Sustainability Research (SRI) PhD Projects

Natural resource governance in the Arctic: the interplay between science, policy and politics

Supervisor: Dr. James Van Alstine

The Arctic has been warming faster than other places on earth and faster than models have predicted. The abrupt decline of summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean in recent years has contributed to the emergence of two competing agendas: those in the scientific, policy and indigenous communities that are alarmed and see the need to rapidly respond to such environmental change, and those that see new opportunities arising from such change. Most prominently, the eight Arctic states have strong interests in the extractive and shipping industries now that the Arctic Ocean is becoming ice free. It is often the case in resource frontiers that the pace of exploration and exploitation outstrips that of policy and governance which will protect the environment and cultural heritage of native people. This is the risk with the current oil, gas and minerals rush in the Arctic.

One of the key questions related to the new energy and non-energy minerals rush in the Arctic is ‘governance for what and for whom’; in other words, who is benefitting and why? Issues related to state sovereignty, human and indigenous rights, energy security, climate security and environmental protection all compete for policy space from various stakeholders. Building on Dr. Van Alstine’s four year research programme (2008-11) on opportunities for communities to maximise sustainable local benefits from resource extraction and Prof Francis’s extensive knowledge of Arctic issues, geology and political agendas, this project’s overarching aim is to explore how and why key stakeholders may benefit (or not) from resource exploitation in the Arctic, in the context of rapid environmental change.