YOUNG
GEOGRAPHER
ARCTIC
DECEMBER
2019
PERSPECTIVES The future we want F E AT U R I N G Lewis Pugh Calum Maclean
CLIMATE CHANGE ECOTOURISM NATURE
GRETA Thunberg Interview
From the Editor
I am delighted to be able to present the
second edition of the Young Geographer magazine: Arctic Perspectives.
From the Editor
The magazine provides a platform for young people to discuss the shared challenges and I am delighted be both able to present the opportunities that to face Arctic regions edition thefocus YoungonGeographer and second Scotland, with aofkey the future Arcticwant. Perspectives. that magazine: young people Themes range from climate change and geopolitics The magazine provides a platformtoforwildlife young to discuss and the shared and and people ecotourism, we’vechallenges welcomed opportunities thatindividuals face both as Arctic regions contributions from young as and Scotland, with a key focus on the future nine, from areas as diverse as the ice sheet that youngand people want. Themes range from in Greenland Bathgate in Scotland! climate change and geopolitics to wildlife
We’re to include with andthrilled ecotourism, anda conversation we’ve welcomed contributions individuals as youngand as Lewis Pugh, UN from Patron of the Oceans, nine, from areasworld-renowned as diverse as the ice sheet interviews with climate in Greenland and Bathgateand in Scotland! activist Greta Thunberg BBC wildswimming star Calum Maclean. We’re thrilled to include a conversation with Lewis Pugh, UN Patron of the Oceans, and
Climate change and its influence on interviews with world-renowned climate landscapes and Thunberg cultures are activist Greta and the BBC most wilddominant features throughout, swimming star Calum Maclean. as concern for the future is at the forefront of young Climate change and its influence on people’s minds. However, our aim is to create landscapes and cultures are the most a conversation to inspire hope for as theconcern future. dominant features throughout, the Geographer future is at the forefront of would young The for Young editorial team people’s minds. However, our aim is to like to thank all authors and contributorscreate with a conversation to inspire hope for the future. whom we have worked, and give a special The to Young Geographer editorial team thanks RSGS who have helped to would make like to thank all authors and contributors with this project a great success. whom we have worked, and give a special thanks to RSGS who have helped to make this project a great success.
Happy reading, Eilidh
Happy reading, Eilidh
The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of RSGS. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of RSGS.
Meet the Team Eilidh Watson, Editor-in-Chief
Eilidh is passionate about listening to and sharing stories of the lived experiences of communities at the forefront of climate change. Eilidh is a PhD student focusing on Climate, Energy and Gender Justice, based at the Centre for Climate Justice. Originally from Glasgow, now living in Eilidh is passionate about listening to and sharing Stirling, Eilidh still has strong roots in Glasgow, stories of the lived experiences of communities and playing netball for aEilidh Glasgow attraining the forefront of climate change. is a based team.
Meet the Team
Eilidh Watson, Editor-in-Chief
PhD student focusing on Climate, Energy and Gender Justice, based at the Centre for Climate Justice. Originally from Glasgow, now living in has had a lifelong passion for green issues Stirling, Eilidh still has Lyndsey strong roots in Glasgow, and protecting wildlife. She lives in Edinburgh and training and playing netball for a Glasgow based team.
Lyndsey Croal, Feature Writing Editor
works with WWF Scotland, advocating for climate change solutions, nature and the environment in Scottish Parliament. As a writer in her spare time, Lyndsey has had a lifelong passion for green issues she was delighted takeinup the roleand as Feature and protecting wildlife. Shetolives Edinburgh Writing Editor with the Young Geographer works with WWF Scotland, advocating for climate Team.
Lyndsey Croal, Feature Writing Editor
change solutions, nature and the environment in Scottish Parliament. As a writer in her spare time, she was delighted to take up the role as Feature Writing Editor with theand Young Team. Combining his work in filmmaking in Geographer the
Cameron Mackay, Impact Editor
sustainability sector, Cameron has taken on the role of Impact Editor for the magazine. His work in film has led him to produce his own Combining his work in filmmaking and in the documentaries in Cameron places like sustainability sector, has Greenland, taken on and create content for BBC The Social. Cameron has the role of Impact Editor for the magazine. His a drive to capture stories discussing the cultural work in film has led him to produce his own documentaries in places like Greenland, and impacts of climate change.
Cameron Mackay, Impact Editor
create content for BBC The Social. Cameron has a drive to capture stories discussing the cultural impacts of climate change.
Kalina Dimitrova, Design Editor
Kalina joined the team of the Young Geographer images and overlooking design, she works Kalina joined the team of the Young Geographer as an engineer helping the built environment as Design Editor. Whendesign not sourcing images around her. She lives in Aberdeen. and overlooking design, she works as One an of the highlights for built the environment magazine was the engineer helpingworking design the around She lives ininAberdeen. One of the Arcticher. Conference Inverness with the rest of highlights working for the magazine was the the Young Geographer team.
as Design Editor. WhenEditor not sourcing Kalina Dimitrova, Design
Arctic Conference in Inverness with the rest of the Young Geographer team.
RSGS would like to thank the Gannochy Trust and Scottish Government for their support of this project. RSGS would like to thank the Gannochy Trust and Scottish Government for their support of this project.
The cover image is by Acacia Johnson. For more stunning seeJohnson. www.acaciajohnson.com The coverimages image isplease by Acacia For more stunning images please see www.acaciajohnson.com
Royal Scottish Geographical Society Royal Scottish Geographical Society
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Theeditorial editorial team from McFarlane, Ella Standish, The team from L-R: L-R: HelenHelen Astle, Astle, David David McFarlane, Ella Standish, Eilidh Cameron Mackay, KalinaKalina Dimitrova, Ana Tratnik, Amy Ritchie, EilidhWatson, Watson, Cameron Mackay, Dimitrova, Ana Tratnik, Amy Ritchie, Sarah Alexis Moyer, Ellie Ellie Kirkland. Not pictured LyndseyLyndsey Croal. Croal. SarahKnight, Knight, Alexis Moyer, Kirkland. Not pictured
What’s Inside... 2 | Natural World
From plankton to polar bears, the Arctic is home to some iconic and diverse species and ecosystems. Their world is under increasing pressures from climate change and exploitation, but there is still room for hope.
