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The European Arctic is commonly thought of as a pristine and homogeneous area. In reality, it is a diverse region experiencing growth relying on natural resource extraction. Despite local communities being primarily affected by industry activities, most socioeconomic impact assessments are conducted at the macro level. This study addresses this gap by examining the impacts of economic activities on local communities. Using secondary data and semi-structured interviews from 15 hubs in five European Arctic countries, the study draws on locally relevant insights. Findings indicate that many activities focus on economic growth, and existing strategies do not adequately address biophysical boundaries. Furthermore, alternative activities need to be developed in a more balanced manner that aligns with the needs of indigenous and local communities. Finally, participation of various actors in future developments is critical to reduce the negative impacts of industry activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine in early 2022 has brought geopolitics, particularly classical geopolitics, back into the political and economic discussions and decision-making. Discursive, as well as real-world change, has been rapid, as the turn of the 21st century was the time of globalisation and neoliberal ideology – the free movement of people, products, and services. However, in this paper, we argue that classical geopolitics has defined the development of Northern industries even before the war began in 2022. Our interview data (n = 60) collected in the advent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine reveal that the themes of state power; 'hard' security meaning military armament; the economy as a field of national interests; and spill-over effects of geopolitical tensions between superpowers have framed economic fortunes in the European Arctic. It is concluded that the state actors' interests in the European Arctic's physical space and natural assets will be increasingly expanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indicators can be powerful tools to measure progress towards achieving societal goals, and many indicators have been developed for sustainability goals nationally and internationally. When indicators are developed solely through top-down approaches without engaging local knowledge, they often fall short of capturing local perceptions and concerns relevant to decision-making. The aim of this project was to co-create a Coastal Barometer and its component indicators, together with local knowledge-holders and communities, using the Ocean Health Index as a framework. As a first step, local knowledge-holders from six communities dispersed across Northern Norway were invited to articulate local sustainability goals and the required knowledge for eight broad topics pertaining to global OHI goals: small-scale fisheries, food production, sense of place, tourism, food production, clean waters, carbon storage and economy and livelihoods. In this paper, our main focus is the co-design phase of the Coastal Barometer, namely eliciting sustainability goals. We thus, present locally desired sustainability goals and sub-goals and the process of eliciting these goals. We also include suggestions from local knowledge-holders on how to reach these goals (i.e. proposed management measures), along with researchers' assessment of data availability (part of the co-production process) for developing indicators to measure progress towards these goals. Finally, we discuss the benefits and challenges of co-developing sustainability goals and indicators with local knowledge-holders. We conclude that co-design can increase the quality of sustainability assessments by enriching the view of coastal sustainability. This knowledge can subsequently be used to align indicators with local sustainability goals as well as to the local context where the indicators will be applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean-based economic development arising from an increasing interest in the 'blue economy' is placing ecosystems and small-scale fisheries under pressure. The dominant policy response for dealing with multiple uses is the allocation of coastal space through coastal zone planning (CZP). Recent studies have shown that the rush to develop the blue economy and regulate coastal activity can result in social injustices and the exclusion of less powerful and unrecognized groups (e.g., small-scale fishers, women, Indigenous peoples and youth). To achieve a primary goal of the 2030 sustainable development agenda to "leave no one behind", it is important to understand the implications of coastal planning and development for these groups. Here, we present a social survey protocol for examining perceptions of justice related to small-scale fisheries (SSF) in the context of the blue economy in coastal areas. Specifically, we designed the survey instrument and sampling protocol to assess whether decisions about the use of the coastal zone over the last five years have i) followed principles of good governance, ii) recognized fishers' knowledge, culture and rights and iii) been attentive to impacts of changed coastal zone use on fisheries. The survey will engage coastal planners (N = app. 120) and fishers (N = app. 4300) in all the coastal municipalities (N = 81) in Northern-Norway. The sampling protocol is designed to ensure representation of different sectors of society, including those defined by gender, age, ethnicity and occupation (e.g., small-scale fishers, large-scale fishers, coastal planners). