Resource Extraction and Arctic Communities

Overview of the 'new extractivist paradigm' which could bring viable futures for Arctic communities, including renewable energies, tourism, and science.

An overview of the 'new extractivist paradigm' for the Arctic - including renewable energies, tourism, and science - which could bring viable futures for local and indigenous communities. A global team of interdisciplinary researchers also discuss pressures and uncertainties in a region under geopolitical and environmental stress.For decades, a post-Cold War narrative heralded a 'new Arctic', with melting ice and snow and accessible resources that would build sustainable communities. Today, large parts of the Arctic are still trapped in the path dependencies of past resource extraction. At the same time, the impetus for green transitions and a 'new industrialism' spell opportunities to shift the development model and build new futures for Arctic residents and Indigenous peoples. This book examines the growing Arctic resource dilemma. It explores the 'new extractivist paradigm' that posits transitioning the region's long-standing role of delivering minerals, fossil energy, and marine resources to one providing rare earth elements, renewable power, wilderness tourism, and scientific knowledge about climate change. With chapters from a global, interdisciplinary team of researchers, new opportunities and their implications for Arctic communities and landscapes are discussed, alongside the pressures and uncertainties in a region under geopolitical and environmental stress.