8 | Arctic Science The Arctic is changing, and we need to protect it. In this section, we explore some of the latest science and research, including ecological monitoring, fragile ice sheets, and tundra vegetation.
12 | Challenges in the Arctic From tourism, resource extraction, and the loss of Arctic ice from climate change, the Arctic is more fragile than ever. If we are to protect this special place, we need to face these challenges in an holistic way.
18 | Scottish Connections to the Arctic The Arctic is one of Scotland’s closest neighbours, with our connections having had an impact on our culture, economy and society for generations. In this section, we look at the different forms these connections take, whether it’s a simple message in a bottle, our Gaelic language, or a lifetime of exploring Arctic landscapes and communities.
24 | The Future We Want The burgeoning climate movement has signalled that people want change – and it has taken passionate young people to make the world stand up and rally around that message. The diversity of voices is clear, and in this section we hear from Scottish youth climate strikers, Greta Thunberg in an exclusive interview with RSGS, the 2050 Climate Group, Extinction Rebellion, and our own Young Geographers, about the future they want.
The Young Geographer Project Young people in Scotland have inherited a very different world to the one their parents did. Though opportunities abound and technology has transformed their lives, young people nevertheless face a complicated job market, an increasingly divided political landscape, rising debt and a degraded environment. And, as has been demonstrated by the climate strikes, many feel their views are not being represented by those currently in charge. Now in its second edition, our Young Geographer magazine has been developed to help address this by providing young people with the training, skills and platform necessary to explore the issues important to them and help voice their concerns. To tie in with the Scottish Government’s Arctic policy work, Arctic Perspectives was chosen as the theme for this magazine. As a region which shares so much with Scotland, and which is at the forefront of climate change, it has allowed our team of young editors to shine a light on this delicate and dramatic place, the connections and similarities it has with Scotland, the remarkable people who inhabit it, and the issues that should be considered as we work towards a sustainable future for all young people in the 21st century.
Mike Robinson, RSGS Chief Executive
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“Nowhere else on Earth are the impacts of climate change more obvious than in the Arctic.”
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Image © Sandra Angers-Blondin
Qikiqtaruk: The Vanishing Island
Dr Sandra Angers-Blondin PhD graduate, University of Edinburgh What’s your happy place – the place you go to when you close your eyes, where the scenery speaks to you, where you feel you belong? Mine is a small pile of frozen mud in the Beaufort Sea: it is called Qikiqtaruk and lies off the north coast of the Yukon in the Canadian Arctic. Qikiqtaruk – also known as Herschel Island – is a territorial park with a rich natural and cultural heritage. I was lucky to do part of my PhD fieldwork there in 2015-16, and to go back last summer for a whole month to visually document the beauty and fragility of the island.
Natural history Qikiqtaruk was formed around 10 000 years ago when the ice sheet pushed up a mass of frozen sediments. When the ice subsequently retreated, the surrounding basin filled with water, although a connection to the mainland could have persisted until 600 years ago. The island lies above the Arctic Circle and is normally locked in ice from November to June. It has no bedrock: the sediments which make up its bulk are rich in ice and frozen year-round, apart from a thin surface layer which thaws in the summer, allowing tundra vegetation to flourish.
frequent storms and extreme weather events accelerate this process, and increasingly threaten the historical buildings with flooding.
Then and now Life in this former whaling settlement challenges your senses every day. Time gets distorted as you wake, work and sleep under the midnight sun. The lack of internet or phone signal forces you to slow down and appreciate the company. The amazing wildlife encounters of polar bears, snowy owls, muskoxen, whales, and seals, who spend the year braving the elements that are slowly eating away at the island, remind you that you are only a visitor here. I have often wondered what life would have been like for the whalers who lived here over a hundred years ago, or the
“Wild and beautiful places still exist.”
Separated from the mainland by only a few kilometres, the island is home to Arctic wildlife such as muskoxen, caribou, foxes, polar and grizzly bears, who either don’t mind the short swim or cross over on the ice during winter. In the marshy grass near camp, shorebirds call to each other incessantly; in the valleys, snowy owls keep a watchful lookout. And the rich waters bring seals as well as bowhead and beluga whales to the shore, to the delight of island spectators – who are luckily no longer whalers.
A changing world Nowhere else on Earth are the impacts of climate change more obvious than in the Arctic. Qikiqtaruk is a living laboratory for observing and measuring change. An ecological monitoring programme, fruit of a 20-year collaboration between local park rangers, government scientists, and international researchers, reveals important shifts in vegetation structure and composition, as well as coastal erosion rates six times faster than the average for the last half-century. These changes do not only threaten the balance of the ecosystem, but also put the cultural heritage of the island at risk. Coastal erosion coupled with permafrost thaw is creating instability around sites of significance, like the old Inuvialuit graves and the century-old ice houses. More
Image © Sandra Angers-Blondin
Inuvialuit who have called Qikiqtaruk home for a thousand years. A different climate, landscape, and pace of life. The Scottish explorer Isobel Wylie Hutchison took four days to cross to the island on dog sled from Alaska in 1933. Today, charter flights from Inuvik, the nearest town, cover the same distance in just over an hour. Today, we rely on generators to charge our research gadgets. Today, one of my study plots, laid out in 2015, lies 30 metres out at sea. I will not pretend that I am not worried about the future of the planet, and sometimes struggle to remain optimistic. But while Qikiqtaruk will undoubtedly continue its slow return to the sea, the island in my mind, my happy place, reminds me that wild and beautiful places still exist. For me, this is the best reason to keep fighting. Sandra was the recipient of the Royal Photographic Society’s 2018 Environmental Awareness Bursary.
