Akureyri 2013
Northern Research Forum in cooperation with the ESPON-ENECON project:
CLIMATE CHANGE IN NORTHERN TERRITORIES
Sharing Experiences, Exploring New Methods and Assessing Socio-Economic Impacts
Conference in Akureyri, Iceland
22–23 August 2013
nrf@unak.is
Background: The global climate change is by scientists predicted to have great environmental and socio-economic impacts in the whole Arctic as well as in northern Europe. There will be direct and indirect impacts on nature and on communities as well as uncertainties. In addition, global warming is predicted to accelerate off-shore oil and gas drilling in the Northern icy seas and open a new (global) sailing route from the North Atlantic Ocean through the Arctic Ocean to the eastern parts of the globe. All this is expected on one hand, to have great impacts on the economic and social opportunities of the northerly regions in the Arctic including Northern European countries, and on the other hand, to create bigger risks to the fragile Arctic ecosystem. The impact of all this is going to be widespread in North Europe and the entire North. This has already and will in near future mean an increasing need for research in both natural and social sciences as well as for interdisciplinary approach.
The aim of the event is to turn our attention towards this aspect of territorial challenges for European regions by organizing a conference where the focus will be on existing evidence and the need for future research in the northernmost regions of Europe and the Arctic, and the challenge of translating scientific knowledge into action.
The idea is that this conference will bring together researchers which have similar background but have been focusing on different problems and situations and applied different methodological approaches. Regional and local stakeholders as well as state politicians and policymakers are also target groups for this conference.
Steering group:The Icelandic member of the ENECON steering group and head local organizer on behalf of the project is Professor Grétar Thór Eythórsson, from University of Akureyri, Iceland together with his ENECON colleagues Mr. Olaf Foss from Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR) in Oslo, Norway and Professor Heikki Eskelinen from The University of Eastern Finland.
On behalf of the Northern Research Forum, the Executive Committee of the NRF chaired by Dr. Lassi Heininen, from the University of Lapland in Finland will be in charge of the major preparations of the conference.
Practical organizing is done by a local organizing committee which consists of Mr. Gretar Thór Eythórsson (gretar@unak.is) from the ENECON project, Mrs. Guðrún Rósa Þórsteinsdóttir director at University of Akureyri Research Centre (gudrunth@unak.is) and Ulrika Nordblom research assistant at University of Akureyri Research Centre and Northern Research Forum secretariat (ulrikanord@unak.is).
The themes of the conference:
The central theme of the conference will be divided into three sub-themes:
- Territorial socio – economic impacts of climate change
- Methodologies for assessing socio-economic impact
- Adaptation to climate change in regions and local communities – examining methods and sharing knowledge
Guidelines for articles and papers
Information on young researcher participation
Further information on the venue
Visit Akureyri
Visit Iceland
University of Akureyri (conference venue)