Dr. Paula Kankaanpää
Arctic Center, University of Lapland (Finland)

The Northernmost parts of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region provide a representative case study for the current Arctic development. It is a major area of investment within Europe. Investments of up to 50 billion Euros are expected within the next ten to fifteen years. Half of this will be directed to the hydrocarbon industry in the Barents Sea, but considerable investments on mining, tourism, trade and traffic are already taking place in the arctic parts of Finland, Sweden and Norway, as well as the Murmansk region. These plans and developments, if fulfilled even partially, are resulting in rapid social, economic and environmental changes. The warming climate is predicted to create an additional significant form of stress.

The economic growth is welcomed by local and indigenous peoples of the area. However, there is concern whether their sources of livelihood, cultures and environmental values are taken into account in the planning and decision making processes despite the existing co-management practices. At present, Strategic and Environmental Impact Assessments provide legal tools for the implementation of sustainable development. Their active development and careful implementation should be a priority on the agenda of the Arctic policy makers and especially the Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group. The Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment in the Arctic adopted by the Arctic ministers in their Alta Declaration in 1997 and the related ARIA-web site, which so far have not been in active use, can provide a basis for this work. At the same time, it is important that both national and international research policy makers as well as funders pay attention to the lack of multidisciplinary scientific data in the Arctic as this is preventing the stakeholders from producing high quality assessment reports.