“Frontiers of Sustainability: From Patchwork to Framework in Arctic Sustainability Research”
Talk by Andrey Petrov, President, International Arctic Social Sciences Association.

The Arctic is among the world’s regions most affected by ongoing cultural, socio-economic, environmental and climate changes. Over the last two decades, multiple stakeholders and rights-holders, and local and indigenous communities have turned their attention to the Arctic, to its peoples and resources, and to the challenges and benefits of impending transformations. At the same time, sustainability and sustainable development research in the Arctic has rapidly progressed and expanded. Building on the knowledge base created by the Arctic-FROST, Arctic-COAST, Arctic Horizons and ASUS NSF projects, Dr. Andrey Petrov will provide an overview of past and current Arctic sustainability research, identifying knowledge gaps and discussing research priorities for the next decade. This talk will identify theoretical and epistemological shifts, key themes and findings. He will also highlight and discuss several projects that represent different dimensions of coupled human-environment systems analysis in the Arctic. The talk will emphasize the importance of integrated social impacts monitoring frameworks and interdisciplinary research to address complex community issues in the Arctic. 

Andrey N. Petrov is the President of the International Arctic Social Sciences Association and Director of the ARCTICenter and Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Northern Iowa. He leads or co-leads three flagship NSF initiatives in the Arctic Social Sciences: Arctic-FROST, Arctic-COAST and Arctic Horizons. He is also the lead author of the book “Arctic Sustainability Research: Past, Present and Future” (Routledge, 2017).