The Gulf of Maine is one of the fastest warming marine areas on the planet: The industries and creatures that call it home face an unprecedented shift in their interactions and existence. Scientists, policy makers, and practitioners often want to communicate to the public about the seriousness of the situation to encourage mitigation and adaptation. Many standard communication strategies that rely on fear and scientific authority alone—rather than comprehensive explanations that include solutions—can leave audiences feeling overwhelmed and disengaged, instead of hopeful and motivated to act. In this practice bridge, we showcase a social science research-based climate change communication “tool-kit” for the Gulf of Maine, using one example for each climate driver addressed at the Gulf of Maine 2050 Symposium (temperature and circulation: lobster fisheries; coastal and ocean acidification: seagrass restoration; sea-level rise: coastal development). Communication models that involve the head (understanding of climate change), heart (hope through agency and efficacy), and hands (intentions to participate in community action) further engagement in climate change conversations. We explain the research behind our communication framework, enabling practitioners to extend this case study to their own work.

In the field of Arctic health, “resilience” is a concept used to describe the capacity to recover from adversities. The term is widely used in Arctic policy contexts; however, Arctic peoples and communities question whether “resilience” is an appropriate term to describe the human dimensions of health and well-being in the Arctic as it is currently applied. A scoping review of peer-reviewed and gray literature was conducted. We used searchable databases, Google Scholar, and Dartmouth College Library Services, to select studies conducted between 2000 and 2019 and key documents from the Arctic Council and other relevant organization and government entities. A scoping review framework was followed, and consultation among the authors provided initial scope, direction, and verification of findings. Analyses identified over- and underrepresented key thematic areas in the literature on human resilience in Arctic communities. Areas of overrepresentation in the literature included ecosystem, climate change, and environmental sciences. Areas that were underrepresented in the literature included health, medicine, wellness or well-being, and community voices on the topic of human resilience. Results indicated that “resilience” as a concept was applied across a diversity of contexts and subject areas in the Arctic and that this may have repercussions for understanding the human dimension of “resilience” and community expressions of well-being. Alternative terms and concepts with which Northern community members more closely identify could be used to more respectfully and accurately advance research in areas such as epidemiology, community health and well-being, and particularly Indigenous peoples’ health.

Many Arctic communities are exposed to energy security risks. Remote settlements rely largely on diesel for energy production, which results in higher consumer prices, negative impacts on the environment and public health. In the past few years, pilot projects for switching remote villages from diesel-generated to wind- and solar-diesel hybrid power plants were realized across the Arctic. Renewable energy projects have a major potential to alleviate energy security risks, promote public health and better environment. Yet, renewable energy does not take hold easily in the Arctic region. Especially in Russia, significant subsidies for fossil fuel present a major disincentive, as well as perpetuate vested interests of national oil companies. Despite the Russian Arctic being a ‘hard case’ for renewables development, there has been both interest in and progress towards the uptake of renewable energy across the Russian Arctic regions. This article contributes to the ‘local turn’ in sustainable energy policy studies by exploring two intertwined questions: which factors contribute to renewable energy development in the Russian Arctic and how do these factors characterise differences between individual Arctic communities? Using a combination of exploratory factor analysis and correspondence analysis in application to the local level (municipal) data, we update the existing models of the factors contributing to renewable energy uptake and put forward four distinct community-level models that describe renewables uptake. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of the local perspective on sustainable energy as a key to explaining differences in observed policy outcomes.

