Extractive Industries and the Arctic
Historical Perspectives on Environmental Change in the Circumpolar World
From October 3-5, Dag Avango (Mistra: "Assessing Arctic Futures - Voices, Resources and Governance"), took part in the workshop "Extractive Industries and the Arctic: Historical Perspectives on Environmental Change in the Circumpolar World" at the Memorial University Newfoundland, St Johns, Canada.
The workshop was organized by the Rachel Carson center for environment and society, in cooperation with the Faculty of arts (Memorial University of Newfoundland), Network in Canadian History and the Environment (NiCHE), ArcticNet and with support from the division of historical studies at KTH. The participants were scholars from various disciplines working on the environmental history and geopolitics of large scale resource extraction in the circumpolar Arctic, from Canada, USA, Britain, Sweden and Russia. The aim of the workshop was to share ideas and develop perspectives on this field.
The discussions started off from pre-circulated papers. Alla Bolotova and Paul Josephson presented work on the development of extractive industries in North West Russia during the soviet period. Dag Avango and Richard Powell dealt with geopolitical aspects of Arctic resource interests, Powell focusing on the Danish efforts to map the Lomonosov ridge and Avango on the way mining companies construct the past in order to attain particular futures. A series of papers dealt with the interaction between mining companies and indigenous peoples in the Arctic, as well as in the sub-arctic and boreal regions (Arn Keeling, Nancy Langston, John Thistle). Mark Nuttall presented work on the ongoing mining boom on Greenland, and the interaction between this industry, political decision makers and local residents. With a similar focus, Andrea Procter presented work on Labrador and Arn Keeling on Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. In a joint panel - open to the public - Gavin Bridge, John Sandlos and Dag Avango discussed different approaches to the study of Arctic futures, with point of departure in a shared criticism of the notion that climate change is the main driver of the currently increasing international interest in Arctic natural resources.
The contributions are likely to be published as thematic issue of a journal, or in the form of an edited multi-authored volume. The group ended two pleasant and productive days with a joint visit to Cape Spear, the eastern most point on the northern American continent.
Dag Avango, 2013-10-16