Panel 1B: Coastal and Marine Impacts and Solutions

This panel will bring Arctic, tropical, and temperate perspectives to the impacts of climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems, and highlight management and conservation efforts. The Coastal and Marine Impacts and Solutions panel will feature the following speakers:

Austin "tusauna" Ahmasuk is a kingikmiu inupiaq born and raised in Nome, Alaska. He works as a Marine Advocate for Kawerak, Inc. a tribal consortium for the Bering Strait region. The marine program advocates for communities in the Bering Strait region to address the potential impacts from increased shipping.  Mr. Ahmasuk is a lifelong hunter, trapper, & mariner and has been an environmental and tribal advocate since 1997.

Dr. Shimon Anisfeld is Senior Lecturer and Research Scientist at the Yale School of the Environment. He has two primary areas of interest: coastal ecosystems and water management. The former is reflected in his field research, which focuses on the impact of sea-level rise and other stressors on salt marshes; he is particularly interested in how sea-level rise and coastal storms drive the migration of marshes into adjoining uplands, such as woodlands or lawns, and how managers can facilitate and plan for future marsh migration.

Anne Christianson works for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Protecting Antarctica’s Southern Ocean campaign and is completing a PhD exploring nature-based solutions to climate change, with a focus on gendered vulnerabilities. Previously she worked in the US House of Representatives and for Ocean Conservancy. Anne is continually fascinated by the intersection of science, policy, and justice issues in the conservation field.  

Naveen Namboothri is a founder trustee of Dakshin Foundation and currently serves as its Director. Trained as marine biologist, he has worked in diverse coastal, marine and island systems across India. He heads the Biodiversity and Resource Monitoring Programme and oversees the establishment and implementation of several marine conservation projects at Dakshin’s field sites such as the community-led fisheries management in the Lakshadweep, citizen science programmes in the Andamans and the long-term monitoring of coral reef ecosystems in the Andamans.