JUSTNORTH
Towards a Just, Ethical, and Sustainable Arctic
Scientific Coordinator – Corine Wood-Donnelly, IRES, Uppsala University
Co-Coordinator – Roman Sidortsov, University of Sussex
JUSTNORTH is a European Project designed to explore the multitude of ethical systems that coexist in the Arctic, as a starting point to assess the viability of new economic activities in the region. For the millions of people who live both inside and outside the Arctic and are affected by these economic activities, decisions are made through utilitarian ethical principles: viability of an activity is based on profitability and technical feasibility, with little regard to questions of whether it is ethically right or wrong for the impacted human populations or the environment.
Global climate change has launched intense speculation on Arctic resources. Increasing geopolitical tensions among some of the Arctic states increases the importance of respecting different value systems while finding common values to help strengthen the links between Arctic and non-Arctic entities. Significant practice and policy gaps in existing Arctic economic activities have led to development that is unsustainable. Through understanding current practices of development in 7 Arctic States by undertaking 18 case studies, JUSTNORTH aims to develop conceptual frameworks, indices and a negotiation tool, for reconciling multiple ethics and value systems. These will provide a cornerstone for determining the viability of economic activities in the Arctic, as well as clarify policy, legal, and regulatory pathways for implementing ethic-based decision-making principles.
Justice, Sustainability & Arctic Futures Research Network
Scientific Coordinator – Corine Wood-Donnelly
The Arctic region is currently experiencing huge geopolitical and climate changes. How can the responses to these challenges be more just? Arctic Futures brings together researchers to examine what is necessary for sustainable development from the perspective of justice at a time when economic expansion in the Arctic becomes more and more feasible. Through investigating how different systems of ethics can be part of regional and national goal-setting, the project team hopes to develop theoretical models that focus on reducing inequality and injustice in future sustainable development. Researchers come from the disciplines of international relations, geography, theology, anthropology, political science and business.
Interview with Corine Wood-Donnelly
https://www.uu.se/nyheter-press/nyheter/artikel/?id=13888&typ=artikel&lang=sv