Arctic issues

The Nordic Arctic area shares a number of common features, such as low population density, low accessibility, low economic diversity and abundant natural resources. It is also an area of increasing international attention, due to the effects of climate change as well as expectations about future exploitation of raw materials and the opening of new sea routes. On this page, you can learn about our latest projects related to the Arctic region.

Publications on Arctic issues

The Atlas of Population, Society and Economy in the Arctic provides an in-depth overview of the changes that are affecting populations in the circumpolar North. The atlas presents a collection of standardised indicators that illustrate the state of the Arctic regions focusing on demography, society, economy, production, accessibility and infrastructure as well as physical conditions and resources in the Arctic.

Read more here

What global and local risks and long-term challenges is the Bothnian Arc cross-border area exposed to? And how can societies and economies in this area anticipate and respond to them to ensure resilient long-term development paths? This report provides a background overview on resilience and the methodology applied. Moreover, the report provides a snapshot of resilience situation in the Bothnian Arc.

Read more here. 

Migration has been a major source of population increase in the Nordic countries for the past decades. Meanwhile, the employment gap between refugees and immigrants, on the one hand, and the native-born population on the other has increased. This report identifies policies and practices for enhancing access for immigrant women to the local labour market in the Arctic region.

Read the report here. 

In this report, the characteristics and consequences of the compact city ideal in Nordic cities, and more specifically in their city centres, are investigated.

Find the report here. 

Land use plans range from an overall strategic document for a municipality or a region, to a detailed plan describing development of a specific locality. Land use planning also provides foresight by identifying options for how a future vision may be achieved through land use development.

Read the report here. 

This report concludes a three-year foresight process on the topic of future sustainable regional development in the Nordic Arctic (2013–2016) to provide input to the further development of the NCM Arctic Co-operation Programme by collecting, reviewing and analysing existing information, assessing different preconditions for future development in the area and developing future scenarios. This will contribute to the political debate and give a more holistic overview of the scientific knowledge in the field.

Find the report here.

SeMPER-Arctic – Sense Making, Place attachment and Extended networks as sources of Resilience in the Arctic

This project gathers local stories of changes, shocks, upheavals and their aftermaths in the face of climate change in three Arctic communities. Nordregio is involved in gathering regional development and public policy narratives and ensure impact maximation of the research results. Find out more about the project here.

Linking innovation and resilience: Synergy effects for regional development

This project aims to find commonalities and synergy effects of the in-depth studies on regional economic and social resilience, smart specialisation, digitalisation, as well as the so-called “skills project”, all part of the activities under the ongoing Nordic Cooperation Programme for Regional Development. Find out more about the project. Find out more about the project here.

GROM – Green transition in the Arctic

The project’s main research question is: ‘What are the driving forces behind, and what is ‘the green transition’ in relation to innovation in businesses working in sectors such as maritime industries, waste treatment and logistics in an Arctic context?’ Find out more about GROM.

Nunataryuk – permafrost thaw and changing arctic coast: science for socio-economic adaptation

A main goal of Nunataryuk is to determine the impacts of thawing land, coast and subsea permafrost on the global climate and on humans in the Arctic and to develop targeted and co-designed adaptation and mitigation strategies. Find out more about Nunataryuk.

Sami Youth Involvement in Regional Development

The purpose of the analysis is to provide insight into the priorities and initiatives of Sami youth and Sami education institutions regarding economic development. Find out more about the project.

Kicking off Bioeconomy in the North

This project is a continuation of the NCM-funded project ‘Nordic-Russian bioeconomy pre-study’ that focused on bioeconomy in Arkhangelsk oblast in Russia. In the second phase of the project, the geographic focus will be expanded by including the Murmansk oblast and the Republic of Karelia in the bioeconomy network analysis. Find out more about the project.

Polar Peoples: Past, Present, and Future

Polar Peoples examines population trends across the Arctic over the past, the present, and into the future, using tools of demographic and geographic analysis to describe temporal and spatial trends in the size and composition of the Arctic populations, examine the causes of these changes, and the implications of these trends for the economies and societies of the Arctic regions and countries. Find out more about the project.

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