Developing oil and gas resources in Arctic waters

275 Pages·2014·8.28 MB·English

Contact information:
Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of development of the Arctic.
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland.
[email protected], [email protected]
www.arcticinfo.eu
Design and layout: Halldór Jóhannsson and Ólafur Jensson, Arctic Portal, www.arcticportal.org
Cover image: Main road in Iceland. Photo: Halldór Jóhannsson, Arctic Portal
Maps of Greenland and Fennoscandia (p.iv,v) by Arctic Portal, 2014, www.arcticportal.org
Full page image (p. xxviii): Akureyri, Iceland. Photo: Kristín Laufey Ingólfsdóttir, Arctic Portal
Part 1 cover image: Volcanic mountain, Iceland. Photo: GettyImages
Part 2 cover image: Tromsø Panorama. Photo: GettyImages
Part 3 cover image: Winter road. Photo: GettyImages
Decorative images: GettyImages, GRID-Arendal www.grida.no, Arctic Portal www.arcticportal.org
© European Union, 2014
The content of this report does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility
for the information and views expressed in therein lies entirely with the authors.
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Strategic Assessment
Of Development Of
The Arctic
Assessment conducted for the
European Union
Published by the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
The Strategic Assessment of Development of the Arctic: An assessment conducted for the European Union Report is a
deliverable within the Preparatory Action “Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of development of the Arctic
(December 2012 – June 2014). It was commissioned by the European Commission’s Environment Directorate General.
Project leader: Paula Kankaanpää, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland.
Project manager: Kamil Jagodzinski, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland.
Strategic Assessment of Development of the Arctic: Editors
Adam Stępień, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Timo Koivurova, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Paula Kankaanpää, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Strategic Assessment of Development of the Arctic: Lead authors
Chapter 1. Methodology, scope and stakeholder engagement: Adam Stępień, Paula Kankaanpää, Timo
Koivurova, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Chapter 2. The European Union and the Arctic Region: Timo Koivurova and Adam Stępień
Chapter 3. Climate change in the Arctic: Mikko Strahlendorff, Finnish Meteorological Institute
Chapter 4. Changes in Arctic Maritime Transport: Gunnar Sander, Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre
Chapter 5. Changing Nature of Arctic Fisheries: Sigmar Arnarsson, UiT Arctic University of Norway
Chapter 6. Developing Oil and Gas Resources in Arctic Waters: Michał Łuszczuk, Committee of Polar Research
– Polish Academy of Sciences
Chapter 7. Mining in the European Arctic: Kim van Dam and Annette Scheepstra, Arctic Centre, University of
Groningen
Chapter 8. Land-Use Pressures in the European Arctic: Kirsi Latola, Thule Institute of the University of Oulu,
University of the Arctic Thematic Networks
Chapter 9. Social and Cultural Changes in the European Arctic: Adam Stępień, Arctic Centre, University of
Lapland
Co-author for Chapters 2, 3 and 4 and technical editor: Debra Justus, Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris.
ADHR boundary
March median line sea-ice extent 1981-2010
September median line sea-ice extent 1981-2010
Area covered by sea-ice in September 2013
Area covered by sea-ice in March 2013
Arctic Circle
Cities, towns, main villages
Kilometers
0 250 500
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Country boundaries
ADHR boundary
Indicative boundary of Sápmi (Sámi area)
Boundary of Barents region (Barents Regional Council)
Observer to Barents region (Barents Regional Council)
Area covered by sea-ice in September 2013
Arctic Circle
Cities, towns, main villages
Kilometers
0 250 500
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The Project: Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of
Development of the Arctic
The ‘Strategic Assessment of Development of the Arctic’ report is the main product of the Preparatory Action project:
Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of development of the Arctic (Service contract 191 105/2012/637465/
SER/El), financed by the Directorate-General for the Environment, and carried out by a network of 19 leading Arctic
research and communication centres and universities with extensive activities in and knowledge of the Arctic. The
project was led by the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland and contributes to the EU Arctic Information Centre
initiative.
The primary objective of the project was to increase awareness about the Arctic and its changing political, economic
and environmental landscape, as well as to comprehend the impact of EU policies on the future of the Arctic region
by participating in and benefiting from multidimensional dialogues and information exchange between the EU and
civil society. This was implemented by using Impact Assessment as a tool to put together information for the needs of
decision- and policy-makers.
To support the EU in the development of its Arctic policies, the Preparatory Action project combined science-based
information with the views and perspectives of Arctic stakeholders. The co-production of knowledge through science-
policy interaction is urgently called for in Arctic discourses today. With this project, the EU took on a pioneering role in
carrying out large-scale impact assessments for policy-makers in the Arctic.
The project also analysed the need for establishing an EU Arctic Information Centre that would operate as a network
of European institutions for information, outreach and insight into Arctic issues, and which would seek to provide the
EU, its citizens, institutions, companies and Member States with Arctic information and a factual overview about the
status and trends in the Arctic.
See: www.arcticinfo.eu
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PARTNERS
Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of development of the Arctic
Alfred Wegener Institute
Scott Polar Research Institute
University of Cambridge
Sami Education Institute
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All the partners in the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of development of the Arctic contributed
information to the team compiling the Strategic Assessment of Development of the Arctic: Assessment
Conducted for the European Union Report.
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Paula Kankaanpää, Kamil Jagodziński, Timo Koivurova, Adam Stępień, Nicolas Gunslay, Markku Heikkilä,
Małgorzata Śmieszek
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
Nicole Biebow
Arctic Centre, University of Groningen
Annette Scheepstra, Peter Jordan, Kim van Dam
Arctic Portal
Halldór Jóhannsson, Lísa Z. Valdimarsdóttir, Federica Scarpa
Committee on Polar Research Polish Academy of Sciences
Michał Łuszczuk
Ecologic Institute
Elizabeth Tedsen, Arne Riedel
Ecorys
Hans Bolscher, Marie-Theres von Schickfus, Johan Gille
European Polar Board and European Science Foundation
Roberto Azzolini
Finnish Meteorological Institute
Jouni Pulliainen, Mikko Strahlendorff
Fram Centre
Gunnar Sander, Jo Aarseth
GRID-Arendal, UNEP
Peter Prokosch, Lawrence Hislop, Tina Schoolmeester
International Polar Foundation
Joseph Cheek, Thierry Touchais, Dave Walsh
National Research Council of Italy
Simona Longo, Roberto Azzolini
Pierre and Marie Curie University
Jean Claude Gascard, Debra Justus
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