573
Arctic Yearbook 2014
the Kola Peninsula. Then again, it is another reminder of extreme weather patterns witnessed
throughout the Arctic.
State Sovereignt(ies), Indigenous Rights & Local Voices
Issues related to sovereignty were a central theme of CA 2014, as
one of the aims of the discussions was to reflect on, re(de)fine
and (re)conceptualize the notion of sovereignty in order to
include ideas and values coming from indigenous interpretations
and non-governmental perspectives. The goal of such a broad
discussion was to introduce and debate changing understandings
of security premises and paradigms in a very constructive way.
Especially the rights of indigenous peoples ranging from
individual and group rights, to rights to protect native languages
and culture, livelihoods, and land were all topics brought to the
fore, equally in the context of national policies and legislation,
regional developments and
programmes, and localized decisions over resource utilization,
management and distribution of revenues. Discussion revolved
also around the controversial issue of defining indigenousness as
well as the position, voice and rights of non-indigenous
northerners.
Levels & Scales
During the Academy, the overarching issues were discussed
both in very localized contexts – even through case studies
focusing on individual communities – as well as in broader
terms. Questions such as cross-border cooperation and
communication in the context of regional development were
pervasive topics on the agenda as were changing national
policies, strategies and positions both in terms of domestic and international developments.
The importance of the Arctic region globally and in terms of shipping, climate and
environmental policies and mineral reserves was repeatedly underlined by presenters and
participants. In a similar manner, the roles and interests of actors not traditionally perceived as of
relevance in the context of the Arctic region were debated. As events and developments in the
north have wider repercussions far beyond the Arctic region and its borders (and vice versa),
conclusions were presented, on the one hand, in terms of different levels and scales particularly
because of the characteristically interconnected nature of those developments taking place on
different levels, and on the other, reflected the ongoing debate over the conceptual artificiality of
the idea of scales and levels altogether.
Economic Development vs. Sustainable Development
Arctic resources – both living and non-living as well as renewable and non-renewable, ranging
from utilization of marine mammals to forestry and small- and large-scaleextraction of mineral
Calotte Academy 2014