National Institute of Polar Research

The academic journal “Polar Science” features Sustainable development in the Arctic for Indigenous peoples

September 1, 2025

The National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) publishes Polar Science, a peer-reviewed quarterly journal dealing with polar science, in collaboration with Elsevier B.V. In the latest issue, it features “Sustainable development in the Arctic for Indigenous peoples”, published as part of its regular issue (Vol. 44, June 2025). The purpose of the special feature is to identify what efforts are being made for sustainable development in the Arctic and to understand its significance and challenges for Indigenous Peoples. The six high-quality papers featured in this issue are a result of cross-disciplinary research of the Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II) research programs, international law, human society, and coastal environments.
The full text of featured articles will be freely accessible worldwide until 14 January 2026.

Sustainable development in the Arctic can be defined as development that improves health, well-being, and security of Arctic communities and residents while conserving ecosystem structures, functions, and resources. “The Sustainable development in the Arctic is a goal, process, and outcome desired by four million Arctic residents, including diverse Indigenous communities. Though Arctic Indigenous peoples constitute approximately 10% of the region’s population, they have been and remain active custodians of this vast territory and its natural resources for millennia”, says Professor Yuko Osakada, Executive Guest Editor of the special feature. “The purpose of the special feature articles is to identify what efforts are being made for sustainable development in the Arctic and to understand its significance and challenges for Indigenous peoples”.

The featured articles are the result of cross-disciplinary research of the Arctic Challenge for Sustainability II (ArCS II) research programs, international law, human society, and coastal environments. They offer a variety of perspectives on the multifaceted efforts to achieve sustainable development in the Arctic.

About Polar Science Volume 44 featuring “Sustainable development in the Arctic for Indigenous peoples”

Title: Special feature on “Sustainable development in the Arctic for Indigenous peoples”
Executive Guest Editor:  Yuko Osakada (Chuo Law School)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/polar-science/vol/44/suppl/C

About Polar Science

Polar Science is a peer-reviewed comprehensive academic journal relating to the polar regions of the Earth and other planets, which the NIPR began to publish in collaboration with Elsevier B.V. in 2007. The primary purpose of this journal is to inform people about polar science. Currently, more than 100 articles are submitted per year. As a result, this journal is recognized globally as one of the few comprehensive academic journals in the field of polar science. In addition to normal issues, Polar Science publishes a special issue annually on a given topic from various fields.
URL： https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/polar-science

The main characteristics of Polar Science are summarized as follows.

• Polar Science is an international academic journal with an impact factor of 2.0 as of 2024
• Polar Science covers 15 disciplines related to the Antarctic and the Arctic, such as:
  - Space and upper atmosphere physics
  - Atmospheric science/Climatology
  - Glaciology
  - Oceanography/Sea ice studies
  - Geology/Petrology
  - Solid earth geophysics/Seismology
  - Marine earth science
  - Geomorphology/Cenozoic-Quaternary geology
  - Meteoritics
  - Terrestrial biology
  - Marine biology
  - Animal ecology
  - Environment
  - Polar engineering
  - Humanities and social sciences
• Polar Science has an Open Archive whereby published articles are made freely available from ScienceDirect after an embargo period of 24 months from the date of publication.
• Printed products are also published.
• After Polar Science became an open archive in 2016, article downloads have increased rapidly since then. Currently, more than 180,000 papers are used (PDF download and HTML Views) annually.