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Chasing Copepods: Scottish and Arctic Adventures Dr Jordan Grigor Research Associate, Marine Biology, Scottish Association for Marine Science If I were to say to you, “what’s the most numerous type of animal in the world?”, what would you say? Mammals? Insects? Fish? Would it be a group that lives on land, or in water? It may surprise you that the copepod, a type of plankton, is the most numerous type of animal, and in fact a multicellular creature! A recent article labelled copepods “the unsung heroes of the ocean”. Given other equally interesting statistics (eg they are also the strongest and fastest creature in the world), it is interesting that many people are unfamiliar with copepods. Copepods and other types of zooplankton (drifting animals) may not always be visible to you when you are swimming. However, if you were to attach a net to a rope and pull it from a few metres’ depth up to the surface, you might be amazed by your catch. Studying and promoting poorly known marine zooplankton, such as copepods, is my job! For the last several years, I’ve been enrolled in projects that investigate how these amazing creatures can survive in different seas, including Scottish and Arctic seas. Whilst copepods are important everywhere (their grazing activities can control the abundances of algae – microscopic plants – plus they provide a food source for various animals), certain species that live in the polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) get a lot of attention. This is because they are packed with omega-3 fat supplies, that make them an essential food source for whales, fish and seabirds. These animals travel large distances every year to gain access to their favourite food source when it is most abundant. I currently work on these copepod species, members of the genus Calanus, as part of the CHASE project (Chronobiology of Changing Arctic Sea Ecosystems). Fundamental to this project is our observations that an important copepod species called Calanus finmarchicus, typically found in waters around the UK, is moving north into the Arctic seas, which are warming to a suitable temperature for them to thrive. Unfortunately, these generalist invaders may out-compete other more-specialist species that already live in the Arctic. However, there are other questions regarding the future proliferation of C. finmarchicus in the Arctic that do not just involve temperature and food. For example, how will this
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species deal with the light conditions there, specifically the long periods of total sunlight and then total darkness that exist each year? Could this mess with its own biological clock? It certainly messed with mine, when I lived there. For copepods, avoiding being eaten by animals that use light to hunt seems to require particular behaviours that ensure they can be hidden out of sight, particularly at depth, so we do not know if the same behaviours that work for C. finmarchicus in UK waters would work in the extreme light regime of the Arctic. Could it change its behaviours in its new home? We investigate this by observing the behaviour of copepods when exposed to different light regimes in the lab.
“Whilst copepods are important everywhere, certain species that live in the polar regions get a lot of attention.” My background My interest in this research all started with a passion for the ocean that was instilled in me from a young age, particularly through a motivated biology teacher in high school, and personal exposure to the wonders of the ocean through scuba diving. This interest led to a decision to specialise in both marine and Arctic science as early as my bachelor, which I did at the Scottish Association for Marine Science and also the University Center in Svalbard (an island archipelago in Arctic Norway), where I was lucky to receive funding to pursue biology during my third year of the bachelor. What both of these prestigious institutions had in common was their focus on practical work and fieldwork that allowed me to fully experience the secrets of the natural environment, outside of the classroom. During my PhD work at Laval University in Quebec, Canada, I analysed thousands upon thousands of arrow worms, semi-gelatinous creatures with teeth, hooks and poison glands, that prey on copepods amongst other things. Even though the two species I was interested in live in the same seas, they were not always found at the same depths and therefore encountered different feeding opportunities which may explain why they also differed in their reproductive and growth strategies. The same seems to be the case for copepods. In the next few years, I aim to publish several more papers on the fascinating arrow worms and the marvellous copepods, and continue to educate the public on their importance for marine ecosystems, and ultimately us.
The Plight of Our Planet
Lyndsey Croal Public Affairs Manager, WWF Scotland While Scotland saw an unseasonably warm Spring this year, I watched the Frozen Worlds episode of Our Planet with a heavy heart. Like Blue Planet and Planet Earth before it, it is filled with wonders of Earth’s nature and landscape, but still I watch on with a growing dread that reaches to the pit of my stomach. At points, I want to look away. I feel numb. I do not want to witness how bad things have become. But I tell myself it is something I need to see to understand the plight of our world, the plight of our nature. One key scene resonated with the public and many people were horrified as they watched on. Swathes of viewers took to Twitter to share their shock and despair. Some talk about feeling powerless to act, asking what they can do. Others say it is a wake-up call. A few users simply despair and say they wished they had not watched it at all. They would rather not know. And part of me does not blame them. The now infamous walrus scene epitomises the threat that climate change poses to our planet. It is a consequence of decades of anthropogenic global warming and we should feel uncomfortable about it. The scene sees Pacific walruses plummeting to their deaths as overcrowding on land caused by a lack of sea ice forces them to climb to dangerous cliff edges. When they try to return to the sea their poor sight causes them to leap from the edge, many perishing violently in the fall. A tragic end for a species that will likely diminish in population in the years to come. Last year saw a record low level of sea ice and this thinning is only going to continue as the world heats up. At 1°C of warming the impacts are clear, but with 1.5°C — the temperature that the IPCC last year advised we need to keep warming below to be in with the best chance of preventing irreversible climate change — we will see an ice-free Arctic every hundred years. If warming continues to 2°C , it will be every ten years. Both scenarios will have profound impacts on our natural world with more and more species facing extinction, in the Arctic, and beyond. It will also have severe consequences for humanity, with sea-level rises set to change the whole fabric of continents and the
people they support. In Scotland, island communities could disappear, coastlines will change and there may even be forced migration from at-risk areas. Our planet is changing and sadly it is inevitable. What is not inevitable is complete extinction. So what can we do? How can those viewers that feel disempowered take action? The launch of Our Planet came in the same year that we’ve seen a burgeoning of action on climate change. Led by young activist Greta Thunberg, thousands of school children have begun striking for the climate, with more and more joining them every day. One of the biggest global movements in recent history is collectively calling on leaders, business and individuals alike to change the way we do things. And it’s all being run by teenagers who have had enough of adults not taking the threat to their future seriously enough. Joining them, other groups are rising in numbers saying enough is enough. For the first time in years, I feel optimistic that there is enough momentum to change the system within which we can no longer operate sustainably. The message is one of hope: we still have time to change. There is still time to prevent irreversible climate breakdown and a sixth mass extinction if governments across the globe take a stand and commit to acting on climate change before it is too late. We cannot be complacent anymore. The Arctic will be one of the many casualties if we are. Our Planet is full of uncomfortable viewing moments and it is for that reason we should all watch it. We must be aware of the damage we are causing to our irreplaceable wildlife and the ecosystems that support them. It is only by accepting the reality that we can start to do something to fix it.
“Last year saw a record low level of sea ice and this thinning is only going to continue as the world heats up.”
