Arctic nature is spectacular and a common draw for tourists, but it is likewise sensitive and slow to recover from being overrun. Local authorities and land owners frequently find themselves in a flurry of hurried activities attempting to deal with the growing numbers, sometimes resulting in better control and nature protection, but sometimes not.

Core issues include who is responsible for funding varied necessary actions aimed to control the tourist flow and protect nature. Meanwhile, tourists face various dangers and inconveniences due to lacking infrastructure, such as information, safety measures and toilet facilities. In this breakout session, various aspects of these issues will be discussed, case studies presented and possible options reviewed, with expert solution case studies from the US and Iceland.

Speakers

• Nathan Reigner, Consultant, RSG Inc.: Maximizing the Benefits and Minimizing the Impacts of Tourism with Indicator-Based Adaptive Planning and Management.
• Eva Dís Þórðardóttir, Specialist in planning, EIA: Possible Solution for Sustainable Tourism in the Westfjords.
• Böðvar Tómasson, Specialist in Risk Management and Safety: Dangerous trip to Iceland? - Risk Management in the Tourism Industry.
• Þórður H. Ólafsson, Managing Director, Vatnajökull National Park: Vatnajökull National Park – Increased Need for Infrastructure and Improved Nature Conservation Measures.

A large portion of data center capital expenditures and operating costs are devoted towards cooling infrastructure, in order to keep equipment operating efficiently. As of 2010, data centers globally accounted for 1.1% – 1.5% of global energy consumption. Nordic countries are leaders in leveraging their climates by situating data centers in naturally cooled locations, whether in abandoned mines such as Lefdal in Norway, or former military bunkers, such as Rockan in Sweden. Iceland’s Verne Global data center was named as a top sustainable solution at the recent Rio+20 by Sustainia, a Danish think tank consortium.

This panel will take an interdisciplinary perspective: business & economics, regulation, security and geo-politics, technology, environment, and global cooperation.

Speakers

• Frederik Vyncke, CEO, Rockan DataCenter, Sweden
• Peter Kelly-Detwiler, Principal, Northbridge Energy Partners, USA
• Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO, CCP Games, Iceland*
• Doug Raymond, Global Head of Performance Advertising, Amazon, USA*

Moderator

• Caroline Troein, Technology and Innovation Researcher, Institute for Business in the Global Context (IBGC), Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

• Maritime transport
• Oil and mineral exploitation incl. support to oil spill combatting  
• Tourism
• Fishery incl. aquaculture
• Wind Energy

Critical information for all these industries for long- and short-term investment planning, risk assessment and operational purposes is knowledge of the environmental fields affecting marine operations in the Arctic Ocean. Service providers will therefore employ model analysis or reanalysis of wind, temperature, sea ice, sea state, near surface ocean currents and icing index in combination with in situ and remote sensing observations. Ongoing research aims to increase the quality and availability of data products needed to improve operational forecasts of marine conditions.

The session will give an overview on existing operational marine services in the Arctic in support of Blue Growth.

Speakers:

• Odd Jarl Borch, Professor of Strategy, Graduate School of Business, Nord University: Arctic Blue Economy.
• Einar Hjörleifsson, Fisheries Scientist, Marine Research Institute of Iceland: Fisheries Management - Present and Uncertain Future Dynamics.
• Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller, Research Scientist, Institute of Oceanography, Polish Academy of Sciences: Arctic Ocean Observation System.
• Stein Sandven, Research Director, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC): Operational Marine Services: Arctic Sea Ice Monitoring and Forecasting
• Torbjørn Eltoft, Professor, University of Tromsø: Integrated Remote Sensing and Forecasting for Arctic Operations
• Henning Wehde, Head of Research and Advice Programme North Sea, Institute of Marine Research

Moderator:

• Stein Sandven, Research Director, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC)

Speakers

• Macy Kenworthy, United States Arctic Youth Ambassador
• Caitlyn Baikie, Manager, Arctic Students and Partnership Program, Students on Ice Expeditions
• Valerie Craig, Senior Director, Impact Initiatives, National Geographic Society

Speakers: 

• Martin Sommerkorn, Head of Conservation, WWF Arctic Program: Valuing Arctic Nature Through the Ecosystem Services Lens: Conservation Opportunity or Commodification Trap?
• Spencer Wood, Senior Research Scientist, University of Washington; Senior Scientist, Natural Capital Project: How Information on Biodiversity and Natural Assets Can Inform Sustainable Development Decisions in the Arctic.
• Gunn-Britt Retter, Head of the Arctic and Environment Unit, Saami Council: Is the Value of Saami Culture the Same for You as for Me? Reflections on Why Valuing Nature is Challenging

Chair:

• Liisa Rohweder, CEO of WWF Finland

In addition to brief speaker presentations to provide a foundation for discussion, the session will include an interactive moderated dialogue between the panel of speakers and audience members. Session moderators will facilitate the panelists’ and audience members’ exploration of the topic and identification of additional themes of interest that result from the discussion.

