ArCS Arctic Challenge for Sustainability Project

International Collaborative Researches
Contribute to predicting the future of the Arctic from the perspective of the humanities and social sciences

Theme 7
People and Community in the Arctic: Possibility of Sustainable Development

Dr. Shinichiro Tabata (Hokkaido University)

PI : Shinichiro Tabata (Hokkaido University)Implementation Structure

Study Sites : Arctic, Sakha Republic

Background of the Research

Under the influence of climate change and global warming, possibilities have emerged for advances in economic activity in the Arctic region, including the Northern Sea Route and resource development. Japanese companies and organizations are also involved in resource development in the Yamal Peninsula and Greenland, and some firms, trading companies and local governments have expressed great interest in the Northern Sea Route. These activities in the Arctic, however, have a significant impact on the natural environment of the Arctic Circle and the living environment of local residents, including indigenous people. In 2013, Japan became one of the observer countries of the Arctic Council. The international community, including Japan, has been asked to seriously consider how we should foster the development of the Arctic.

Overview of the Research

In this study, we will consider how we should promote the development of the Arctic from the following three perspectives. First, we analyze how the economic development of the Arctic (in particular, resource development and the Northern Sea Route) is currently proceeding and consider how we should proceed in the future. We present a development scenario, and calculate the costs and benefits in a broad sense. Second, when we proceed with such economic development, we consider what is necessary in order to preserve the environment in the whole Arctic and the living environment of local communities and indigenous peoples. This means that we consider what the interaction should be between the environment and human beings. It should be noted that the Arctic environment has a global impact. Third, when advancing economic development, in order to think about what rules should be adopted by international organizations as well as national and local governments, we form an accurate understanding of the policy discussions at these organizations. We consider what kind of contribution can be made for these stakeholders, cooperating with natural science programs of ArCS.

Structure of Arctic People and Community theme

Cooperative Institutions / International Projects

North-Eastern Federal University (Russia); Northern (Arctic) Federal University (Russia); Saint-Petersburg State University (Russia); Yakutsk Science Center, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia); Central Marine Research & Design Institute (Saint-Petersburg, Russia); University of Helsinki (Finland); Center for East Asian Studies and Pan-European Institute, University of Turku (Finland); Norwegian Barents Secretariat (Norway)
Belmont Fund project - C budget of ecosystems and cities and villages on permafrost in eastern Russian Arctic (COPERA)

Implementation Structure

Members

Name Institutes
Shinichiro Tabata Hokkaido University
Natsuhiko Otsuka Hokkaido University
Fujio Ohnishi Hokkaido University
Juha Saunavaara Hokkaido University
Minori Takahashi Hokkaido University
Shiaki Kondo Hokkaido University
Masanori Goto Hokkaido University
Hyunjoo Naomi Chi Hokkaido University
Katsunori Takase Hokkaido University
Tsuyoshi Setoguchi Hokkaido University
Masahiko Fujii Hokkaido University
Takayuki Shiraiwa Hokkaido University
Xiaoyang Li Hokkaido University
Name Institutes
Hiroki Takakura Tohoku University
Toshikazu Tanaka Tohoku University
Akiho Shibata Kobe University
Yohei Okada Kobe University
Makiko Nishitani Kobe University
Kazuyo Yamaji Kobe University
Yusuke Honda Kobe University
Osamu Inagaki Kobe University
Leilei Zou Kobe University
Romain Chuffart Kobe University
Christoph Humrich Kobe University
Alejandra Mancilla Kobe University
Yelena Yermakova Kobe University

Collaborators

Name Institutes
Hirofumi Kato Hokkaido University
Shirow Tatsuzawa Hokkaido University
Masumi Motomura Hokkaido University
Daiju Narita The University of Tokyo
Tohru Tamura Hokkai School of Commerce
Yoshihiro Iijima Mie University
Yuichiro Fujioka Kyushu University
Taisaku Ikeshima Waseda University
Atsushi Nakata Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples
Tetsuya Hiyama Nagoya University
Henry Stewart Former professor of the Open University of Japan
Tore Henriksen The Arctic University of Norway
Erik Molenaar Utrecht University
Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen The Arctic University of Norway
Name Institutes
Timo Koivurova University of Lapland
Małgorzata Śmieszek University of Lapland
Nikolas Sellheim University of Helsinki
Rachael Lorna Johnstone University of Akureyri
David VanderZwaag Dalhousie University
Nigel Bankes University of Calgary
Marzia Scopelliti European Commission
Dale Sambo Dorough Inuit Circumpolar Council
Sebastian Knecht Free University of Berlin
Egill Thor Nielson China-Nordic Arctic Research Center
Joji Morishita Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology
Kentaro Nishimoto Tohoku University
Aki Tonami University of Tsukuba
Yuka Oishi National Museum of Ethnology

Study Sites (Map)

  • Arctic
  • Sakha Republic

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