Although numerous comparative Indigenous health policy analyses exist in the literature, to date, little attention has been paid to comparative analyses of Circumpolar health policy and the impact these policies may have on Indigenous peoples’ rights to health. In this article, we ground our discussion of Indigenous peoples’ right to access culturally appropriate and responsive health care within the context of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Under UNDRIP, signatory states are obligated to guarantee that Indigenous peoples have access to the same services accessible to all citizens without discrimination. Signatory states must also guarantee access to services that are grounded in Indigenous cultures, medicines, and practices and must address Indigenous peoples’ determinants of health at least to the same extent as their national counterparts. Our analysis finds that the implementation of this declaration varies across the Circumpolar north. The United States recognizes an obligation to provide health care for American Indian and Alaska Native people in exchange for the land that was taken from them. Other countries provide Indigenous citizens access to care in the same health care systems as other citizens. Intercultural models of care exist in Alaska and to some extent across the Canadian territories. However, aside from Sámi Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Mental Health and Substance Use in northern Norway, intercultural models are absent in Nordic countries and in Greenland. While Russia has not ratified UNDRIP, Russian policy guarantees access to health care to all citizens, although access is particularly limited in rural and remote environments, including the Russian Arctic. We conclude that Circumpolar nations should begin and/or expand commitments to culturally appropriate, self-determined, access to health care in Circumpolar contexts to reduce health inequities and adhere to obligations outlined in UNDRIP.

There is a growing global interest in Arctic natural resources that have a strong influence on the local economies. The Arctic economy is a rather unique phenomenon encompassing Indigenous practices, local economic activities, and industrial development. Indigenous economies vary across the Arctic states and exhibit divergent economic mixtures. In globalizing societies and full market economies, traditional Indigenous economies are changing and perceived especially by the non-Indigenous to be a tribute to old customs rather than a way of life that is being followed by the young generation. However, certain groups of the contemporary Indigenous populations in the Arctic continue to preserve their culture and ensure the continuation of Indigenous ways of life. The development of Indigenous communities is closely linked to their economic well-being, on the one hand, and to their culture and traditions, on the other. Our article contributes to the discussion on the significance of Indigenous economies in providing sustainability in terms of Indigenous communities, their culture, and traditions. The research objective is to identify strategies and tools that sustain Indigenous economies as well as the goals of various stakeholders in encouraging and supporting the traditional economic activities of Indigenous peoples. We contrast three countries—Russia, Finland, and the United States (Alaska)—and discuss some governmental strategies that can be employed for preserving unique Indigenous economies. The research methods consist of a content analysis of state and regional legislation and strategies, social studies of stakeholders’ opinions, case studies describing market infrastructure, and economic activities as well as features of traditional lifestyles and Indigenous knowledge typical of these regions.

Legal regulation of socio-cultural processes taking place in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (BEAR) is not effective without involving indigenous communities, which is a specific population group representing the traditional ethno-cultural landscape of the region, unchanged for centuries and affected by globalization. Owing to the cross-border nature of the BEAR, socio-cultural characteristics acquire special synergetic properties determining the vectors of intergovernmental cooperation. With areas of its land making up the largest part of the BEAR, Russia seems to be the key actor in its socio-cultural development. It is difficult to estimate the progress of the unity without understanding the legal and political background of Russia in the field of indigenous issues. This paper sheds light on the policy and regulations on indigenous-related issues in Russia by examining five cases of regions which are part of the Russian Arctic Zone and the BEAR members. The authors compare the essential actions and measures the Russian Arctic regions have taken for complying with the international indigenous agenda. The paper also makes an effort to examine the potential for cooperation in the BEAR through establishing institutional, political and legal mechanisms. The conclusion arrived at is that Russia needs to take major steps to ensure progress and development of its part of the BEAR and to contribute to the BEAR development by fostering further discussion and cooperation on indigenous rights, joint decision-making, clean environment, education and native languages, peace and security.

Health care delivery in the Circumpolar North is challenged by a scarcity of culturally relevant health care services, few medical providers trained in cross-cultural care, and high costs of transportation. Community health workers (CHWs) are primarily Indigenous individuals who provide on-the-ground health care and health promotion services in their own communities. The CHWs’ scope of work varies from health education to clinical care and often focuses on upstream factors that impact the public’s health. Although often overlooked and underutilized, the CHW role is an innovative approach to promoting more sustainable and culturally relevant care within health systems. Investigating and understanding the potential ways that CHW-integrated health care systems support health and wellness could allow for a clearer understanding of how to translate this approach to other regions seeking a transition to sustainability in health and wellness. Drawing on experiences with CHWs in the Circumpolar North, this article introduces a conceptual model summarizing pathways that describe how integrating CHWs supports wellness in their communities. The proposed model includes five pathways for how CHWs could support wellness: (1) the recruitment of CHWs from within a community promotes community capacity and control; (2) the CHW role allows them to advocate to address structural and systemic inequalities that contribute to ill health, if CHWs are supported to organize their communities around wellness; (3) CHWs have the potential to support and empower community members; (4) CHWs have the potential to develop culturally relevant, feasible, and effective health promotion strategies; and (5) CHWs have the potential to build on community strengths. This model allows for CHW-integrated health care systems to be critically examined to both test and refine this proposed model, and support and empower community health workers as a transition to a more sustainable health care delivery system that reduces inequities and promotes health.