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Sustainable Food Security: How Scotland Can ‘Kelp’ Finlay Richardson PhD candidate, University of Stirling Historically, Scotland’s socio-economic position and framework could be described as similar to those of nearby countries. But, with the physical change occurring in the Arctic this may well evolve. The transformation of the Arctic opens new geopolitical avenues and opportunities for constructive international engagement. However, at the same time it risks creating potential for the over-exploitation of new resources and space, with the rights to these resources potentially generating political tension. Therefore, it is essential that the use of resources promotes sustainability both environmentally and in terms of development. The Arctic connects 90% of the world’s economy, and if new shipping routes open, Scotland may find itself in a position of key geo-economic influence. As such, it is vital that Scotland sets a clear objective and example of development that is sustainable both in itself and environmentally. This can be best achieved through a combination of local knowledge and science-based solutions. My research at the University of Stirling in partnership with the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, looks at food security and the use of insects as food and feed. Specifically, I am investigating the ecology and nutritional composition of kelp fly larvae which could, among other possibilities, improve the environmental sustainability of aquaculture feed. There is occasionally negativity surrounding aquaculture; however, it is the fastest growing major foodproducing sector and has been producing more (weight) than beef farming since 2011. Additionally, due to the rising population, affluence and average calorie consumption, it is predicted that 100% more food will need to be produced by 2050. Given that the oceans cover around 70% of the Earth’s surface and only provide around 3% of our food, and almost all potential agricultural land is already farmed, more of our food will have to come from the oceans. As such, rather than opposing aquaculture we must work at making it as environmentally sustainable as possible. Much of this demand for fish comes from Asia, and so countries like Scotland and Norway that will soon find themselves in a new geo-economic position have an opportunity to create fresh international engagement and trade. Besides farming
fish, the farming of seaweed to be consumed directly, and to be converted into protein and fatty acids by farmed kelp fly larvae, could be another means of getting more of our food and feed from the oceans. However, a bigger objective than our economy must always be our planet’s health and environmental sustainability. Failing to have our society’s values include the natural world and its limits will result in those natural limits catastrophically changing our society. Therefore, our production of food such as fish must be made sustainable. The health of fish as well as the nutritional benefit received from consuming it is, in no small part, owing to the PolyUnsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs), particularly the marine origin omega-3s EPA and DHA, in their diets. Sourcing these marine origin omega-3s has resulted in wild fish stocks facing extreme pressure as they are harvested and turned into fishmeal and oil, which is then used in farmed fish feed among other uses. Given the rising demand for fish and growth of aquaculture, finding a more environmentally sustainable source of these omega-3 fatty acids, whether to be consumed directly or used in fish feed, is a priority. Insects as food and feed is a field which has grown considerably in recent years and many companies now replace the protein which fishmeal provided fish feed with farmed insect protein. However, replacing some of the omega-3 fatty acids with other ingredients is more challenging as they are marine in origin. The larvae of kelp fly, which spend their life cycle in decomposing beds of seaweed washed ashore, could provide a source of these PUFAs. Thus, my research is investigating the nutritional composition of these kelp fly larvae, and how this varies between different species of fly reared on different species of seaweed. As well as the role of the larvae in their ecosystem, converting beds of seaweed, which can be vast in size, into nutrition which is capitalised on by both birds and wild fish. With more of our future food and feed needing to come from the oceans, countries like Scotland and Norway, which historically could be thought of as somewhat remote in their geo-economic positions, have the opportunity to generate new sustainable industry. Thus, boosting their physically remote coastal economies, which, as the Arctic changes, are becoming increasingly central in their economic positioning. Whether this can be done via kelp fly larvae remains to be seen.
“It is vital that Scotland sets a clear objective and example of development that is sustainable both in itself and environmentally.” 6
Arctic Animals Forced onto the ‘Climate Change Diet’ Dr Thomas Brown Lecturer in marine ecology and chemistry, Scottish Association for Marine Science
Images of polar bears hunting for food on melting sea ice are a typical representation of an Arctic ecosystem under strain. The bears rely on seasonal sea ice as their habitat on which to travel and to hunt. However, the true extent of their reliance is only just being realised. My research has focused on developing a technique that traces a chemical in the food chain, known as IP25, to determine how much of an Arctic animal’s energy is derived from sea ice algae at the foot of the food chain. It paints a bleak picture for many large Arctic predators. Species such as ringed seals and the polar bear rely heavily on the production of microscopic algae that grow underneath the sea ice. The algae are eaten by zooplankton and this energy works its way up the food chain to the region’s top predators. In sub-Arctic systems, on the front line of climate change, ringed seals will actively travel many kilometres specifically to feed on the zooplankton and fish that congregate at the ice edge in springtime. Ringed seals make up to 60% of the polar bear prey in the Canadian Arctic. Consequently, on average, 86% of polar bear energy was derived from sea ice algae, as opposed to open ocean algae. Polar bears rely on sea ice as their habitat. Therefore, conservation assessments identify the ongoing reduction in sea ice as a significant threat to polar bear survival. However, the additional role of sea ice as an indirect source of energy to bears has been overlooked. The polar bears’ reliance on energy derived from sea ice algae was surprisingly high and shows that the reduction of sea ice means more than just a loss of habitat. It threatens the success of the entire food web in the Arctic. Meanwhile, the Arctic’s population of beluga whales is already listed as ‘near threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Due to overfishing and hunting that took place leading up to the 1980s, the Cumberland Sound community is also described as ‘threatened’ by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. However, in contrast to the highly selective feeding of polar bears on ice-algae-fattened seals, beluga whales appear more opportunistic when it comes to feeding.
“The reduction of sea ice means more than just a loss of habitat.”
Since 2000, one community of beluga whales has been showing signs of adjusting to the decline in sea ice by increasing reliance on energy sourced from open water algae, rather than the Arctic’s energy-rich sea ice algae. This may be due to the northwards movement of warmer water fish species that prefer to feed on open water algae. Since the beluga whales will eat most species of fish, it is possible that such a change may buffer, to some extent, the impact of reducing sea ice for less specialised, opportunistic feeders capable of adjusting to changes in the supply of food. There is no way of knowing how far these sensitive, highly specialised Arctic ecosystems can be pushed before they collapse. Sea ice cover in the Arctic Circle is generally decreasing year on year. The four lowest winter maximum ice extents ever recorded by satellite (1979-2018) occurred in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. I believe the IP25 method can be used to establish long-term monitoring of Arctic animal diets, which could inform future conservation measures.
