D4.9 Minutes of stakeholder dialogue at an Arctic Conference

The Arctic region is experiencing rapid change, primarily as a consequence of the changing climate. Climate change impacts such as increasing temperatures and reducing sea-ice cover bring both challenges and opportunities to a wide range of actors. Stakeholders’ interests are very diverse and sometimes conflicting. For instance, while being seen as rich in resources for extractive industries, the Arctic is also home to many indigenous communities, which on one hand are concerned with the environmental impact of mining projects and on the other hand need to benefit from such economic developments. Research and development projects in the Arctic need to take stakeholders views into account.

These concerns were the focus of presentations and discussions at the EU-PolarNet session -- “Stakeholder Engagement: Moving from Quantity to Quality” -- held at the Ninth International Congress on Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS IX).