Transcript Document

Arctic Centre
National and International
Arctic Hub
2011
The Arctic
Arctic people
~ 4 000 000
0.06%
Earth’s
population
Arctic indigenous
peoples
~ 300 000
0.004%
Earth’s
population
Lapland and Barents Region
Lapland Province,
Finland
~ 180 000 people,
9 000 Sami
(in Finland)
~ 100 000 km²
Barents Region
~ 5,5 million people
~ 1,75 million km²
The North – Focus of global interest
• Climate change
in the polar areas affects the whole world
• The world’s natural reserve
Minerals, gas, oil, wood…
• Globalization
Investments, trade, tourism, Northern sea routes…
 Threats and possibilities
The Arctic Centre
• Multidimensional Arctic actor
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Research, Education, Science communication, Science Centre & Library
Founded in 1989
Located in the Arktikum House, Rovaniemi
Staff of 50
Annual budget 4M€
• Part of the University of Lapland
– The northernmost university in the EU
– Faculties: Art and Design, Education,
Law, Social Sciences
– Founded in 1979
– 4500 students, 630 staff
– Annual budget 54 M€
Multidisciplinary research
• Social and natural sciences & law
• Research groups
1) Global change
2) Sustainable development
3) The Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law
Photo: Grigorii Tusida
Photo: Bruce Forbes
Photo: Martina Schäfer
Photo: Jukka Jokimäki
Global change in the Arctic
The adaptive responses and resilience of
northern societies to recent changes
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Arctic social-ecological systems (SESs) are widely
considered to be vulnerable to climate change
and large scale hydrocarbon extraction
“We found the Yamal Nenets SESs to be highly
resilient according to a few key measures.
Particularly crucial to success is the unfettered
movement of people and animals in space and
time, which allows them to alternately avoid
or exploit a wide range of natural and
anthropogenic habitats.”
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Looming threats, e.g. expansion of infrastructure
Bruce Forbes et al. (2009)
Global change in the Arctic
Climate change and glaciers
“We predict sea level will rise by about 1m by 2100 directly affecting
500 million people, and since we have demonstrated that anthropogenic
warming has been the dominant cause of sea level since 1900, we show
it can only be stopped by serious carbon mitigation or very damaging
geoengineering.”
John Moore, 2011
Photos: Martina Schäfer
Global change in the Arctic
Reindeer Forage and Supplementary Feeding
in Changing Climate (2008–2010)
• Researchers and reindeer herders’ co-operation
– Background: supplementary winter feeding has increased strongly
• Feeding can cause environmental effects
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Changes in ground and field layer species composition
Ferilizing effect on the existing species
Many harmful effects are caused by uneaten forage
• Examples of recommendations:
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Producing good quality forage that is given to reindeers in several portions
or in feeding automats
Use of pellets or development of crude hay further
Moving field feeding to already existing round-up sites and less sensitive
natural areas
Photos: Jouni Puoskari
Turunen & Vuojala-Magga (2011)
Sustainable development in the Arctic
The effectiveness of international environmental cooperation in
Northwest Russia
• Extensive international environmental cooperation in the Northwest
Russia developed since early 1990s
– The effectiveness of this cooperation can not be studied only by focusing on
international bodies and projects
– It is influenced by various domestic features of the aid receiving country, such as
available resources, norms, power structures and national and regional policies
• Despite considerable international effort in the region, practical
results of the cooperation were assessed as
modest by Russian and Nordic representatives
project managers
More information: Monica Tennberg
Sustainable development in the Arctic
Anthropology Research Team
• Studies livelihoods in the North
– Focus: extractive industry, community responses to global change, senses of place & identity
– Tells not only what happens in the Arctic, but how it matters
• Participation in the lived experience of Arctic residents
– For example, the "Ilebts declaration on coexistence" of industry and tundra livelihoods is
already being applied by indigenous people, industry and politics in Russia
Photo: Florian Stammler
Oral History of Empires by Elders in the Arctic (2011–2015)
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A comparative history of relations between states and their
remote subjects, in the eyes of Arctic elders
Methods: life history analysis and oral history fieldwork
combined with anthropological participant observation
More information: Florian Stammler, http://arcticanthropology.org/
Sustainable development in the Arctic
Arctic Indigenous Peoples and Sami Research Office
“The project ‘Snow and Ice’ conducted in Northern Sweden reinforced
agreement and similarities between reindeer herders’ traditional
knowledge and science. In addition, herders made researchers aware of
the seriousness of crust in the middle of the snowpack. Earlier, more
attention was paid to the bottom crust. Also, the conditions during
which the first durable snow falls are of particular relevance for
assessment of snow conditions and climate change impacts in the
Arctic.”
