In the Shadow of the Mountain: Assessing early impacts on community development from two mining prospects in South Greenland

Hansen, Anne Merrild; Johnstone, Rachael Lorna

doi:10.1016/j.exis.2019.01.012

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…In reality, there are many problems with participation in Greenland. In fieldwork conducted by Anne Merrild Hansen and the present author, we have heard that people are frustrated with lengthy delays in obtaining information, lack of confidence in the quality of information, lack of opportunities to communicate one's own views and a belief that individual views are not taken into account (Hansen & Johnstone, 2019).…”

Section: Public Participation and The Certification Of Diamondsmentioning

confidence: 93%

The impact of international law on natural resource governance in Greenland

Johnstone

2020

Polar Record

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The paper demonstrates how the evolution of international law on colonial and indigenous peoples, in particular evolving rights to sovereignty over natural resources, shaped the changing relationship between Greenland and the rest of the Danish Realm. Greenland today is in a unique position in international law, enjoying an extremely high degree of self-government. This paper explores the history, current status and future of Greenland through the lens of international law, to show how international obligations both colour its relationship with the Kingdom of Denmark and influence its approaches to resource development internally. It considers the invisibility of the Inuit population in the 1933 Eastern Greenland case that secured Danish sovereignty over the entire territory. It then turns to Denmark’s registration of Greenland as a non-self-governing territory (colony) in 1946 before Greenland’s-purported decolonisation in 1953 and the deficiencies of that process. In the second part of the 20th century, Denmark began to recognise the Greenland Inuit as an indigenous people before a gradual shift towards recognition of the Greenlanders as a people in international law, entitled to self-determination, including the right to permanent sovereignty over their natural resources. This peaked with the Self-Government Act of 2009. The paper will then go on to assess competing interpretations of the Self-Government Act of 2009 according to which the Greenland self-government is the relevant decision-making body for an increasing number of fields of competence including, since 1 January 2010, the governance of extractive industries. Some, including members of the Greenland self-government, argue that the Self-Government Act constitutes full implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP 2007), but this view is not universally shared. The paper also considers the status and rights of two Greenland minorities: the North Greenlanders (Inughuit) and the East Greenlanders, each of whom has distinct histories, experiences of colonisation, dialects (or languages) and cultural traditions. While the Kingdom of Denmark accepts the existence of only one indigenous people, namely, the Inuit of Greenland, this view is increasingly being challenged in international fora, including the UN human rights treaty bodies, as the two minorities are in some cases considered distinct indigenous peoples. Their current position in Greenland as well as in a future fully independent Greenland is examined, and the rights that they hold against the Greenland self-government as well as the Kingdom of Denmark explored. Greenland’s domestic regime for governance of non-renewable natural resources (principally mining and hydrocarbons) is briefly analysed and compared with international standards, with a particular emphasis on public participation. The paper assesses the extent to which it complies with the standards in key international instruments.

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Section: Public Participation and The Certification Of Diamondsmentioning

confidence: 93%

The impact of international law on natural resource governance in Greenland

Johnstone

2020

Polar Record

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“…For these actors, an important concern is that planned investments and partnerships will ultimately not materialize. This is particularly important if we take into account that social impacts occur from the moment the plans are announced (e.g., Schweitzer et al, 2019;Hansen and Johnstone, 2019). Among other things, local hopes and anxieties are triggered.…”

Section: The Performance and Reliability Of Chinese Investors And Parmentioning

confidence: 99%

China’s Economic Presence in the Arctic: Realities, Expectations and Concerns

Stępień¹,

Kauppila

Kopra

et al. 2020

Chinese Policy and Presence in the Arctic

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“…We then detail the interventions made by this special issue in enhancing those foci among academic research. Notably, this journal has published articles that begin to incorporate these questions related to uranium production and overarching social justice, environmental justice, and development issues (see Hansen and Johnstone, 2019;Issah and Umejesi, 2019;Volderbing and Warner, 2018;Postar, 2017;Haalboom, 2016;Procter, 2016;Bjørst, 2016;Vestergaard, 2015). This special issue intends to consolidate and amplify these issues in one issue, which we hope E-mail address: stephanie.malin@colostate.edu (S.A. Malin).…”

Section: Introduction: Uranium and The Atomic Agementioning

confidence: 99%