The Russian and Norwegian Arctic are gaining notoriety as an alternative maritime route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and as sources of natural resources. The renewed interest in the Northeast Passage or the Northern Sea Route is fueled by a recession of Arctic sea ice coupled with the discovery of new natural resources at a time when emerging and global markets are in growing demand for them. Driven by the expectation of potential future economic importance of the region, political interest and governance has been rapidly developing, mostly within the Arctic Council. However, this paper argues that optimism regarding the potential of Arctic routes as an alternative to the Suez Canal is overstated. The route involves many challenges: jurisdictional disputes create political uncertainties; shallow waters limit ship size; lack of modern deepwater ports and search and rescue (SAR) capabilities requires ships to have higher standards of autonomy and safety; harsh weather conditions and free-floating ice make navigation more difficult and schedules more variable; and more expensive ship construction and operation costs lessen the economic viability of the route. Technological advances and infrastructure investments may ameliorate navigational challenges, enabling increased shipping of natural resources from the Arctic to global markets.

The backdrop for this study is the Norwegian national Svalbard policy, with long-term goals to transition Svalbard into a sustainable future without coal and to maintain Norwegian presence. Tourism, education and research are the three economic pillars. This transition affects the tourism industry, spatial planners, environmental officials, local politicians, port authorities and research community in Longyearbyen. We apply an adaptation framework and a community-based approach to analyse the multiple layers of change identified by key stakeholders: climate change, national policy and increasing tourism. Based on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in Longyearbyen and document review we analysed the adaptation strategies and measures to address the challenges and opportunities from the economic transition sectors, climate change impacts, national Svalbard policies and increasing tourism activities. Adaptation dilemmas emerge for Longyearbyen: 1) increased tourism is a national goal while strict environmental management restricts its potential tourism operators, and 2) climate change creates hazardous conditions which require the local spatial planners to develop new safe housing areas, but the strict environmental protection limits the action space. A tension is therefore emerging between the national policy context (The Svalbard Treaty, The Svalbard Act, The Environmental Protection Act) which governs development and local adaptation options to address climate change impacts and increasing tourism.

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What would it take to establish a take-back scheme for fishing gear? Insights from a comparative analysis of fishing gear and beverage containers

Increasing ship traffic in the Arctic has a broad range of impacts on coastal communities' wellbeing and the natural environment. Despite a number of existing national and international efforts to mitigate the risks and secure the benefits of this development, the role of local initiatives and arrangements is still understudied. Focusing on the town of Longyearbyen, situated on the Svalbard Archipelago, this chapter examines the impacts of and responses to the considerable growth in shipping activities comprising marine tourism, cargo (supply), fishing, research and Search and Rescue vessels. Since the settlement's establishment in 1906, Longyearbyen has seen shipping play an important role in the community's development by serving as a vital transport link between the Archipelago and the mainland. The impacts of recent growth in ship traffic, coupled with environmental changes and an ongoing transition from a coal dominated economy toward tourism, research and education, challenge the local capacity to accommodate such growth. The analysis of empirical data indicates that local, bottom-up engagement serves as a support mechanism for institutional response strategies and enables local adaptive capacity. At the same time, community engagement is sensitive to demographic trends that influence the scope and efficiency of actions.