Arctic Environments and Peoples

• Main Author: Nuttall, Mark
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2018
• Subjects: Arctic; Human health; polar bear
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1480; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2F9781118924396.wbiea1480; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1480; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1480

The Arctic is experiencing dramatic environmental change. Recent scientific research suggests that the region has been warming twice as much as the rest of the globe, especially since the 1980s. But the livelihoods of the peoples of the Arctic are also affected by pollutants and contaminants, industrial development, and resource extraction which threaten to disrupt human–environmental relations; influence the climate; impact ecosystems, animal habitats, and movement; and affect food security and human health. This entry provides a snapshot of some issues in human–environmental relations in the Arctic, with reference to controversies surrounding polar bear conservation, the roles indigenous peoples' play in international environmental governance, and the impacts of the oil, gas, and mining industries.