heterogeneity in resilience of Human-Rangifer Systems, predicting means of accommodating changes in drivers and enhancing resilience of HR systems in the circumpolar North. Funding agencies: University of Alaska Fairbanks, National Science Foundation.