Governing the Arctic in the era of the Anthropocene: Does corporate authority matter in Arctic shipping governance?

• Main Author: van Leeuwen, J.
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 2016
• Subjects: Life Science; Arctic; Climate change
• Online Access: https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/governing-the-arctic-in-the-era-of-the-anthropocene-does-corporat

Global interest in the Arctic has awakened because it is increasingly accessible as a result of both climate change and technological innovation (Berkman and Young, 2009). The Anthropocene thus also affects the Arctic, as the increased economic potential of the region will incentivize an unprecedented impact of human activities on the Arctic’s ecosystems. Concerns exist about the potential social and ecological effects of future economic activities, especially since there is no powerful, overarching governance system that provides and enforces environmental standards (de La Fayette, 2008; Molenaar, 2008; Berkman and Young, 2009). A key question is how to organize the co-evolu tion of indigenous socie ties and their sur rounding envi ronment given the increased economic use of the Arctic’s resources, and how to develop effective and equita ble gov ernance solutions to achieve sustainable growth in the Arctic (see also Pattberg and Zelli, this volume; Walbott, this volume).