Global drivers, local consequences: Tools for climate change adaptation and sustainable development for Arctic industrial and cultural hubs

The Arctic in 2020s cannot be understood without placing it to the global interlinkages and processes that shape the futures and fortunes of different Arctic regions. Globalization is not a singular driving force, but consists of different kinds of international economic, political, technological as well as cultural and social forces that more or less set the rules for developments in these northern regions. The project aims to change the time perspective from present situation to building the desired future for the development of Arctic hubs and their surrounding regions. Sustainability as a concept has this future orientation in its core since by definition it enhances development which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. By using foresight methods, the participants are invited to shape the future of their regions together with the global actors such as mining and forestry companies and tourism entrepreneurs. The main aims of the project are, first, to inform policymaking and other strategic and planning procedures, so that decisions taken by key actors in the commissioning body are more aware of longer-term developments and how these are liable to interact with current policy decisions; second, to help in building networks among the people centrally involved with shaping the future of a particular topic or region, and, third, to develop capabilities throughout the region. ARCTIC-HUBs will achieve the objectives by an ambitious multidisciplinary research programme that utilizes novel remote sensing techniques, public participatory geographical information system (PPGIS), existing environmental inventory data as well as traditional and stakeholder knowledge together with consultation of regional and local policy makers to pinpoint areas where potential conflicts with natural resources exploitation and raw material usage with other livelihoods and industries are likely to take place.