Easier accessibility and demand for so-called last chance tourism has contributed to rapid growth in Arctic cruise ship tourism. Arctic cruising brings many benefits to remote coastal communities but also presents an array of risks. In the light of this context, this article explores the concept of systemic risk of cruise ship incidents in general, findings which are then placed in an Arctic context and consideration given of the role the insurance sector may play in addressing cruise ship incidents. The study is based on metadata, both from academic and nonacademic sources. Findings are drawn from 11 global case studies of cruise ship incidents, 5 of which are polar examples. In the worst-case scenario, an array of serious economic, business, environmental, sociocultural, and security impacts may unfold in the Arctic, presenting risks that may be considerably worse than in other parts of the world. Arctic-specific challenges include extreme weather conditions and the presence of sea-ice, navigation and communication conditions, and lack of infrastructure (port facilities, Search and Rescue capabilities). Significant knowledge gaps across the Arctic have been identified, for example, in terms of seabed mapping, how to deal with industry-related activities, and the risks and nature of environmental change. When cruise ship risks in the Arctic are considered, both passenger and shipowner risk need to be accounted for, including Search and Rescue cover. Although data are limited, there is evidence that the sociocultural risks of an Arctic cruise ship incident are insufficiently addressed, either via insurance mechanisms or cross-border, navigational safety guidelines such as the Polar Code. The academic contribution of the study is the systemic scale of the analysis, and the practical and political implications are to lay the foundation for solution discussion that is of relevance in an Arctic and insurance context.

Reindeer herding is both a traditional livelihood and a business still practiced in the northern parts of Eurasia. In the Nordic countries, reindeer herding has contributed to keeping remote northern areas inhabited while maintaining Indigenous cultures. Reindeer herders have also been able to adapt to new circumstances, and many of them have invested in value-adding production or secondary occupations, such as tourism. The main challenge for reindeer herding is the loss of pastures to other industries and infrastructure projects. The growing investment in wind farms—which not only compete for the same land with reindeer herding but may also disturb the herding practices—has emerged as a recent competitor to reindeer herding in the context of land use. In this article, we study the rights and opportunities of reindeer herders to participate in decision making on land use for infrastructure projects in general and wind farm projects in particular. Our focus is on the situation in Finland, but we also use examples of reported land use conflicts between reindeer herders and wind farms from other Nordic countries. The aim of this article is, on the one hand, to find out how the rights of reindeer herders in planning and making decisions on wind farms are regulated and, on the other hand, how these rights function in practice. In addition to national legislation on participation in land use, there exists a growing number of international conventions to protect the environment and the rights of Indigenous people. Wind farms are particularly interesting in that renewable energy is now internationally preferred and subsidized as “green energy” in the fight against climate change. The challenge remains how to protect traditional livelihoods and human rights while targeting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of kinship networks and family relationships on pregnancy dynamics in a settlement in North Greenland. We utilized community-based participatory research framework using ecological systems theory to conduct semistructured interviews with 26 women and 17 men living in Kullorsuaq, Greenland. The extent to which Greenland’s cultural traditions related to naming and adoption practices, intergenerational relationships and communication, educational pursuits, and material resources intersect with pregnancy dynamics in an Arctic Indigenous community is discussed. Results highlight the importance of familial and community connections in pregnancy decision making in Greenlandic culture. Findings suggest that public health programs, health care services, and policies address the involvement of kinship and family networks as well as community level pathways to promote sexual and reproductive health in Greenland.