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“The Arctic is changing quicker than any other biome in the world.”
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Image © Martin Hartley, www.martinhartley.com
More Than Just Data: Ecological Monitoring
Kayla Arey Biologist specialising in northern ecosystems, Yukon College Gergana Daskalova PhD student in global change ecology, University of Edinburgh The Arctic is changing quicker than any other biome in the world. From the land to the sea, global change processes, and particularly climate warming, are profoundly altering ecosystems and environments in the northern latitudes. We urgently need to understand how the Arctic is changing and what that will mean for the rest of the planet, and to meet these goals, we have to think creatively and unite a diversity of knowledge sources.
and returned in 2018 as a research assistant with Cameron Eckert, a Yukon Parks conservation biologist. The Arctic was but a distant concept during Gergana’s childhood, who grew up over 7,600km away in Bulgaria. Gergana came to Qikiqtaruk as part of Team Shrub, a research group led by Dr Isla Myers-Smith from the University of Edinburgh, and is currently working on her PhD studying how global change drivers are influencing biodiversity.
Knowledge coming together
The Arctic is truly a magical place – sunsets quickly turn into sunrises, cottongrass flowers dance in the wind, belugas swim by the coast. It was on a day like this that we went on an epic plant scavenger hunt – our mission was to find and identify all the plant species present in two of the island’s distinct vegetation communities, called Herschel and Komakuk. We found over 80 different plant species and we measured their precise geographical location, so that later on we can combine our ground monitoring observations with high-resolution imagery from drones. By integrating
Ecological monitoring is more than just gathering scientific data alone. It can be a way to bring people together. More people in the Arctic are realising the importance of environmental and ecological studies as the climate continues to warm. In addition to this, more scientists are realising the importance of traditional knowledge in the Arctic. These two knowledge bases have so much to offer and build upon each other. Traditional knowledge and environmental science both rely on observation and data gathering. As language barriers continue to fall, we gain a better understanding of how the physical environment and biota of the Arctic are changing, and we learn different methods that can be used to study these changes. We begin to understand that, regardless of where we come from, we share many of the same questions, values, and goals. The ecological integrity of the environment is at the heart of both traditional knowledge and environmental science. Traditional knowledge holds generations-worth of unique information about times long gone and places where few have stepped, let alone collected scientific data. Ecological studies often suffer from a lack of data, particularly over time, and traditional knowledge can provide invaluable insights into the long-term context of environmental change. For example, when we see high rates of coastal erosion, we can turn to traditional knowledge to ask if similar events have occurred in the past. Ecological monitoring is necessary to gather quantitative data to answer specific questions about Arctic change, such as vegetation change, permafrost thawing, and more. Traditional knowledge holders and environmental scientists can work together to understand physical and biological processes as the Arctic continues to undergo drastic changes.
Qikiqtaruk-Herschel Island: decades of collaboration Qikiqtaruk-Herschel Island is a great example of how collaboration can advance our knowledge of how the Arctic is changing. The island’s long-term ecological monitoring programme is one of the longest running initiatives of its kind in the Arctic Circle. Ecological monitoring on Qikiqtaruk brings together local park rangers, government, and academic scientists. Qikiqtaruk is where we, Kayla and Gergana, met for the first time, and in less than a day, we were already identifying plants together. Kayla is from Aklavik; she had travelled to Qikiqtaruk in her childhood
“More scientists are realising the importance of traditional knowledge in the Arctic.”
Image © Gergana Daskalova
these different types of data, we can find out which Arctic vegetation communities are becoming more similar to each other and where there are biodiversity hotspots across the landscape. This is just one example among many of how people can come together and improve our knowledge of changes in tundra ecosystems. We hope that knowledge exchange continues to grow as a valuable way to share and advance our understanding of the world around us.
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The Death of an Ice Stream
Dr Tom Bradwell Lecturer, Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling Below the dark brooding waters of the Minch lies a remarkable landscape. Covering a vast area of seabed (almost 7000km2) in waters up to 350m deep, this uncharted terrain has remained largely undisturbed for over 15,000 years. Only now, with the advent of extensive highresolution digital bathymetry data, precious seabed samples and new analytical techniques, is the full picture revealed. What it exposes tells us a lot about the fate of the Earth’s ice sheets at the end of the last glaciation – and provides a valuable window into the rapid changes taking place within the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets today.
Four years ago I was lucky enough to be aboard the Royal Research Ship James Cook, part of a diverse science team spending 30 days and nights at sea collecting valuable geological samples and hydro-acoustic data from the seabed around northern Scotland. The science cruise was part of a UK Research Council-funded project called Britice-Chrono aiming to map, analyse and understand the deglaciation record of the last ice sheet to cover Scotland and the surrounding continental shelf. In doing so, we were seeking to make a former ice sheet the best example of icesheet decay in the world, in terms of both its former extent and, importantly, its rate of change. Our ultimate goal was to generate an empirical benchmark against which predictive ice sheet models and sea level forecasts could be improved and tested. Standing between us and our goal was a whole lot of data collection. In fact, 1,500 person-days of fieldwork, sampling at 914 different sites, and processing 650 geochronological (Quaternary dating) analyses – all within a five year time window! What we safely recovered in those four weeks at sea in 2015 went far beyond our expectations: nearly 300m of priceless sediment, and almost 2000km of ship-borne geophysical data. What we have discovered in the four years
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of research since puts the seabed landscape and ice-age record of northwest Scotland on a par with parts of West Antarctica in terms of its scientific importance. The Minch ice stream drained the northwest sector of the last ice sheet to cover Scotland, around 15,000 to 30,000 years ago. Since its discovery, it has provided a world-class test-bed on which to analyse and understand the processes operating within contemporary ice streams and ice shelves. From the landforms it has left behind, we know that the Minch ice stream was comparable in size and discharge to the Rutford ice stream in West Antarctica – a huge fastflowing ‘ice conveyor belt’ carrying centuries-old ice from the ice sheet’s interior to the ocean. Likened to arteries, these ice streams do most of the work within ice sheets. Over decades to centuries they regulate ice-sheet flow, by transferring or distributing mass and generally governing ice sheet health. We now know that at its maximum, the Minch ice stream flowed from ice centres in Skye, Wester Ross, Assynt, Lewis and Harris, out across what was exposed continental shelf, past the isolated rocky outposts of North Rona and Sula Sgeir, and terminated in deep Atlantic waters. Fed by thin tributaries, the ice stream has left behind a remarkably well-preserved subglacial landscape on its now-exposed bed – albeit one that is mainly underwater. Our new research has found that the seabed in the straits between Cape Wrath and Lewis exhibits abundant geological and geomorphological evidence of numerous ice-stream stabilizations and rapid retreat episodes alongside ice-shelf growth and collapse events during deglaciation. Like the dynamic, rapidly thinning ice streams of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Weddell Sea sector and Antarctic Peninsula, the bed of the former Minch ice stream deepens inshore, making it potentially vulnerable to a phenomenon known as ‘MISI’ or Marine Ice Sheet Instability. This means that once in retreat, these ice streams are quite literally in deep water! The deeper inshore waters and the shape and strength of the seabed itself make the glacier front prone to instability and, once instigated, to runaway retreat. Worryingly, there are very few better examples of an unstoppable positive feedback loop in nature. The untimely death of the Minch ice stream, at the hands of MISI, could be a harbinger of what is lying in wait for the fragile marine ice-sheet margins of Greenland and West Antarctica. Precisely what happens to an ice sheet when one of its ice streams disintegrates completely like this is still uncertain. All we know for certain is that the timescales involved (1-100 yrs) are far more rapid than our Quaternary dating techniques can currently resolve. However, these are the things we increasingly need to understand and prepare for as the vast polar ice sheets inexorably respond to climate change and global sea levels continue to rise.