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem‐based adaptation (EbA) relies upon the capacity of ecosystems to buffer communities against the adverse impacts of climate change. Maintaining ecosystems that deliver critical services to communities can also provide co‐benefits beyond adaptation, such as climate mitigation and protection of biological diversity and livelihoods. EbA has, to a limited extent, drawn upon indigenous and local knowledge for defining critical services and for implementing EbA in decision‐making. This is a paradox given that the primary focus of EbA is to enable communities to adapt to climate change.The purpose of this study was to elucidate EbA strategies that take into account the knowledge of Sámi reindeer herders about pastures in tundra regions. We first examined what constitutes critical services through a synthesis of data and literature. We thereafter used content analysis of 91 land use cases from 2010 to 2018 to investigate to what extent the herders' knowledge and maps over seasonal pastures and migratory routes are used in local decision‐making. Finally, we propose EbA strategies of relevance to Sámi communities and pastoral communities elsewhere.Our analysis revealed that reindeer herders and organizations representing their interests perceived threats from green energy development, tourism, recreation, public road construction and powerlines. These threats included the loss of key habitats and the loss of connectivity for migration between seasonal pastures. Pastoralists' knowledge is incorporated through participatory tools to protect the ecosystems and services crucial for pastoralists, but multiple competing land uses result in incremental loss of pastures regardless.Synthesis and applications. Protecting pasture ecosystems and the services they deliver, including the connectivity between pastures, are necessary Ecosystem‐based adaptation (EbA) strategies to buffer the adverse effects of climate change. Drawing on pastoralists' knowledge to elicit EbA strategies can inform decision‐making, but it is equally important to implement this knowledge for prioritizing adaptation needs in the assessment of competing land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People's perceptions can point to reasons for conservation support or lack thereof. In this study, we surveyed the perceptions of conservation among local stakeholders who participated in protected area (PA) management following a reform towards community-based conservation in Norway. We analyzed the link between perceptions of threats to conservation values, prioritized management actions and trust in PA governance, and assessed how these perceptions aligned with the stakeholders' preferred overarching conservation approach and their support for PAs. Conservation perceptions differed mostly between property owners and representatives of nature conservation (such as NGOs). Property owners perceived modern farming, grazing and hay making, and securing the interests of rights holders as a priority. They had a lower support for PAs and favored a conservation approach focusing on "people and nature". Representatives from nature conservation prioritized management actions to increase biodiversity and reduce land development, had higher trust in environmental authorities and identified motorized vehicle use as a threat to conservation values. They had a high support for PAs and favored a conservation approach that mitigates threats from human activity (i.e. "nature despite people"). The nationwide reform aimed at increasing support for PAs, but 31% of the members of the stakeholder advisory councils were willing to downgrade or degazette PAs for the benefit of economic development, which is much more than general population surveys. However, the level of trust in local governance was less polarized among the members of stakeholder advisory councils compared with the former state governance, which suggests that that the community-based conservation reform has the potential to improve collaboration and conflict mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Community‐based conservation, where local decision makers are responsible for balancing conservation and development, is often preferred to exclusionary conservation that prioritizes use‐limitation through strict regulation. Unraveling the evidence for conservation impact of different governance regimes is challenging. Focusing on conservation practices before and after a reform can provide an early indication of behavioral changes acting as a precursor to changes in social and ecological outcomes, which generally need more time to materialize. A recent reform in Norway provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of local empowerment on conservation practices in protected areas. We analyzed 1,466 decisions in 31 protected areas before and after the reform while accounting for differences between private and public property ownership. We found that the conservation practices were liberal both before and after the reform. The impact of local empowerment on conservation practices was contingent on land tenure: more use was allowed after the reform on private land. We conclude that conservation impact evaluations could benefit from a before‐and‐after spatial approach taking into account land tenure for analyzing the impacts of local decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]