The effects of changing environment and human activities on the Arctic : Drivers and challenges in Svalbard

Climate change brings several layers of challenges to the Arctic. On the one hand, we can observe increased human activities that create potential for economic development –especially in mining, oil and gas industry, shipping, fisheries and tourism. On the other hand, these economic benefits pose a risk to the environment, local populations and traditional livelihood of the Indigenous peoples. In the following three years (2020-2022), recently established interdisciplinary team investigates the impact of climate change and human activities on natural environment in the Arctic. The team is composed of eight scientists with different specialization from three faculties of the Masaryk University – Faculty of Social Studies, Faculty of Science, and Faculty of Law. The research focuses on both the challenges and risk assessment in terrestrial ecosystems. The relation of natural environment changes to the human-to-environment interaction is investigated, as well as the consequences for the geopolitical, legal and security de-velopments in the Arctic region. Based on gained findings, risks analysis and recom-mendations for mitigating the impact of environmental changes on the natural envi-ronment and population in the specific Arctic territories will be done. The research directly contributes to encouraging interdisciplinary innovative approach with high added value and international impact. These innovative aspects of the project lie in the interdisciplinary character of the Arctic research across different specializations – natural science, social science and law, which has not been combined and investigated yet. Additionally, the project is unique due to its specific science communication and dis-semination of research findings, which aims at four levels of audiences – (i) academic community, (ii) policymakers, (iii) general public, and (iv) students

Arctic Policies and Strategies – Analysis, Synthesis, and Trends

The scientific report Arctic Policies and Strategies – Analysis, Synthesis and Trends delivers a holistic analysis of the policies, strategies, and declarations of the relevant Arctic stakeholders. It also includes new and/or emerging trends of Arctic governance and geopolitics in the early 21st century. The analysis, using quantitative and qualitative methods, is based on a coding of the text of 56 policy documents (in 1996-2019), namely: i) the strategies and policies of the Arctic States and the Arctic Council Observer States; ii) the policies and declarations of the Arctic Indigenous peoples’ organizations (Permanent Participants); and iii) the main Arctic Council chairmanship programs and ministerial declarations. It considers how different Arctic actors define and address issues around the following: the human dimension, governance, international cooperation, environmental protection, pollution, climate change, security, safety, economy, tourism, infrastructure, and science & education. Each document was read and analyzed thoroughly; quotes were selected and coded and then used to compare and contrast (percentage- wise) how the different documents address the above issues. For each category of stakeholder, the findings are compared within the category and then discussed with each other category-wise. Our study shows that the most-coded quotes of the Arctic States’ policy documents relate to the Governance, Economy, International Cooperation, and Human Dimension indicators, as well as to a new Environmental Protection indicator (composed of Environmental Protection coupled with Pollution and Climate Change). The policy documents of the four Indigenous peoples’ organizations explicitly address issues surrounding Indigenous rights, although in different contexts, and also those related to the Governance indicator, both broadly and in detail. Unsurprisingly, all these documents emphasize the importance of ‘Traditional knowledge.’ The most-quoted indicator in the Arctic policies/strategies of the nine Arctic Council Observer states is the Science and Education indicator, followed by the International Cooperation and Economy indicators. The fourth most-quoted is the new Environmental Protection indicator (composed of Environmental Protection coupled with Pollution and Climate Change)

The effects of changing environment and human activities on the Arctic: Drivers and challenges in Svalbard (Short Communication)

Climate change brings several layers of challenges to the Arctic. On the one hand, we can observe increased human activities that create potential for economic development – especially in mining, oil and gas industry, shipping, fisheries and tourism. On the other hand, these economic benefits pose a risk to the environment, local populations and traditional livelihood of the Indigenous peoples. In the following three years (2020-2022), recently established interdisciplinary team investigates the impact of climate change and human activities on natural environment in the Arctic. The team is composed of eight scientists with different specialization from three faculties of the Masaryk University – Faculty of Social Studies, Faculty of Science, and Faculty of Law. The research focuses on both the challenges and risk assessment in terrestrial ecosystems. The relation of natural environment changes to the human-to-environment interaction is investigated, as well as the consequences for the geopolitical, legal and security developments in the Arctic region. Based on gained findings, risks analysis and recommendations for mitigating the impact of environmental changes on the natural environment and population in the specific Arctic territories will be done. The research directly contributes to encouraging interdisciplinary innovative approach with high added value and international impact. These innovative aspects of the project lie in the interdisciplinary character of the Arctic research across different specializations – natural science, social science and law, which has not been combined and investigated yet. Additionally, the project is unique due to its specific science communication and dissemination of research findings, which aims at four levels of audiences – (i) academic community, (ii) policymakers, (iii) general public, and (iv) students