Adaptation pathways is an approach to identify, assess, and sequence climate change adaptation options over time, linking decisions to critical signals and triggers derived from scenarios of future conditions. However, conceptual differences in their development can hinder methodological advance and create a disconnect between those applying pathways approaches and the wider community of practitioners undertaking vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation assessments. Here, we contribute to close these gaps, advancing principles, and processes that may be used to guide the trajectory for adaptation pathways, without having to rely on data-rich or resource-intensive methods. To achieve this, concepts and practices from the broad pathways literature is combined with our own experience in developing adaptation pathways for primary industries facing the combined impacts of climate change and other, nonclimatic stressors. Each stage is guided by a goal and tools to facilitate discussions and produce feasible pathways. We illustrate the process with a case study from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, involving multiple data sources and methods in two catchments. Resulting guidelines and empirical examples are consistent with principles of adaptive management and planning and can provide a template for developing local-, regional- or issue-specific pathways elsewhere and enrich the diversity of vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation assessment practice.

The knowledge of unsustainable human and Earth system interactions is widespread, especially in light of systemic environmental injustices. Systems science has enabled complex and rigorous understandings of human and Earth system dynamics, particularly relating to pollution of Earth’s land, water, air, and organisms. Given that many of these systems are not functioning sustainably or optimally, how might this field enable both rigorous understanding of the issues and experiments aimed at alternative outcomes? Here, we put forth a novel, multiscale systems science approach with three steps: (1) understanding the systemic issues at hand, (2) identifying systemic interventions, and (3) applying experiments to study the efficacy of such interventions. We illustrate this framework through the ubiquitous and yet frequently underrecognized issue of soil lead (Pb). First, we describe the systemic interactions of humans and soil Pb at micro-, meso-, and macroscales in time and space. We then discuss interventions for mitigating soil Pb exposure at each scale. Finally, we provide examples of applied and participatory experiments to mitigate exposure at different scales currently being conducted in New York City, NY, USA. We put forth this framework to be flexibly applied to contamination issues in other regions and to other pressing environmental issues of our time.

Washington State has been rocked by conflict over wolves, whose return to rural landscapes after their extirpation a century ago has brought them into new, often violent relations with human society. I interpret this emblematic instance of human–wildlife conflict as fundamentally a human– human conflict and a manifestation of different deep-seated sociocultural norms and values toward wolves. This social conflict hinges on two competing, underacknowledged forms of commoning—wildlife as a public trust and grazing access to public lands—that already intertwine the economy of the rural Western United States. Amid these tensions, wildlife managers seek to reduce conflict through the targeted killing (“lethal removal”) of wolves that repeatedly prey on livestock. I draw on ethnographic research examining the ongoing debate over lethal removal policy in Washington’s “Wolf Advisory Group,” an advisory committee aimed at transforming Washington’s wolf conflict through collaborative governance. Drawing together the theoretical frameworks of commoning and conservation environmentality, I frame these debates as an effort to produce shared social norms regarding wolf life and death. In this context, lethal removal of wolves functions as a biopolitical intervention targeted to affect social values, producing “social tolerance” for wolves in Washington’s rural landscapes. The paradox of wolf conservation governance is that achieving the social tolerance necessary for long-term recovery requires that the state kill wolves in the name of shared common interest and responsibility.

As society confronts a multitude of wicked problems without clear solutions, transdisciplinary research institutes have the opportunity to meet the increasingly important challenge to foster research capable of addressing such problems—that is, cross-disciplinary and societally relevant research. There is a growing body of literature on how to conduct effective interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and team-based research, but there is less work that evaluates (1) the lessons learned, pitfalls, and successes involved in creating and maintaining transdisciplinary institutes that support this research and (2) how early-career researchers are shaped by and shape such institutes. In this commentary, we share insights and critical questions germane for those involved in the formation of, or participation in (especially as early-career, non-tenure-track researchers), transdisciplinary institutes. From our perspective as part of a unique cohort of research fellows developed as part of a new transdisciplinary institute at Indiana University, we explore facilitators and barriers to our ability to support the institute’s mission. Topics addressed include tensions between research and implementation, rapidly achieving collaborative research, and community building, especially in the context of nurturing an institute with temporary employees as a key component. We reflect on what our experiences as part of such an institute mean for our career pathways, especially in the context of current academic structures and incentives. Our insights are in the context of an environmental-focused institute, but the issues raised are likely relevant to transdisciplinary institutes formed around a wide range of other themes or topics, especially those seeking to learn from the experiences of the first few years of an institute.