A Taller Tundra
Dr Anne Bjorkman Senior Lecturer, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg Everyone has heard about the plight of the polar bear, but what about the predicament of the plants? The Arctic is far from a frozen wasteland – there are more than 1,000 plant species that grow here, many with flowers as bright and beautiful as any Scottish meadow. But what will happen to these species as the climate warms, and why should we care? Our aim is to better understand the consequences of tundra vegetation change by monitoring plant growth, what they look like, and how they interact with their environment. This is known as plant functional traits. This includes things like the maximum height of a plant, how much nitrogen it has in its leaves, and how big its leaves are. They are called ‘functional’ traits because they also influence how ecosystems function. There are many different ecosystem functions – water and nutrient cycling, pollination, soil formation to name a few – but Arctic ecologists are particularly interested in carbon cycling. The tundra stores an enormous amount of carbon in its frozen permafrost soils, and changes in plant traits like nitrogen content, leaf area, and height can influence whether that carbon remains frozen in place or is released into the atmosphere, potentially contributing to climate warming. To understand how plant functional traits will change in response to warming temperatures, we assembled a dataset of nearly 60,000 plant trait measurements as well as 30 years of monitoring data at 117 sites spread across the Arctic and alpine tundra. This allowed us to look at how plant traits vary across a spatial temperature gradient and, critically, how the traits of tundra plant communities have changed over time as a result of recent climate warming. Our results surprised us. We found strong relationships between temperature at all seven traits we measured across the 117 sites. For example, summer temperature was positively related to maximum plant height – the warmer a site, the taller the plants that grow there. We also found that soil moisture played an extremely important role in the
relationship between traits and temperature. For example, plants in warmer sites had higher levels of nitrogen in their leaves – but only when soil moisture was high. After these strong temperature-trait relationships, we expected to see a lot of change in traits over time due to climate warming. Surprisingly, however, only one trait changed over time. Plant height increased rapidly and at almost every site in our study due to an influx of new, taller species. Some of these species, like Equisetum arvense, the common horsetail, already occurred in several tundra sites, but are now spreading into new areas. Others are southern species that are new to the tundra and have been spreading northward and upward in elevation. The species that spread into the most new tundra sites was Anthoxanthum odoratum, a grass species that is common across most of central Europe. So what does this widespread increase in tundra plant height mean for ecosystem function? A few different scenarios are possible. While a landscape covered in white snow reflects much of the sun’s warmth back into the atmosphere, tall plants that stick up above the snow increase the amount of solar radiation that is absorbed rather than reflected. Furthermore, tall plants trap more snow in the winter, which insulates the soil and prevents it from freezing as deeply. This warmer soil leads to more decomposition of the dead plant matter stored in the soil, and thus the release of carbon into the atmosphere. Both of these scenarios would create a positive feedback to climate warming – taller plants lead to more carbon in the atmosphere, which leads to warmer temperatures, which leads to taller plants, and so on. However, a taller tundra might not be all bad news. Taller plants also shade the soil in summer, which would keep the soil cooler and thus prevent decomposition and the loss of carbon. Our ongoing research seeks to better understand the balance of these negative and positive feedbacks, and the net impact of increasing tundra plant height for the climate.
“Tall plants that stick up above the snow increase the amount of solar radiation that is absorbed rather than reflected.” 11
“Over the last 50 years Arctic sea-ice cover has reduced by 10% per decade.”
Cha l l the enges Arc in tic
Iceberg from above.
