Environmental Impact Assessment in the Arctic

Koivurova, Timo; Kankaanpää, Paula; Ненашева, Марина; Lesser, Pamela; Bickford, Sonja

doi:10.4337/9781784711580

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Moreover, there is growing evidence that members of the public want to participate in the policy-making processes and are capable of high quality deliberation, especially when such deliberation is well arranged, including the "provision of balanced information, expert testimony, and oversight by a facilitator" [22]. While soliciting public input for sustainability planning is typical in all geographical settings, it is considered to be particularly important in the Arctic [6]. As elsewhere, policies that do not have public input from the start may have little support from the population and therefore may be less likely to be effective in their implementation.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Today, local food production makes up less of local diets than ever in the past. Economic globalization, including advances in the ease of transportation, have dramatically changed the lifestyle of people living in the far north, in part by making it much cheaper and easier to import food from the outside [6]. As a result, Alaskans currently obtain as much as 98 percent of their food supply from out of state [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strengthening Food Security Near the Arctic Circle: Case Study of Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska

et al. 2019

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Reliable food supply is a central concern for residents of cities located in remote locations with extreme climate conditions. The purpose of this article is to examine how stake-holders in such northern cities ensure a high level of food security. We examine a case study of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, which is located in the interior of the state near the Arctic Circle. Borough policymakers are seeking to address community concerns through a collaborative, multi-stakeholder process of working with local farmers, distributors, consumers, activists, and academics. We examine the effectiveness of this process through participant-observation and process tracing of the initial results of the newly established Fairbanks North Star Borough sustainability commission. The new commission has adopted a sustainability plan drawing upon the input of community stakeholders, but it remains to be seen how the plan will be implemented and if it will meet the needs of diverse groups within the community. This analysis makes a contribution by examining the hypothesis that university-based teams and public input can improve public policy outputs in the area of food security by organizing their work around a focus on data. Specifically, the article examines the most effective mechanisms for collaboration among academics and policymakers to incorporate public input into food security policies.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening Food Security Near the Arctic Circle: Case Study of Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska

et al. 2019

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“…In many Arctic countries, such as Finland, Russia, and others, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required for large-scale infrastructure projects such as mines that are likely to have considerable negative impacts on the environment (Koivurova et al, 2016). Basically, EIA allows public participation because public participation is at its core and lay people can comment on its outcomes.…”

Section: Environmental Impact Assessment (Eia) For Industrial Infrastmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Decree on EIA consists of details on the types of projects that require an EIA. The EIA is not a decisionmaking procedure, but an evaluating and planning procedure, which can inform policy (Koivurova et al, 2016). One of the main aims of the EIA in Finland is to encourage the participation of different parties in the planning phase before project implementation takes place.…”

Section: Environmental Impact Assessment (Eia) For Industrial Infrastmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Usually the developer does not have the capacity to prepare the EIA, so a consultant is hired (see more details on the EIA procedure in Finland in Ministry of the Environment, 2013; Koivurova et al, 2016, 35-53). However, past experience of EIAs and the deployment of infrastructure projects in the Arctic has shown that the participation of local communities can be challenging (Koivurova et al, 2016;Stammler and Ivanova, 2016). This is, for example, due to the lack of holistic understanding of social, economic, and environmental consequences of the projects, especially in the long-term.…”

Section: Environmental Impact Assessment (Eia) For Industrial Infrastmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Participatory environmental governance of infrastructure projects affecting reindeer husbandry in the Arctic

Landauer

Komendantova

2018

Journal of Environmental Management

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Several infrastructure projects are under development or already operational across the Arctic region. Often the deployment of such projects creates benefits at the national, regional, or global scales. However, local communities can experience negative impacts due to the requirements for extensive land areas, which cause pressure on traditional land use. Public participation in environmental planning such as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) enables local communities to provide feedback on the environmental, social, and economic challenges of infrastructure projects. Ideally, participation can improve the means of social learning for all involved parties and help to co-develop sustainable solutions. The subject of our research is reindeer herders' participation in EIA procedures of mines and wind farms in Finland because these types of projects affect reindeer husbandry. We study empirically how stakeholders involved in the EIAs perceive the participation of reindeer herders in the planning and implementation of infrastructure projects, and how these differ from the perceptions of the reindeer herders who are affected by the infrastructure projects. Our qualitative data is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews (N = 31) with members of the industry sector, consultants, governmental authorities, and representatives of local communities; in this study, the reindeer herders. The results show that herders' level of participation in the EIAs and the benefits and challenges of participation are perceived differently. Furthermore, the regulatory framework does not adequately ensure that the developer carries social and environmental responsibilities throughout the infrastructure project's lifetime, and that regular communication with herders will also be maintained after the EIAs. Herders' expertise should be used throughout the project lifetime. For example, more attention should be paid to both negotiating possible options for compensation and monitoring mechanisms when the infrastructure projects are pre-screened for the EIAs, as well as to co-designing the different project alternatives with herders for the EIAs.

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Finland’s Chairmanship of the Arctic Council: Setting Priorities and Implementing Them

Koivurova

2019

Springer Polar Sciences

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Environmental Impact Assessment in the Arctic

Cited by 27 publications

References 0 publications

Strengthening Food Security Near the Arctic Circle: Case Study of Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska

Strengthening Food Security Near the Arctic Circle: Case Study of Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska

Participatory environmental governance of infrastructure projects affecting reindeer husbandry in the Arctic

Finland’s Chairmanship of the Arctic Council: Setting Priorities and Implementing Them

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