Community perspectives on the environmental impacts of Arctic shipping: Case studies from Russia, Norway and Canada

Olsen, Julia; Carter, Natalie; Dawson, Jackie

doi:10.1080/23311886.2019.1609189

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The results of this review also align with existing studies that describe increasing shipping in the opening Arctic as a new concern Polar Record for coastal communities (see, for example, Davydov & Mikhailova, 2011;Dawson et al, 2020;Dawson, Stewart, Johnston, & Lemieux, 2016;Olsen, Carter, & Dawson, 2019;Olsen, Hovelsrud, & Kaltenborn, 2020;Stewart et al, 2015). Shipping development brings new (usually seasonal) economic opportunities to communities, which, in combination with other factors, may present a trade-off.…”

Section: Understanding Adaptive Capacity Through Shipping Growthsupporting

confidence: 82%

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

Olsen

2020

Polar Record

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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.

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Section: Understanding Adaptive Capacity Through Shipping Growthsupporting

confidence: 82%

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

Olsen

2020

Polar Record

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“…Hansel et al (2020) caution, however, that after 2050 ocean acidification combined with other stressors could push the North‐East Arctic cod fishery, a large commercial fishery and cornerstone for communities in northern Norway, to collapse even with adaptation efforts. Few studies examine how these potential opportunities are perceived by communities, or factors affecting the ability to capitalize on them, with research mostly on the regional scale (Ng et al, 2018) (exceptions include Dawson et al, 2020; Olsen et al, 2019).…”

Section: Arctic Societies Are Resilient But Vulnerabilities Are Emergingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much of the shipping growth in the Arctic with sea ice decline is associated with oil and gas service vessels and tankers, marine cruises, and fisheries, bringing opportunities for economic development and diversification, varying by local context and geography (Olsen et al, 2019(Olsen et al, , 2021Petrick et al, 2017;Silber & Adams, 2019). Projections suggest, for example, that by 2040 the ice will have receded enough to make gas production feasible in the European offshore Arctic under most emission scenarios (Petrick et al, 2017), increased cruise ship tourism offers opportunities for community economic development if well managed (Dawson et al, 2016;Eduard, 2018;Halliday et al, 2018), and opportunities for commercial fisheries are expected to increase with Lam et al (2016) projecting that total fisheries revenue in the Arctic may increase by 39% by 2050 relative to 2000.…”

Section: Transportationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The rapidly changing Arctic and its societal implications

Ford

Pearce

Canosa

et al. 2021

WIREs Climate Change

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The Arctic is undergoing rapid climate change and is projected to experience the most warming this century of any world region. We review the societal aspects of these current and projected changes. Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge holders living in communities across the Arctic have detected unprecedented increases in temperature, altered precipitation regimes, and changing weather patterns, documenting impacts on terrestrial and marine environments. These local observations situate climate change as one of multiple interacting stressors. Arctic societies have exhibited resilience to climate change, but vulnerabilities are emerging at the nexus of changing environmental conditions and socioeconomic pressures. Infrastructure is highly susceptible to permafrost thaw, coastal erosion, and sea level rise, compounded by the age of infrastructure, maintenance challenges, and cost of adapting. Livelihoods and cultural activities linked to subsistence harvesting have been affected by changes to wildlife, with coping mechanisms undermined by long‐term processes of land dispossession and landscape fragmentation. Reduced sea ice coverage and changing ice dynamics are creating opportunities for enhanced shipping, oil and gas production, and deep‐water fisheries. Legal, infrastructural, economic, and climatic challenges are expected to constrain such developments, with concerns over the distribution of potential benefits. Adaptation is already taking place in some sectors and regions, with efforts directly targeting climate impacts and also addressing underlying determinants of vulnerability. Barriers and limits to adapting are evident. Research that develops projections of future climate impacts is advancing, but studies examining the implications of such changes for communities or economies remain in their infancy. This article is categorized under: Trans‐Disciplinary Perspectives > Regional Reviews

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“…The tourist boom in Longyearbyen in the past two decades can be explained by the growing interest in the Arctic in general and in Svalbard in particular, by national and local facilitation of tourism, and by easier access because of reduced sea ice cover (Hovelsrud et al, 2020;Palma et al, 2019). With retreating sea ice, the tourism industry offers trips to new and previously inaccessible areas, and the cruise ship season is extended (Bystrowska, 2019;Olsen, Carter, & Dawson, 2019;Stocker, Renner, & Knol-Kauffman, 2020;Øian & Kaltenborn, 2020). On-land tourism increasingly offers year-around attractions.…”

Section: Svalbard's Changing Tourismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Tourism in Svalbard: Balancing economic growth, sustainability, and environmental governance

et al. 2021

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This commentary introduces a methodology and theoretical framework for studying how the tourism industry might balance the competing demands of economic growth and environmental governance. We focus on the “balancing act” Svalbard tourism industry must play among sometimes competing demands of climate change mitigation and emissions from tourism, and of strict Norwegian environmental management policy and demands for increased tourism. While these are specific to Svalbard, the balancing act of competing needs is the core challenge of the UN Sustainability Goals giving this research global and pan-Arctic relevance. Through collaboration between two tourism organisations, the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) and Visit Svalbard and an interdisciplinary team of scientists, we will co-produce knowledge about how to innovate new opportunities while protecting the wilderness, the very backbone of tourism. This collaboration considers how policy, climate change, and local attitudes together may affect the tourism industry and helps to define and develop sustainable tourism operations and products. For instance, tourists may participate in environmental and community-related activities or “micro safaris” rather than a sole focus on charismatic megafauna. Policy discussions about tourism growth need to consider how local and national governments anticipate and navigate rapid social, political, and environmental changes.

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Community perspectives on the environmental impacts of Arctic shipping: Case studies from Russia, Norway and Canada

Cited by 18 publications

References 22 publications

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

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

The rapidly changing Arctic and its societal implications

Sustainable Tourism in Svalbard: Balancing economic growth, sustainability, and environmental governance

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