Speakers:

• Guðbjörg R. Jóhannesdóttir, Adjunct, Iceland Academy of Arts; Postdoc in Philosophy, University of Iceland: Coming to Our Senses and Understanding Our Place in the Natural World
• Grete K. Hovelsrud, Professor, Nord University, Bodø Norway: An Arctic Perspective on the Role of Culture and World Views in Shaping Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change
• “Cultures of Climate Change: Fast Media and Slow Media on the Arctic”
  • Miyase Christensen, Professor, Stockholm University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology
  • Tom Buurman, PhD Candidate, Stockholm University
• Kristján Hrannar Pálsson, musician and producer: Music, Climate Change and Popular Culture

Moderator

• Thorsteinn Gunnarsson, Senior Adviser, Icelandic Center of Research, Rannis

Further, ecosystem changes are as of yet unknown in many regions due to evolving long-term impacts from water resource variability. There lacks a dialogue on the social and environmental implications of changing global freshwater resources with respect to the Arctic, which is necessary to bring to realization the potential questions and stakeholders needed to identify solutions. Collectively, this session proposes to create discourse on the physical and socio-economic bases of future freshwater resources, including groundwater and surface water monitoring and understanding, vulnerability to flora and fauna from climatic and human impacts, the socio-environmental dynamics of water resource resilience, scarcity issues, quality and quantity, social equity, perception, and education. A key component is determining mechanisms for communicating between stakeholders and those individuals with the knowledge about the complexities of arctic freshwater challenges and opportunities into the future to couch this topic in an interconnected, broader social and policy context.

Speakers/Panelists:

• Jason Polk, Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University: Freshwater Resources with Regard to a Changing Climate
• Leslie North, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University: Effective Education and Communication about Regional Freshwater Resource Dynamics
• Steingrímur Jónsson, Professor of Physical Oceanography, University of Akureyri, Scientist, Marine Research Institute: Fate of Freshwater in the Arctic Ocean and its Climate Significance
• Thorsteinn Thorsteinsson, Glaciological Research, Icelandic Met Office: Glaciers and Ice Caps in the Arctic Region
• Halldór Björnsson, Head of Atmospheric Research Group, Icelandic Met Office
• Jón S. Ólafsson, Senior Scientist, Institute of Freshwater Fisheries: Freshwater Ecosystems in the Arctic
• Thorsteinn Gunnarsson, Senior Adviser, Icelandic Center of Research, RANNÍS
• Kári Fannar Lárusson, Programme Manager, CAFF
• Jonina Sigridur Thorlaksdottir, Rif Research Station
• Anisha Tuladhar, Geoscience Graduate Student, Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University: Importance and Dynamics of Glacial Rivers in Iceland
• James Graham, Western Kentucky University

Chair

• Embla Eir Oddsdóttir, Director, Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network

Communications infrastructure such as satellite capacity is important to facilitating sustainable development, commercial activities, education, health care, and to improving conditions for further economic development in the Arctic.

This session will discuss various potential benefits to better telecommunications infrastructure in the Arctic:

• increased capacity to share data in the case of accidents and environmental incidents
• better surveillance capacity of the ocean environment
• improved safety of maritime traffic in the Arctic
• fast and reliable internet connections for Arctic communities and businesses, as well as education

Join us for a debate on how to improve telecommunications infrastructure in the Arctic!

