14 November 2017 - 16 November 2017
Lappia House, Rovaniemi, FINLAND

Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference 2017

RISK Program invited to take part in panel discussions at Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference. 

© Maksimilian | Shutterstock

© Maksimilian | Shutterstock

The Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference represents the most important Arctic forum in Finland in 2017, as Finland very recently took over the Arctic Council Chairmanship. The conference focused on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Arctic, and the role of circumpolar cooperation to implement these goals. Altogether 330 scientists, policy-makers, business representatives, Arctic residents, and indigenous peoples attended the event. The conference was organized jointly with the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland and the City of Rovaniemi.

IIASA researcher Mia Landauer from the Risk and Resilience Program and Arctic Futures Initiative was invited to two panel discussions.

The first discussion was organized by the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and focused on sustainable bioeconomy and how to ensure the responsible use of natural resources in the Arctic. The panel also discussed how to increase Arctic resilience and how to make sure that vulnerable Arctic communities get their voices heard in international climate policy negotiations, which was one of the topics of Landauer’s presentation on climate-related risks and Arctic local communities.

Arctic Spirit 2017 | Arctic Centre. Panelists from the left: Hannu Ylinenpää (Director, Marketing and Innovations, Lappset Group Ltd., Finland), Suvi Sojamo (Researcher, Water and Development Research Group, Aalto University, Finland), Virpi Alenius (Researcher, Natural Resources Institute, Finland), Mia Landauer (Researcher, IIASA Risk and Resilience Program and Arctic Futures Initiative), Pentti Hyttinen (Director General, Metsähallitus, Finland), Ivonne Higuero (Director, Forests, Land and Housing Division, UNECE). On the right the chair Jaana Husu-Kallio (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland).



The second panel discussion was organized by the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland. The participants discussed ethical guidelines for Arctic peoples and extractive industries. In this session, Landauer gave a talk on public participation in the environmental management of industrial infrastructure projects.

Both sessions gathered a number of experts and scholars who discussed sustainable development and both the direct and indirect consequences that global climate change has had on the Arctic.


Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit

The Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit forum was initiated in 2013 to bring together policymakers, academia representatives and other Arctic stakeholders to further cooperation between Arctic states. 

For the past 30 years, the Rovaniemi Process has played an integral role in the establishment of common Arctic strategies and co-operations. From the adoption of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, AEPS and the development of the Arctic Council to the launch of environmental working groups and a Task Force on Sustainable Development and Utilization.

The most recent Arctic Spirit Conference was organized by the City of Rovaniemi and the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland.


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Last edited: 23 November 2017

CONTACT DETAILS

Mia Landauer

Guest Research Scholar Systemic Risk and Resilience Research Group - Advancing Systems Analysis Program

Guest Research Scholar Cooperation and Transformative Governance Research Group - Advancing Systems Analysis Program

Arctic Spirit Conference 2017

PUBLICATIONS

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313