Adaptive capacity of Arctic communities in the context of climate change and shipping growth: A review of Russian and Western literature

Abstract

Throughout the past two decades, the number of studies examining the adaptive capacity of Arctic communities in the context of climate change has been increasing; however, little is known about Arctic communities’ ability to adapt to certain emerging changes, such as increased shipping activity. To address this knowledge gap, this study systematically analyses published scientific articles on community adaptive capacity in circumpolar Arctic, including articles published in Russian which may not be captured in English-only reviews. Throughout this review, the study focuses on three areas: the development of the adaptive capacity framework; the conditions that enable community adaption abilities; and the extent to which shipping developments are addressed in the literature. This study demonstrates that the adaptive capacity framework has been significantly developed both theoretically and methodologically and is broadly used to address new types of climatic and non-climatic changes. Though the impacts from the shipping development are discussed in some studies, there is a clear need for further examination of coastal communities’ ability to adapt to such changes. Additionally, the study reveals limitations in the application of the Western conceptual terminology when exploring community-based research by Russian scholars.

Barentsburg and Longyearbyen in times of socioeconomic transition: Residents’ perceptions of community viability

“…There is relative scarcity of the “tourism” subcommunity within Barentsburg; most processes are linked to just a handful of active individuals who are still included in the Arktikugol contract scheme that allows the termination of any contract within one day, which makes their say in strategic development rather limited. Tourism in Svalbard is organised through the Svalbard tourism network, which can also be characterised by engaged individuals (Olsen et al, 2020). Because of this tourism network, Longyearbyen has many opportunities for creating community bonds by involving newcomers.…”

“…The codes used in this study were descriptive and developed in two steps to capture the essence of the empirical material. First, the authors identified a set of predetermined categories that covered the topics from the interview guide and the results of earlier studies published by authors (Olsen, Carter, & Dawson, 2019; Olsen et al, 2020; Olsen et al, 2021). Then, the codes were identified inductively through the screening of the empirical data and close dialogue between the authors.…”

“…Statistics Norway reports that while the number of Norwegian residents in Svalbard has been stable over the last few years, the number of foreign citizens in Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund has increased from 293 in 2009 (1st January) to 731 in 2020 (SSB, 2020). Currently, Longyearbyen has approximately 2400 residents and an average residence period of seven years (SSB, 2016, 2019), which means that it can be described as an international and transit community (Olsen, 2020; Olsen et al, 2020).…”