The Arctic’s Potential as a Global Shipping Route Ben Stowell Geography graduate, Durham University Over the last 50 years Arctic sea-ice cover has reduced by 10% per decade, increasing the summertime Arctic open water season, a trend predicted to continue into this century, with an ice-free September possible by 2050. This is making the region more accessible, offering opportunities for new global shipping routes such as the Northwest Passage (NWP) and the Northern Sea Route (NSR). These routes have the potential to reduce sailing times, making routes from Europe to Asia ten days faster by the middle of this century (30 days to 20), while North American routes become four days faster (25 days to 21). This is of vital interest to the shipping industry. There are, however, large variations within the modelled ice extent. Whilst there is a clear downward trend in ice extent, this comes with considerable annual variability, limiting the practicality of Arctic transport routes in the near future. Later this century, variation of ice extent may reduce to a point with a more consistently navigable shipping season, making Arctic routes more plausible. There are further issues with models of Arctic shipping routes. Modelling often bases savings upon reductions in fuel and time. But, fuel and time-based models ignore other more expensive variables on Arctic routes: crew training, maintenance, slower speeds, and higher insurance premiums. These seriously undermine the feasibility of Arctic routes, increasing costs and reducing their economic competitiveness. Cost-competitiveness is of particular importance when considering American shipping. With clear advantages for routes between Europe and Asia, the reduction in time for routes between North America and Asia are significantly smaller, producing less clear-cut economic benefits. Sailing via Panama takes only three more days than the NWP and one more than the NSR. This difference is not substantial enough to make Arctic transportation routes viable, especially when considering other cost variables. The limitations of shipping along the Europe to Asia routes centre on the role of China. China conducts 51% of its trade with its neighbours and only 2.9% with Northern Europe, the
area most likely to adopt Arctic routes. There has been some Chinese investment in Arctic infrastructure, but far more investment along southern trading routes. This suggests that Arctic routes will be used, but this will be limited, with most shipping favouring current, established and reliable routes. The fragile and vulnerable nature of the Arctic means that an increase in shipping traffic has potentially catastrophic consequences for the region’s ecosystem. The large area, low density of activity and limited response capability in the region means response networks will struggle to cope with any shipping-related accidents. Consequently, there is a need for massive infrastructural investment before largescale expansion of Arctic shipping can operate safely. As a relatively unused route, regulations within the region are yet to be finalised. Many states are likely to call for the regulation of Arctic shipping, following pressure from environmentalist and indigenous groups that view shipping as damaging to the environment and its animals. A number of organisations have already called to regulate shipping speeds in Arctic waters, legislation that would undermine the Arctic’s practicality. Although beneficial to the Arctic environment, these regulations will make Arctic shipping less cost competitive, questioning its viability in an increasingly open Arctic. The economic potential of reduced shipping times and lower fuel consumption suggest it’s increasingly unlikely the Arctic will be a no-traffic area. However, it is easy to overestimate the scale of Arctic maritime use. Whilst potentially beneficial for traffic from Northern Europe to Asia, the benefits of Arctic routes are not widespread, with most trade likely to continue on established southern routes. Variation of ice, regulation, and limited infrastructure constrain the Arctic’s potential for shipping in the near future. However, later in this century, a combination of increased investment and a reduction in sea ice extent and variation may mean that future generations witness the Arctic become an important part of global shipping routes.
“Regulations will make Arctic shipping less cost competitive, questioning its viability in an increasingly open Arctic.” 13
Shaping Ecotourism in the North
Dr Rosalind Bryce Researcher, University of the Highlands and Islands Tourism is an increasingly important means of economic development in many rural areas. However, alongside the well-recognised economic benefits, the growth of tourism can pose threats to valuable natural and cultural heritage. There is a growing awareness of the importance of ecotourism in addressing this challenge. Developed in partnership with local communities, well-designed ecotourism initiatives can contribute to sustainable development while preserving natural and cultural assets.
impacts of too many tourists. For example, Iceland’s Snæfellsnes peninsula has seen huge increases in tourism in recent years, putting significant pressure on an area with a small population and few facilities and services. Greenland, with its incredible landscapes and cultural history, has huge potential to attract a greater number and diversity of visitors, but also faces the challenge of a lack of infrastructure to support tourism. SHAPE partners are facilitating networks of stakeholders involved in heritage management, tourism and community development to develop ecotourism initiatives that preserve rather than damage natural and cultural heritage. In Snæfellsnes, Iceland, work is underway to create a ‘visitor harbour’ where visitors will be encouraged to drop in and learn how to enjoy the area in an environmentally responsible way. This will include maps of themed trails, which link together natural spectacles and sites of cultural interest. Tour operators will also be encouraged to practise and promote responsible tourism.
Researchers at the Centre for Mountain Studies at Perth College UHI are leading the three-year SHAPE (Sustainable Heritage Areas: Partnerships for Ecotourism) project, funded by the European Commission’s Northern Periphery and Arctic programme.
In Kujalleq, Greenland, tourism development is at a far earlier stage. The SHAPE project provides an opportunity to consult with local communities about the future planning of natural and cultural heritage-based tourism and to include proposals in the next Municipality Plan. Ideas include developing networks of hiking trails with overnight huts, to increase the accessibility of the area.
“Iceland’s Snæfellsnes peninsula has seen huge increases in tourism in recent years.”
SHAPE involves partners from Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Scotland, who are working to develop ecotourism initiatives in areas that are protected for their valuable natural and cultural heritage. Both of Scotland’s Biosphere Reserves – Wester Ross, and Galloway and Southern Ayrshire – are partners. Others partners include Biosphere Reserves in Norway (Nordhordland), Finland (North Karelia), Quebec (Manicouagan-Uapishka), Iceland (Snæfellsnes Regional Park) and Greenland (Kujataa World Heritage Site). These conservation areas, or ‘sustainable heritage areas’ (SHAs), all have sustainable community development as a central goal. They are tackling challenges common to often sparsely populated Arctic and northern areas such as the out-migration of young people, limited employment opportunities and a lack of services and infrastructure. Several of the SHAs wish to attract more tourists, who will ‘stop, stay and spend’, bringing benefits to the local economy. For example, encouraging some tourists who would ordinarily head to better-known Scottish destinations to spend time enjoying the unique natural scenery and cultural offerings of Galloway and Southern Ayrshire would bring benefits to local communities. In contrast, other areas are struggling with the
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Through the initiation of new partnerships with local businesses, the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Reserve are developing new guided experiences that include wildlife watching, adventure activities, and arts and culture experiences. They are also developing a guide-training programme to increase job opportunities for young people. Further initiatives are underway in Finland, Scotland, Norway and Canada. The transnational approach in SHAPE aims to facilitate the exchange of approaches and experiences between SHAs and to distil this into an information resource for communities facing similar challenges. Local people involved with tourism and community development in each SHA will have many opportunities to travel to other countries to participate in learning journeys. During these exchanges, participants will be able to observe how new approaches are working in practice and discuss how these could be applied in their own areas. Accounts of these experiences, in addition to other best practice guidance, will be included in an open-access e-service that will facilitate local, regional and transnational cooperation, partnerships and knowledge exchange.
Climate Change and Resource Extraction in the Arctic Ella Standish SCRAPbook Technical Coordinator
“ln 2012, the Environmental Audit Committee stated that exploration of Arctic resources was ‘needlessly risky’ and argued that Arctic exploration is unnecessary.”
