Arctic Frontiers

Info

Supporting independent dialogue, building partnerships, & contributing to discussion on pan-arctic strategies for sustainable development in the Arctic

Historie

Rationale

Arctic Frontiers is an international arena addressing development in the Arctic. The conference discusses how upcoming opportunities and challenges may be handled to ensure viable economic growth and societal and environmental sustainability. Annually the conference attracts more than 1000 participants from 25 Arctic and non-arctic countries, representing science, business, politics, and civil society. The conference takes place in the Norwegian city of Tromsø, historically known as the Arctic Gateway.

Organisation and economy

Arctic Frontiers is organised as a project based at the research and consultancy company Akvaplan-niva. The original Arctic Frontiers network of partners was established in 2006 and has since been extended. Arctic Frontiers is financed through partner contributions and conference fees. The main activity is the conference which takes place each year during the fourth week of January with several related events.

Our mission
Arctic Frontiers supports open and independent dialogue, builds partnerships, and contributes to the discussion about pan-arctic political strategies for sustainable development in the Arctic

Objectives

Arctic Frontiers is working to achieve the following:

-to increase attention and commitment to sustainable development of the Arctic, particularly from the corporate sector.
to build new partnerships across sectors, generations and ethnic groups,
-to offer a forum for delivering state of the art science to the public and at the same time bringing the sociological, political and economic framework for management of the Arctic to the attention of science.
-to provide open access to everyone to the annual conferences through a live broadcast on the Internet, simultaneously interpreted in English and in Russian.
-to develop new approaches and solutions to environmental challenges caused by human activity.

Rationale

Increased human activity in the Arctic will have significant economic, political, and social implications for Arctic nations, and will impact Arctic ecosystems. It is thus vital to balance human activities within Arctic regions with the need to manage and protect the environment and ecosystems in the short and long term. Arctic Frontiers provides a platform for all arctic stakeholders to define priorities for development and research under the motto Balancing human use and ecosystem protection. The ultimate goal of Arctic Frontiers is to provide a better understanding of arctic regions within a pan-arctic perspective, and to promote sustainable levels of human activity based on scientific knowledge, cultural sensitivity and cooperation across borders.