Geospatial and scenario expertise to create participatory answers to land use and livelihoods challenges in the Arctic

The Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), as the lead of the ArcticHubs project, is leveraging its expertise in geospatial analysis and scenario planning to create participatory tools that enable informed decision-making for various stakeholders in the European Arctic. These tools are co-designed during the project activities with partners and stakeholders to support decision-makers, local communities, industries, and other interested parties in understanding and planning for the region’s future. ArcticHubs’s participatory …

Envisioning the Arctic of tomorrow: Inari Arctic youth gathering

As the world contends with the reverberations of climate change and the evolving landscape of industries, the Arctic stands at the forefront of transformation. The imperative to comprehend the trajectory of the distinctive Arctic ecosystem has drawn a diverse assembly of youth to Inari, Lapland, Finland. From the 16th to the 18th of August, young individuals hailing from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Greenland gathered beside the tranquil expanse of …

Arctic youth envision the future in Inari, Finland: join the discussion!

In the pristine landscapes of Inari, Finland, an upcoming workshop promises to unravel intriguing perspectives on the future of the Arctic. Set to take place on August 17th, this gathering will bring together young individuals hailing from diverse corners of the Arctic region – Greenland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. 🌍 Exploring Alternative Futures The focal point of the workshop lies in the intricate mapping of both threats and opportunities …

Exploring future scenarios for land use and livelihood: insights from Inari Arctic hub

Inari, the municipality with the largest land area in Finland, grapples with intricate issues related to land use and livelihood management. Despite its sparse population, Inari holds significant importance as a central location for the vibrant indigenous Sámi culture in Finland. The recent ArcticHubs meeting held in Inari shed light on the complex interplay between tourism, reindeer herding, and the preservation of Sámi culture. This blog post seeks to provide …

Interview with Sara Moioli, young researcher at ArcticHubs

We are very grateful to have young researchers and students, such as Sara Moioli, working around the ArcticHubs project. Sara is currently conducting her internship with ArcticHubs as part of the post graduate course TALETE Honour Program of the University of Trento (Italy). The course focuses on the topics of environment and sustainability and the ArcticHubs project is the case study that Sara is using. In this blog she tells …

Interview with Dr. Leena Suopajärvi, senior scientist and WP1 leader at ArcticHubs

Interview with Dr. Leena Suopajärvi, senior scientist at the University of Lapland and work package 1 leader at ArcticHubs. Dr. Leena Suopajärvi is the lead scientist for one of the main research action of the ArcticHubs project and that is the study of global trends and industrial development impacting upon land, livelihoods, communities and stakeholders of the Arctic region. We discuss with Dr.Suopajärvi how she became involved in the investigation …

Using a public participatory GIS tool to co-design solutions in the ArcticHubs

At the heart of the ArcticHubs project are a number of tools that are seeking to access a broad range of views and voices, through which to shape solutions when addressing the urgent challenges around land-use conflict in the Arctic. To avoid an overload of one-way quizzing from researchers – probing for an understanding through which to frame recommendations – ArcticHubs has instead moved towards a co-design approach. Placing an …

Indigenous hubs

The indigenous hubs focus on locations with indigenous knowledge pertaining to reindeer husbandry, fishing, hunting and the traditional use of other natural resources. Indigenous communities live their lives across and parallel to the rest of Arctic society for parts of their sustenance. Simultaneously their lives are influenced by infrastructure and services often developed with someone else, living a different kind of life, in mind. Due to the interconnectedness of indigenous …

Forest hubs

Forestry has been a long-standing sector across large swathes of the Arctic and sub-Arctic region. Traditionally, management and revenues from forestry have come in the form of outtake of biomass for timber and fuel, with little consideration for other uses of the forest. However, the goals of forestry have diversified strongly in recent decades, emphasizing the whole spectrum of what are termed ‘ecosystem services’ provided by forests. Ecosystem services are …

Mining hubs

There is a rich history of mining in the Arctic stretching back to the early days of the industrial revolution. A diverse suite of mineral resources including iron ore, nickel, copper and quarried stone have been taken and continue to be extracted across the Arctic region. Climate changes have begun to significantly alter the familiar landscapes and backdrops to such extractive industries. The retreating ice-caps are starting to expose potentially …