Aileen A. Espiritu, UiT Arctic University of Norway, leads the project, with partners from the University of Lapland, University of Iceland, Luleå University of Technology, and Hokkaido University, Japan. The project is a collaborative initiative of the two UArctic Thematic Networks, namely the Thematic Network on Arctic in Asia and Asia in the Arctic and the Thematic Network on Arctic Law. 

We foregrounded the seminar with three thought-provoking keynotes: 1) Oulu as a best-case example of economic development in the urban Arctic (Middleton and Mineev); sustainable tourism in the Norwegian Arctic (Pietikäinen); and managing sustainable energy on Iceland (Gunnarsdóttir). 

Thus, the roundtable discussion focused on several specific questions, highlighting different Nordic Arctic urban areas and addressing how or if sustainability and sustainable development in resource extraction regions shape and transform local communities and impact global trends. While addressing resource-dependent regions, the seminar and roundtable brought an interdisciplinary perspective, that focused squarely on industry and economic development in the urban Arctic. The main industries represented at our roundtable discussions were purveyors of renewable energy, tourism, agriculture, and data centres. We interrogated how local and global trends shape and transform (un)sustainability and sustainable development in resource extraction territories with a special focus on the urban Arctic region. Asking industry to address how they advance sustainability, our goals for the seminar and roundtable discussion were to explore these key questions, just to name a few:

  • How can industry ensure community, economic, and social sustainability in the urban Arctic?
  • Do industry stakeholders consider the UN Sustainable Development Goals when they consider economic development and profits?
  • Is the “green shift” that many municipalities, companies, and countries have promoted over the last decade enough to lead us towards sustainability and towards the mitigation of climate change?
  • How can industry contribute to making planning for growth and economic sustainability more inclusive, socially, and environmentally sustainable, and democratic?

Seminar and roundtable programme

Participating in the seminar and roundtable discussion were:

Industry

Audur Nanna Baldvinsdottir Co-Founder and CEO IðunnH2; Rannveig Grétarsdóttir, Owner and CEO of Elding Whale Watching; Dr. Ingunn Gunnarsdóttir*, Senior Business Analyst at Landsvirkjun; Ik Icard, True North Global Networks LP/Far North Digital LLC; Elva Rakel Jónsdóttir, CEO Festa Center for Sustainability; Niina Pietikäinen*, Norwegian Travel; Kolbeinn Óttarsson Proppé, CEO of Grænafl; Bjørn Rønning, Norwegian Data Centre Industry; Ragnar Atli Tómasson, Co-Founder, Nordic Wasabi / Jurt Hydroponics; Irina Zhilina, Arctic Economic Council; Helene Lyberth Steffensen, Greenland Tourism;

Academia

Lára Jóhannsdóttir, University of Iceland; Andrey Mineev*, Nord University, Norway; Alexandra Middleton*, University of Oulu, Finland; Taro Mori, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan; Ossi Pesamaa, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden; Pavel Tkach Arctic Centre, ULapland, Rovaniemi, Finland;

*indicates keynote presenters.

Project team

Aileen A. Espiritu, Lead, The Barents Institute, UiT The Arctic University of Norway; Kamrul Hossain Arctic Centre, The University of Lapland, Finland; Kristín Ingvarsdóttir The University of Iceland; Ekaterina Mikhailova The Barents Institute, UiT The Arctic University of Norway; Gregory A. Poelzer Luleå University of Technology, Sweden; Juha Saunavaara The Artic Research Centre, Hokkaido University.

 

Report written by Aileen A. Espiritu, Lead of the Thematic Network on Arctic in Asia and Asia in the Arctic, The Barents Institute, UiT The Arctic University of Norway