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Arctic Yearbook 2013
Lempinen & Plouffe
development, impacts on rural communities and
Sámi/indigenous cultures and lifestyles, as well as
issues linked to availability and affordability of
natural resources.
Geopolitics & Security
While some presentations took an explicit focus on
more theoretical discussions on notions such as
security and risk, others adopted a more concrete
case study approach to the issues.
One of the main conclusions coming from these
sessions is the inescapable complex nature of the
concept of security as well as the need to move away
from negative understandings of security as freedom
from fear towards more positive articulations of the
notion; moreover, the need to look at security issues
in different
local contexts
and
case studies
and in terms
of
practical solutions/policy recommendations
was
underlined. Different case studies that were
addressed during the geopolitics and security sessions ranged from search and rescue to food and
health security and oil spill prevention, each providing concrete examples of how security issues and
different understandings of security and geopolitics are profoundly intertwined into questions of
resource development both in local, regional and global contexts
Governance & Knowledge
It was made clear during the discussions that natural resource developments/projects and security
questions in the North cannot be addressed independently from broader issues related to Arctic
governance. Indeed, impacts from these economic related activities raise increasing concerns locally
and regionally. Questions related to the roles of different ―traditional‖ actors (i.e. Arctic states,
Arctic Council) as well as emerging actors such as Asian states like China, state-owned and private
corporate actors were either explicitly addressed or briefly touched upon in several of the
presentations. In a similar manner, in the roles and rights of indigenous peoples and local
populations in decision-making were discussed and addressed at several occasions in the Academy.
Furthermore, many participants also repeatedly raised issues and questions relating to knowledge. In
the context of the North Calotte and the Arctic as a whole, knowledge has a crucial role in the
decision-making process leading to sustainable development in northern communities. Presenters
highlighted the need to explicitly acknowledge the existence and value of different forms and
sources of knowledge, both from the ‗scientific‘ community as well as ‗indigenous‘ peoples. Many
presentations also implicitly dealt with the question of
dissemination
of knowledge not only within the
political institutions and between decision-makers, but also inside and across communities where
Traveling Symposium: Lassi Heininen (Finland) &
participants Gleb Yarovoy (Russia) & Igor Shevchuck
Discussing on the Calotte Academy Bus (photo credit: Joël
Plouffe)