Research Need 4. Prospering communities in the Arctic

• Main Authors: Dannevig, Halvor, Schweitzer, Peter, Avango, Dag, Heleniak, Timothy, Hirshberg, Diane, Hoogensen-Gjørv, Gunhild, Ingeman-Nielsen, Thomas, Larsen, Joan Nymand
• Other Authors: Velázquez, D, Houssais, MN, Biebow, N
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: EU-PolarNet 2020
• Subjects: /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action; SDG 13 - Climate Action; Arctic; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/513137da-98cb-461b-a837-bf83cecb7e19; https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/320712602/Pages_from_EU_PolarNet_2020_.pdf; https://eu-polarnet.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/EPRP.pdf

Ongoing and projected climate and environmental changes, increased human activity, and growing geopolitical interest impact communities, industries and livelihoods in Polar Regions in different ways, but the most profound impacts are yet to come. Other drivers of change are especially affecting inhabitants in Arctic communities, including the accelerating urbanisation and intensified in- and out-migration that rapidly are transforming the human geography of many regions in the Arctic. Research needs to consider the complexity of different Arctic populations, regions, and communities, with different political, cultural, religious, and economic systems. Men, women, youth, and elders are not equally affected by the changes brought about by globalisation, a warming climate, urbanisation, and migration. Thus, there is a need for better understandings of the gender and age dimensions of the impacts of change (Larsen, et al. 2010). The huge diversity of Arctic peoples calls for new and differentiated methods for understanding social and cultural processes and future developments for aiding local leaders, planners and policy-makers. In some parts of the Arctic, there are moves toward greater self-determination and autonomy, especially in regions demographically dominated by Indigenous Peoples, while other parts – such as the Russian Arctic – face centralisation and the abolition of regional autonomies. Many local and regional economies in the Arctic are resource-based, and there has been great dependence on extractive resource industries, which come with exposure to global market forces. To achieve sustainable communities, residents must have the knowledge, skills, and resources to create and implement new and innovative ways of addressing the challenges that researchers and Arctic inhabitants identify. The question is how education systems can develop these capacities (Larsen, et al. 2010; 2014). The opening of new seaways in the Arctic raises the necessity for innovative and sustainable infrastructure; similarly, the ...