The Impacts of Oil and Gas Activity on Peoples in the Arctic Using a Multiple Securities Perspective

GAPS Is a truly multidisciplinary project, where social AND natural scientists work together to provide a comphrehensive understanding of security in the Arctic. GAPS contains a series of related and integrated sub-projects that address security in the Ar ctic from different angles. Each sub-project aims to address a different theme of human well-being using a human security framework designed for the project. The goal of the research team is to bring these sub-projects together to illustrate the complex nature of security, and the multiple processes that interact to create security or insecurity (environmental, political and social), in the context of oil and gas activity in the Arctic. Thus, the overall aim of GAPS is to identify threats to, and opp ortunities/adaptation/coping strategies for, human security in the Norwegian and Russian Arctics by assessing the impacts of oil and gas activity in these regions. This aim will be addressed by 4 integrated sub-projects (SP) which examine the possible imp acts of oil and gas activity on Arctic peoples by 1) measuring levels of contaminants in Arctic communities, 2) documentation of invasability of toxic fungi-infected forage grasses over climatic gradients, 3) analysis of perceived in/securities, both by c ommunities themselves as well as through media, scientific studies and government, and 4) analysis of multiple in/securities, based on the data collected in the first three sub-projects, in Arctic communities (synthesis and integration). SP3 and SP4 will be linked to international GAPS projects and other IPY initiatives, allowing for and strengthening international cooperation, facilitation of community linkages and networks (Canadian communities are very interested in the resulting outcomes for Norwegian and Russian communities, for example), and facilitating circumpolar comparison.