Indigenous peoples are both disproportionately threatened by global climate change and uniquely positioned to enhance local adaptive capacities. We identify actions that support Indigenous adaptation based on organizational and community perspectives. Our data come from two Indigenous organizations that share cultural heritage stewardship missions—the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre (Stó:lō Nation, British Columbia) and the Fort Apache Heritage Foundation (White Mountain Apache Tribe, Arizona). These organizations collaborated with us in exploring community perceptions of climate effects, investigating community adaptation opportunities and constraints, and identifying actions that support Indigenous adaptation. Research methods included engagement with organizational collaborators and semi-structured interviews with organizational representatives and community members and staff. Results confirm that Stó:lō and Apache territories and communities have experienced climate change impacts, such as changes in temperature, hydrology, and increase in extreme weather events. Climate effects are cumulative to colonial depletion of traditional environments and further reduce access to traditional resources, practices, and food security. Results indicated that certain actions are identified by community members as adaptation enablers across case studies—most prominently, perpetuation of Indigenous culture and knowledge, climate education that is tailored to local contexts, collaborative decision-making among community institutions, and integration of climate adaptation into ongoing organizational programs. We conclude that Indigenous-owned organizations are engaged in the expansion of adaptive capacity and hold potential to further support their communities.

Gene editing technologies allow users to make in vivo (live) changes to an organism’s DNA. Advances in the field of gene editing have made it arguably more precise, efficient, flexible, and cheaper compared to previous technologies. This has generated an upsurge of interest in gene editing and its governance, including in livestock applications. Although gene editing in livestock promises benefits, it also raises technical, ethical, and societal questions alongside the prospect of (radical) transformation. Since the technology is still to be developed into marketable products, it is the designs, visions, or what we term “sociotechnical imaginaries” that shape gene editing technologies and that represent an important site for sociological inquiry. In this article, based on an analysis of interviews with breeding company representatives and agricultural scientists in the Netherlands, we analyze the assumptions, values, and commitments that underpin their imaginaries. These imaginaries matter, since their negotiation will help structure how the technology develops and how it will subsequently transform livestock and human–animal relations. In our analysis, we analyze the discursive practices from the interview data distilling three sociotechnical imaginaries that shape and underpin how respondents discuss gene editing in livestock. Elaborating the sociotechnical imaginary concept to make it more amenable to the emerging dynamics of gene editing in livestock, we show how imaginaries need to be studied “in place” and in terms of “material practices.” Even though each of the imaginaries frame livestock gene editing as desirable and beneficial, they nevertheless have differential effects in how they structure industry, researcher, government, and consumer/citizen relations. We conclude by discussing how and why sociotechnical imaginaries on livestock gene editing matter and their implications for governance and research.

Chile is positioned in the 20th rank of water availability per capita. Nonetheless, water security levels vary across the territory. Around 70% of the national population lives in arid and semiarid regions, where a persistent drought has been experienced over the last decade. This has led to water security problems including water shortages. The water allocation and trading system in Chile is based on a water use rights (WURs) market, with limited regulatory and supervisory mechanisms, where the volume to be granted as permanent and eventual WURs is calculated from statistical analyses of historical streamflow records if available, or from empirical estimations if they are not. This computation of WURs does not consider the nonstationarity of hydrological processes nor climatic projections. This study presents the first large sample diagnosis of water allocation system in Chile under climate change scenarios. This is based on novel anthropic intervention indices (IAI), which were computed as the ratio between the total granted water volume to the water availability within 87 basins in north-central and southern Chile (30°S–42°S). The IAI were evaluated for the historical period (1979–2019) and under modeled-based climatic projections (2055–2080). According to these IAI levels, to date, there are 20 out of 87 overallocated basins, which under the assumption that no further WURs will be granted in the future, increases up to 25 basins for the 2055–2080 period. The results show that, to date most of north-central Chilean catchments already have a large anthropic intervention degree, and the increases for the future period occurs mostly in the southern region of the country (approximately 38°S), which has been considered as possible source of water for large water transfer projects (i.e., water roads). These indices and diagnosis are proposed as a tool to help policy makers to address water scarcity under climate change.