Speakers:

• Hanne Fugl Eskjær, Arctic Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Bo N. Andersen, Director General, Norwegian Space Center; Arctic Council Task Force on Telecommunications in the Arctic
• Niels Andersen, Deputy Director, Technical University of Denmark: Multiuse Space Infrastructure in the Arctic
• Kjell-Ove Orderud Skare, Leader Strategy and Analysis, Space Norway: The Quest for Arctic Communications
• Jeremy Wilkinson, Lead Investigator, NERC Arctic Research Programme, British Antarctic Survey: Needs and Requests Towards Telecommunications in Perspective of Arctic Science Activities

The Finnafjord Harbour Project will be used to illustrate these three perspectives along this emerging port facility in North-Eastern Iceland. The moderated session will bring together four speakers from various backgrounds, including municipalities, private investors, project development organisations as well as from engineering

Speakers:

• Elías Pétursson, Mayor, Municipality of Langanesbyggð: The Social Impact of large-scale Infrastructure Projects for Rural Communities
• James E. Pass, Senior Managing Director, Guggenheim Partners: The Investor's View
• Hafsteinn Helgason, Efla Consulting Engineers: Technical Challenges in the Arctic
• Lars Stemmler, Head of International Projects, bremenports GmbH & Co. KG: The Finnafjord Harbour Project: Progressing Towards a Business Opportunity for the Arctic

Chair:

• Robert Howe, Managing Director, bremenports GmbH & Co. KG

This forum will bring together some of the foremost communicators of climate change in the world, and will engage participants in the visual tools and methodology currently being utilized to educate and inspire the populous at large. The team will generate an open dialog on the emerging channels of media distribution and how it can be best served to reveal scientific evidence on a global scale. The panel will present a series of photographic, cinematographic images and clips, and research data, from their work in the Arctic.  Additionally, the forum will show how this internationally recognized group of communicators utilizes visual mediums to communicate scientific evidence.

Speakers:

• Kerry Koepping, Director/Photographer, Arctic Arts Project; Research Affiliate, INSTAAR
• James Balog, Director, Earth Vision Institute; Research Affiliate, INSTAAR; Director, Extreme Ice Survey
• Elizabeth Ogilvie, Environmental Artist
• Astrid Ogilvie, Senior Scientist, Stefansson Arctic Institute; Fellow, INSTAAR

Moderator/Chair

• Níels Einarsson, Director, Stefansson Arctic Institute

Cases are already in motion in the USA, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Belgium and Switzerland among others. Now a coalition of organisations in Norway is considering legal action against the government announced 23rd oil and gas license round in Arctic waters, invoking paragraph 112 of the Constitution, which protects the right of future generations to a healthy environment.

Speakers:

• Julia Olson, Executive Director and Chief Legal Counsel, Our Children's Trust
• Roger Cox, Lead Lawyer for the Urgenda Foundation, Canadian Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
• Michael Byers, Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law, University of British Columbia
• Michelle Jonker-Argueta, Legal Counsel, Greenpeace International

Chair:

• Truls Gulowsen, Head of Greenpeace Norway

With the research icebreaker Polarstern and the successor Polarstern II in planning, Arctic stations and aircrafts, Germany is in the position to make a substantial contribution to the infrastructure required for international Arctic research. Close international cooperation plays a central role in gaining an understanding of future developments of the Arctic. Germany is committed to international cooperation in various ways and German scientists play a leading role in a number of international Arctic research activities. Building on the well-received German country presentation at the last Arctic Circle Assembly, this breakout session focuses on Germany´ Arctic research activities and contributions to international Arctic research cooperation. Representatives of the major German research institutes working in the Arctic will present national and international research programs and flagship projects.

Speakers:

• Karin Lochte, Director, Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI): Advancing Understanding of the Arctic Through New Technologies.
• Simon Plass, Project Manager, German Aerospace Center (DLR): DLR Contributions to Arctic Research.
• Heidimarie Kassens, Senior Research Scientist, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research: The Laptev Sea - Hotspot for Climate Research in the Russian Arctic.
• Ralph Watzel, President, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR): Natural Resources in the Changing Arctic.
• Kathrin Keil, Project Scientist, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS): Sustainability and Governance Challenges in a Changing Arctic.
• Markus Rex, Senior Scientist, Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI): The Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC).
• Volker Rachold, Secretary General, International Arctic Science Committee (IASC): International Arctic Research Cooperation.

Experts will discuss topics such as changes in Federal Arctic Policy under the Trudeau government over the past year, the challenges and opportunities created by Arctic warming, relations with Territorial Governments and Indigenous inhabitants, urgent social issues, infrastructure needs including roads, ports, airports and broadband, security and defense, foreign policy, Canada-US relations, and federal /provincial / territorial differences.

