USD 50 Million to Relocate Native Villages Threathened by Climate Change in Alaska

Two Native villages in Alaska will receive USD 50 million to relocate due to climate change, announced the Biden-Harris administration in the US on Wednesday. That is reported by Anchorage Daily News.

The two villages in question are Newtok and Napakiak in western Alaska, which will receive 25 million dollars each. As permafrost thaws and erodes,  encroaching rivers threaten the communities. The communities are especially vulnerable to climate change's worst effects. The funds will go towards moving critical infrastructure to safer grounds. 

Four other Native communities in Alaska will also receive 5 million dollars each for financing and planning a potential relocation. These are Point Lay, Huslia, Fort Yukon, and Nelson Lagoon.

Tens of villages with a native population in the state are affected by climate change, such as extreme weather, rising oceans, thawing permafrost, and subsequent coastal and river erosion. The Bureau of Indian Affairs in the American Department of the Interior has estimated that 5 billion dollars are needed for the relocation of native communities in the coming 50 years.

The new funding is a part of President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law. In total, the Department of the Interior will award 115 million dollars to 11 severely affected Native communities in the US with the aim of relocating and planning for climate adaptation.