Despite the commons being a long-standing site of conflict, the role of social movements in common-pool resource management has been underaddressed. By exploring the role of environmental justice organizing in the San Joaquin Valley during California’s landmark groundwater reform process as a commoning practice, this article seeks to fill this gap and advance our understanding of how collective action can, and is, being leveraged to advance just and sustainable transitions. I argue that through three principal strategies of challenging participation, scope, and authority, the movement has played a formative role in a landscape of intensive enclosure. Applying a commoning lens to the case highlights the important role of not only social movements in commons management but also of commons management as a venue for the rearticulation of regional socionatural relations. Such opportunities are particularly important in underinstitutionalized rural areas where opportunities to renegotiate these relations are often few and far between. Understanding the emergence and growth of commoning communities engaged in such efforts provides several important lessons. Individual commoning strategies can help identifying principal constraints and opportunities to transcend them. To be fully understood, however, they need to be considered collectively as well as in context. In doing so, the critical importance of focusing on the work commons do, rather than produce, becomes apparent. Commoning is both a tool and a goal in itself.

Municipalities are key agents in the transition to sustainability, and yet we have poorly developed theories and practices for how to facilitate the use of climate information by local governments in adapting to climate change. Existing research suggests that climate information is more likely to lead to adaptation actions when it is coproduced by researchers and policy makers because doing so increases the likelihood that the content of information is credible, salient, and legitimate. In this study, we explored how the coproduction process facilitated or hindered use of information from two climate adaptation projects in coastal New Hampshire. Based on 17 interviews and document review, we found that, contrary to expectations, highly engaged coproduction of knowledge may not be necessary due, in part, to preexisting trust among New Hampshire coastal municipalities, technical service providers, and researchers. However, we found in small towns with limited capacity, even the best climate knowledge is unlikely to be used without ongoing context-specific implementation assistance. Our research provides both practical recommendations for those actively advancing climate adaptation, as well as contributions to the undertheorized third phase of transdisciplinary research in which knowledge is translated to action.

Orphaned oil and gas wells are abandoned wells for which the cost of environmental impacts usually falls on governments and the general public. Government agencies responsible for well plugging often face funding shortfalls and many orphaned wells remain unplugged. To address this and support the oil and natural gas industry, federal governments are already spending, or considering spending, billions of dollars to plug orphaned oil and gas wells. Here, we analyze oil and gas data for the United States and Canada and identify policy recommendations that can best address environmental impacts of abandoned and orphaned wells. At least 116,245 wells across 32 states and four Canadian provinces/territories are operated by companies filing for bankruptcy in the first half of 2020, which may be an indication that many wells will be orphaned in the near future. Moreover, there are 4,700,000 historic and active oil and gas wells in the United States and another 790,000 in Canada. Of these, 2,000,000 and 310,000 wells are active in the United States and Canada, respectively. Thus, three of five wells ever drilled in the United States are currently inactive (2,700,000 wells), but only one in three are plugged (1,500,000 wells). Plugging involves isolating zones containing oil, gas, and water and is the main strategy for well abandonment. If the orphaned well stimulus funding comes through, tens of thousands of wells will be plugged within a few years. Well plugging at this scale far exceeds current rates of plugging, and it is important that we work to ensure long-term environmental benefits of well abandonment to water, air, climate, ecosystems, and human health. Minimizing environmental impacts of the millions of abandoned and orphaned wells in the United States, Canada, and abroad will allow for an economically beneficial and environmentally safe transition to a carbon-neutral economy.