Speakers: 

• Whitney Lackenbauer, Professor, Department of History, St. Jerome’s University (University of Waterloo): Canadian Arctic Policy: Continuity and Change
• David Runnalls, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation and International Institute for Sustainable Development: Climate Change and the Canadian Arctic
• Suzanne Lalonde, Professor of Law, University of Montreal: Legal Issues in Canada’s Arctic Policy
• Stephen Van Dine, Assistant Deputy Minister, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada: Renewing Canadian Arctic and Northern Policy
• Rob Huebert, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Calgary: Canada and Russia in the Arctic: Dialogue and Deterrence
• Shaleen Woodward, Deputy Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, Government of the Northwest Territories: Northwest Territories’ Perspective on Canada’s Arctic Policy
• Senior representative, Global Affairs Canada: Canada’s International Arctic Policies in Transition*

Chair:

• John Higginbotham, Senior Fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation and Carleton University

The event aims to foster a dialogue between Arctic and non-Arctic states, indigenous peoples of the North, social scientists, natural scientists, and humanities scholars by bringing together an international group of researchers from the North, Europe, and Asia. The first half of the session will be a roundtable discussion on the historical and current day examples of cross-disciplinary, cross-border Arctic research projects, illuminating why these were successful and what lessons could be learned from their success. The second half of the session will be a full-group discussion formatted as a ‘brain trust’ that will create a concrete list of take-aways for how to create multidisciplinary, multinational Arctic research projects.

Speakers:

• Victoria Herrmann, President and Managing Director, The Arctic Institute
• Michael Bravo, University Senior Lecturer and Fellow of Downing College, Scott Polar Research Institute
• Klaus Dodds, Professor of Geopolitics, Royal Holloway University of London
• Duncan Depledge, Director, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Polar Regions, United Kingdom
• Cécile Pelaudeix, Associate Professor, Aarhus University and Research Associate, Sciences Po Grenoble: Political Science and Law in Interdisciplinary Research: Historical Steps and Current Trends
• Lill Rastad Bjørst, Associate Professor, Department of Culture and Global Studies, Aalborg University
• Pelle Tejsner, Assistant Professor, Aarhus University

Chair

• Louise Heathwaite, Chief Scientific Adviser for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment, Scottish Government

It begins by addressing the status of lands and resources and questions whether a ‘new colonialism’ is taking place. It also examines the conditions that would be necessary for development in the Arctic to be just and respectful of indigenous rights. The panel moves on to consider the anticipated impacts of new international trade deals on the peoples and economies of the Arctic. The third paper presents the legal requirements for design and construction in the hostile Arctic climate. Development offshore depends on the peaceful settlement of ongoing boundary disputes and arbitration is presented as an option to reach this end. Finally, Iceland’s framework and Master Plan for the sustainable exploitation of energy resources are explained. 

Speakers:

• John M. Sky Starkey, Lawyer representing Alaska tribal organizations: Colonialism of Arctic Indigenous Lands and Waters in the 21st Century.
• Mary Durfee, Associate Professor of International Relations, Michican Tech University: Free Trade: The Expected Impacts of TTIP and CETA on the Arctic.
• Romanov Oleg, Lawyer: A Review of the Legislation of Arctic States in the Field of Design and Construction.
• Agnieszka Ason, Adjunct Professor, Technical University of Berlin: International Arbitration as a Method of Resolution of Boundary Disputes in the Arctic.
• Skúli Thoroddsen, Orkustofnun: Resource utilisation in Iceland for energy production, legal regime and Master Plan.

Chair: 

• Natalia Loukacheva, Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Governance and Law, University of Northern British Columbia

Alaskan speakers will share their experience in convening a diverse group of community, political, economic and indigenous leaders; and methodology related to advancing areas of interest to the state. Lapland, similarly, has been preparing a Host Committee in anticipation of the Finnish Chairmanship. Session participants from Lapland will share their planning to date. A facilitated discussion will identify commonalities and differences, and work to strengthen future host committee planning as a best practice during future chairmanships of the Arctic Council.

Speakers:

• Craig Fleener, Senior Advisor, Arctic Policy & Climate Change, Office of the Governor, Alaska: Advocating for Alaskan Priorities.
• Michael Sfraga, Vice Chancellor, University of Alaska Fairbanks: Highlighting Alaska’s Research Capabilities.
• Mika Riipi, County Governor of Lapland: Lapland as a Partner in the Finnish Chairmanship.
• Timo Rautajoki, President & CEO, Lapland Chamber of Commerce, Finland: Arctic Business Interests.

Chairs:

• Nils Andreassen, Executive Director, Institute of the North  
• Timo Koivurova, Director, Arctic Centre