Waters that matter:How human-environment relations are changing in high-Arctic Svalbard

There is scientific consensus that the archipelago of Svalbard is warming up faster than other parts of the planet. People who live in or regularly visit this part of the European high Arctic observe and experience these changes in a subjective and relational manner. This article illustrates how perceptions of environmental change are enmeshed with our ways of interacting with water(s) and dwelling in the landscape. What kind of water-related change do people talk about? How do changes in the different water worlds matter? How does water help us portray what environmental change means? We show that “what” and “how” we know about water(s) amidst change are in many ways inseparable. Our contribution offers a benchmark for discussing water-related environmental change in Svalbard from a perspective that goes beyond “what long-term monitoring tells us” towards “what bodies experience.” Through accounts shared mostly by scientists, technicians, and tour guides, we explore notions of water in its various forms, such as sea ice, glaciers, rivers, the wetness of the tundra, snow, and weather phenomena including rain. We focus on processes such as disappearing, melting, freezing, swelling, saturating, drying up, eroding, appearing, and threatening, and discuss what the observed and experienced changes mean for human-environment relations. Our interlocutors emphasize many facets of their relationship with the landscape, including identity, expectations, emotions, knowledge, and practices. Our study demonstrates how the experiential perspective is largely ordered and filtered through activities and practices, among which mobility and reading, or predicting, the landscape stand out as particularly important. Through a relational approach to water(s) permeation, we apply Tim Ingold’s concept of taskscapes and his perspectives on dwelling to show how time scales and connection to place matter. We juxtapose scientific knowledge produced through long-term monitoring with experiential knowledge, and demonstrate their entanglement in the Svalbard context, dominated by scientific ways of knowing

Pinngortitaq – a place of becoming

Arctic ecosystems are on the verge of changes that are unprecedented in both magnitude and velocity. We stress that statements of a changing climate and environment have ambiguous definitions in both theoretical and metaphorical senses. Inuit have embraced the idea of an environment in a process of Pinngortitaq – a place of becoming – rather than a process of changing. In this note, we accentuate how a philosophy of a world becoming can inspire to answer some of the complex environmental questions asked today by enabling more flexible management regimes in the future

Rich local knowledge despite high transience in an Arctic community experiencing rapid environmental change

Abstract Environmental monitoring and long-term research produce detailed understanding, but its collective effort does not add up to ‘the environment’ and therefore may be difficult to relate to. Local knowledge, by contrast, is multifaceted and relational and therefore can help ground and complement scientific knowledge to reach a more complete and holistic understanding of the environment and changes therein. Today’s societies, however, are increasingly fleeting, with mobility potentially undermining the opportunity to generate rich community knowledge. Here we perform a case study of High Arctic Svalbard, a climate change and environmental science hotspot, using a range of community science methods, including a Maptionnaire survey, focus groups, interviews and cognitive mapping. We show that rich local knowledge on Svalbard could indeed be gathered through community science methods, despite a high level of transience of the local population. These insights complement environmental monitoring and enhance its local relevance. Complex understanding of Svalbard’s ecosystems by the transient local community arose because of strong place attachment, enabling environmental knowledge generation during work and play. We conclude that transience does not necessarily prevent the generation of valuable local knowledge that can enrich and provide connection to scientific understanding of the environment

Bærekraftig kyst: utvikling av et Kystbarometer for Nord-Norge

Engen, S., Hausner, V., Mikkelsen, E., Gundersen, H., Christie, H., Falk-Andersson, J., Espinasse, J., Lennert, A.E., Olsen, E. og Fauchald, P. 2020. Bærekraftig kyst: utvikling av et Kystbarometer for Nord-Norge. NINA Rapport 1736. Norsk institutt for naturforskning. Forskningsrådsprosjektet Ocean Health under Blue transitions (BlueTrans) har som mål å lage et Kystbarometer hvor lokalbefolkning, interessegrupper og beslutningstakere kan få kunnskap om utviklingen i nordnorske kystkommuner knyttet til kyst- og havøkosystem og om denne er bærekraftig. Dette innebærer å utvikle indikatorer som skal gjenspeile status for ulike bærekraftsmål og at disse blir utviklet i samråd med lokale aktører. I denne rapporten har vi oppsummert innspill fra ulike samfunnsaktører som vi innhentet våren 2019 gjennom spørreundersøkelser, intervju og fokusgruppemøter i seks kystkommuner i Nord-Norge. Basert på innspillene har vi identifisert lokale prinsipper for bærekraft og kriterier som kan brukes for å vurdere om prinsippene etterleves. Vi har også vurdert om det finnes tilgjengelige data for å måle disse kriteriene, identifisert områder med datamangler og sett på mulighetene for å skaffe til veie manglende data ved hjelp av spørreundersøkelser som vi skal gjennomføre i løpet av prosjektperioden.Engen, S., Hausner, V., Mikkelsen, E., Gundersen, H., Christie, H., Falk-Andersson, J., Espinasse, M., Lennert, A. E., Olsen, E. og Fauchald, P. 2020. Sustainable coast: developing a coastal barometer for Northern-Norway. NINA Report 1736. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. The goal of the research project Ocean Health under Blue transitions (BlueTrans) is to create a Coastal Barometer where the local population, interest groups and decision-makers can get information on the development of coastal communities in Northern-Norway tied to marine ecosystems and whether it is sustainable. This entails developing sustainability indicators that reflect the status of locally relevant sustainability goals together with stakeholders. In this report we have summarized the input we collected from stakeholders in spring 2019 using questionnaires, interviews and focus groups in six coastal communities in Northern-Norway. Based on this input we have identified local sustainability principles and -criteria that reflect whether current development trajectories comply with these principles. We have also assessed if data are available for measuring these criteria, identified areas of data deficiency and looked at the opportunity to acquire lacking information using surveys during the project period

Fifteen research needs for understanding climate change impacts on ecosystems and society in the Norwegian High North

There is an urgent need to understand and address the risks associated with a warming climate for ecosystems and societies in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. There are major gaps in our understanding of the complex effects of climate change—including extreme events, cascading impacts across ecosystems, and the underlying socioecological dynamics and feedbacks—all of which need collaborative efforts to be resolved. Here, we present results where climate scientists, ecologists, social scientists, and practitioners were asked to identify the most urgent research needs for understanding climate change impacts and to identify the actions for reducing future risks in catchment areas in the Norwegian High North, a region that encompasses both Arctic and sub-Arctic climates in northern Norway. From a list of 77 questions, our panel of 19 scientists and practitioners identified 15 research needs that should be urgently addressed. We particularly urge researchers to investigate cross-ecosystem impacts and the socioecological feedbacks that could amplify or reduce risks for society.Peer reviewe