Elina Helander-Renvall, 2011
Photos: Elina Helander-Renvall
The Northern Institute for Enviromental and Minority Law
NIEM
Climate governance in the Arctic
• Regional Arctic actors often have no functional links with each other
even if their climate change agendas would benefit from it
• One example is the polar bear agreement, which has revived its
action in very recent years but has not been able to truly connect its
work to the regional Arctic Council or coastal state co-operation
– Indigenous peoples role is vast in comparison to the majority of local residents
which do not seem to have much role
More information: Timo Koivurova
The Northern Institute for Enviromental and Minority Law
NIEM
The recognition of indigenous property
systems within Arctic states (2009–2011)
• Examines different property systems and
other questions related to the
Draft Nordic Saami Convention
• The negotiations were set to commence in
November 2006
Photo: Tanja Joona
– Due to problems especially in Finland, the start of the negotiations has been quite slow
– Finland’s reservations are essentially based on the provisions on ownership,
self-determination and land-use rights
– The main results of the project are published in a book by Hart publishers (spring 2012)
and as recommendations to the Nordic Council of Ministers
More information: Tanja Joona & Timo Koivurova
The Northern Institute for Enviromental and Minority Law
NIEM
Globalization in the Arctic – political, legal and
environmental perspectives (2012–2013)
• One of the strategic goals of the University
of Lapland
– A joint research project between the NIEM and
the Faculty of Social Sciences
Photo: Tanja Joona
• The research topics within the project are related to environmental issues,
management of natural resources, politics, security and science
– Highlights the role and knowledge of northern peoples in the context of the globalization
in the Arctic
– The goal is to further analyse the eight Arctic countries strategies/ policies/ agendas and
their priorities with comparison using several different indicators
– The V Polar Law Symposium in Rovaniemi, September 6th-7th 2012
More information: Lassi Heininen, Timo Koivurova & Tanja Joona
Education
• Arctic Doctoral Programme
ARKTIS
Examples of doctoral theses:
– Walter, S. (2010) Structural conditions of
natural resource management: understanding
the roles of complexity, control and evolution
in societal resource use.
– Heinämäki, L. (2010) The Right to Be a Part of
Nature: Indigenous Peoples and the
Environment.
• Arctic Studies Program (ASP)
• Public lectures and events
Photo: Päivi Soppela
Science Communications
• Popularizes and communicates
information on Arctic issues
– Hosting websites, e.g.
www.arcticfinland.fi,
www.barentsinfo.org
• Activities in different levels:
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Institutional
Local, regional, national
Barents
European
Circumpolar Arctic
Global
The Science Centre
• Popularisation of science through
functional exhibitions
– In Berry Tours -exhibition (summer 2011) one could
go inside a blueberry to learn for example that in
Finland only 5% of berries are picked and 95% are
left in forests
• Permanent exhibition:
“The Arctic in Change”
– 80 000 visitors yearly, half of them foreign tourists
• Provides programmes for schools
and organises events
Photo: Ari Laakso
The Library & Culture
• The Library
– For scientists, authorities, students
and wide public
– Tens of thousands of publications of
Arctic and northern issues
– Book exhibitions
• Arctic events
– Handicraft Christmas markets
– Film festival “Arctic Fury”
– Events on Rovaniemi day
Thank You!
www.arcticcentre.org