Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic: Perspectives from the Barents Area

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Chapter 3 · Local and regional perspectives on adaptation

Table 3.2 Stakeholder views on adaptation as a complex issue (Nikula et al., 2015).

Discussion points

Nature of change

Many changes including changing climatic conditions for winter tourism, dependence on seasons and client expectation Large-scale industrialization affects local companies and communities in different ways. More resources are needed for development of infrastructure and services Concerns about the future of local cultures and community viability Access and ownership to natural resources remains a highly debated issue in the region For business actors, participatory management, corporate social responsibility, increased transparency of corporations and digital economy and infrastructure are important Climate change was seen as a long-term driver of change, including changes in snow and ice cover as well as in growth seasons, permafrost thaw and extreme weather events, such as storms and floods Climate change also affects global political and economic structures; political and legal developments; demographic changes, increasing global resource demand, population growth, decrease in traditional resource based industries and growth of new industries, accessibility to the region, including virtual and physical access and development of infrastructure Most participants recognized that they were already undertaking some adaptation themselves, especially in relation to economic development and employment, and knew of some adaptation policies and their effects on their activities or in their sector Adaptation was seen by many as a shared and negotiated responsibility to which everyone needs to participate but the role of the government, business and extractive industries was stressed It was pointed out that small companies have to adapt to changing conditions all the time: it is necessary for their survival. Adaptation is based both on a need and a responsibility to adapt

Impacts of change

Agency and responsibility

movements (see Chapter 6).These changes may be of economic significance: How much fish will be caught? In which country will the fish be landed? Howwill commercially important stocks be distributed within the waters of two or more states? As a result, these changes could affect relations between states within the context of the economic, legal and political settings of the fisheries (e.g. for marine transportation, and offshore oil and gas development). Thus, assessment of adaptation practices in the fishery sector is also linked to the planning of resource use,market and trading mechanisms, emergency preparedness, insurance and social safety schemes, infrastructure capacity and flexibility, and food security (Stammler-Gossmann, 2013). The nature of a change and its direction are also important, but may be interpreted differently by different stakeholders. For example,regional and local stakeholders may interpret the same change as positive or negative depending on the time perspective. This is the case for tourism in the Barents area (Brouder and Lundmark, 2011; Kelman et al., 2012). In Finland, to continue winter activities in the face of ever shorter winters and later snow cover, require adjustments by the tourism industry, for example storing snowor creating artificial snow.Although such responses might be appropriate in the short term, they are questionable from the perspective of long-term and sustainable adaptation (Kietäväinen and Tuulentie, 2013). InNorway, cruise tourism in Lofoten is seen bymany as an integral part of the local economy. The question here is how to deal with the complex challenges posed by the growing number of tourists and their impacts on the fragileArctic environment.The question is how to achieve a sustainable use of the natural landscape over time and so provide a sustainable basis for community development. Some issues are governable froma regional perspective and some are not. For example, as global markets fluctuate, communities, livelihoods and even countries relying on natural resources are vulnerable to changes beyond their control. Until recently, projections of the future were typically based on scenarios built using development trends of the past few years (e.g. Bjørnsen and Johansen, 2012).The situation now is very different and one

business stakeholders. The Arctic Business Forum is an annual event organized by the Lapland chamber of commerce to discuss economic development and opportunities in the region among business actors. Owing to the small number of participants representing this stakeholder group – only seven of 20 participants in total, and mostly representing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – the discussions became more general.The 13 non-business participants were students from the University of Lapland, Arctic Centre staff members andAACA researchers. It is notable, however, that many of the researchers had some practical, small-scale business experience. Table 3.2 presents the main discussion points, together with a condensed summary of the opinions expressed during the event. Before the discussion with stakeholders took place, participants were provided with an overview of the AACA project and the changes expected, as well as likely impacts and adaptation concerns. Participants were also given plenty of opportunity to discuss their own concerns. The central lesson from the stakeholder event was that stakeholders interpret adaptation concerns and needs in very different ways; reflecting their background, education and professional expertise. The event identified a broad range of adaptation-related concerns as well as different ideas of how to tackle them. For participants, the Barents area was only one of the possible spatial references; they also referred to Lapland, Finland, the EuropeanArctic or theArctic in general.The other three stakeholder events in Finland had more-or-less the same outcome. Thinking in terms of specific time frames, such as 2030 (to represent the short term) and 2080 (to represent the long term) proved difficult; most participants found it easier to think in terms of one or two generations into the future. Some common issues are difficult to define for a regionally- constructed knowledge base, primarily because issues are complicated and often connected to broader political and economic considerations beyond the region itself. For example, ecological shifts within the Barents Sea have various biological causes, such as changes in fish reproduction, distribution, and