60 Minutes from Indian Country - Transdisciplinary Research, Environmental Monitoring, and Sovereignty: Lessons from Collaborative Drought Planning in the Four Corners

This presentation will focus on recent collaborative work with the Hopi Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources for developing a monitoring program that addresses drought and long-term climate adaptation.

Integrating regional climate data with local observations provides a more holistic view of drought status than regional climate data alone. Social and ecological system responses to climate may be best observed and characterized by people who’s daily lives are immersed in those environmental conditions.

This integrative approach creates two important co-benefits:

1. Decision makers become more aware of the capacity and limits of science to support decision-making
2. Local communities are empowered to participate in both research and policy making