The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. It is estimated that 2°C of global warming would translate to 3-6°C of warming in the Arctic. This has particular implications for sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, which is predicted by most models to disappear during the Arctic summer by the end of the century. This in turn will lead to increased coastal erosion and loss of valuable habitats. The melting of sea ice has been welcomed by some as an opportunity for industrial development, with the Arctic becoming an increasingly attractive location for fossil fuel extraction. Emerging markets in India and China are resulting in high global demand for energy and fuels, posing environmental and climate challenges. Despite high investment costs, competition from alternative sources, technological barriers and geopolitical uncertainty, the Arctic remains a sought-after location for those seeking to exploit the environment. This includes more accessible minerals such as gold and zinc, a 25% increase in plant growth associated with an earlier spring, and potential new shipping routes across the Arctic Ocean reducing transport times between Russia and the US. Most contentious is the potential for exploitation of oil and gas reserves. The fossil fuel industry has shown considerable interest in the area, especially since a study by the US Geological Survey in 2008 suggested that as much as 25% of global petroleum may lie within the Arctic. Shell has funded two Alaskan-based programs, and a deal is being struck between ExxonMobil and Rosneft to develop fossil fuel reserves in Arctic Russia. Russia in particular, with its heavily fossil fuel-based economy, has stated its intention to exploit its offshore reserves.
This exploitation of Arctic resources poses a very real threat, not only to the Arctic environment, but to the rest of the globe. Its effect on global climate and position in global ocean circulation means that what happens in the Arctic affects the whole planet. In temperate climates, oceanic bacteria can clean up oil spills remaining after human efforts over time, but the cold Arctic climate and moving ice flows slow down this process significantly. Without adequate technology, infrastructure, and access, the environment is left vulnerable to spills. ln 2012, the Environmental Audit Committee stated that exploration of Arctic resources was ‘needlessly risky’ and argued that Arctic exploration is unnecessary, as there are enough global fossil fuel reserves to meet an energy demand which would keep global warming 2°C below pre-industrial temperatures. Some companies involved in Arctic drilling have been criticised for their poor health and safety records, lack of transparency, and lack of any experience working offshore. Climate change results in better access to the Arctic, and therefore more opportunities for resource exploitation there. As the fossil fuel industry is a leading driver of anthropogenic climate change through the release of greenhouse gases, their actions in the Arctic will inevitably lead to further global climate change, with benefits for their industry, but not for the global environment. This creates a positive feedback loop between resource extraction and climate change, in a harmful and dangerous cycle. So where does this leave the Arctic today? Increased transparency of companies working in the Arctic is essential, to ensure that their actions are responsible and sustainable.
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Lewis Pugh: Achieving the Impossible Jo Woolf RSGS Writer-in-Residence
On 14th July in the Arctic Ocean, the sun is still in the sky at midnight. Aboard the Russian ice-breaker Yamal, Captain Stanislav Rumyantsev checks his GPS and sees that it is time for a public announcement. After much careful manoeuvring, the ship is now lying at precisely 90 degrees North. She is, quite literally, on top of the world. Up on deck, the delighted passengers cheer and clap, and some of them pop open a bottle of champagne.
Below decks, a slightly more serious discussion is going on. Lewis Pugh, ocean advocate and endurance swimmer, is holding a meeting with his team. The small group of hand-picked professionals, some of them his dearest friends, listen intently to his instructions; clarity, confidence and focus are essential. The meeting over, Pugh asks for a word with the armed Russian guards. In case of a polar bear encounter, he tells them, they can fire their weapons to scare it away but on no account must they shoot it. Then he goes back to his cabin, to prepare himself for the biggest challenge of his life: a one-kilometre swim across the North Pole.
In 1987, aged 17, he completed a challenging sevenkilometre swim from Robben Island to Cape Town. He remembers that he was a skinny kid, not ideally built for endurance swimming, and his support crew were taking bets that he wouldn’t make it. The water was 18°C - cold, but compared to his future swims it was positively balmy. He finished the three-hour crossing through a gritty refusal to give up which is best explained with an Afrikaans word, ‘vasbyt’ - literally, ‘bite down hard’. He described the experience as “physically shattering and totally addictive.” It was a feat that would shape the rest of his life. Through his early career as a maritime lawyer, and his military service in the British SAS, the deeper voice of the ocean could still be heard. In 2003, while working in the City of London, his training regime in preparation for a five-kilometre swim around North Cape, the northernmost point in Europe, speaks volumes about his discipline and resourcefulness. Twice a week, after leaving work he would board a bus for Dover, arriving between 9.30 and 10pm; he would swim for a couple of hours in the English Channel, snatch a few hours’ sleep in a guest house, and catch a return bus so that he could be at his desk by 9am the next morning.
“Oceans are crucial for our very survival - for food, for oxygen, and, I am sure, for our souls as well.”
Perhaps Lewis Pugh’s passion for the oceans began during his early childhood in Plymouth, Britain’s ‘ocean city’, which has been the home of many explorers over the centuries; perhaps it was fuelled in his classroom at Camps Bay High School in Cape Town, South Africa, where he would gaze out across the vast ocean and imagine himself on a ship bound for Antarctica. Or, most likely, it was in his genes all the time, inherited from his father and mother, a surgeon and a nurse in the Royal Navy. The sea permeated his thoughts and dreams: from his bedroom in Cape Town he listened to the waves crashing on the rocks; out of school, he regularly patrolled the beach as a lifeguard. As a swimmer, he loved the rhythmic sensation of pulling back the water with his arm and hearing it splash against his ear as he took another stroke. He honed his skills in his family’s pool, doing somersaults and handstands so that being underwater felt “as natural… as walking in the garden.” The ocean seemed to call to him, and sooner or later he would respond.
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Swimming in waters at 8°C posed a new kind of challenge. Even in August, fishermen who fall overboard around Norway’s North Cape can quickly die of hypothermia. And they are fully clothed, in stark contrast to Lewis’s choice of a cap, goggles, and Speedo swimming trunks. Added to this, his military training had intentionally kept his physique lean and light, in case of a last-minute deployment. His body had no insulating layer. When he checked into his hotel in Norway and disclosed the purpose of his visit, the maternal feelings of the receptionist were shocked beyond belief. “Does your mother know what you’re doing?” she asked him.
The precautions for the North Cape swim were a foretaste of a much stricter regime to come. Working with his coach and advisor, an SAS medic, Lewis devised a series of questions that would be shouted out to him at regular intervals from the boat, to monitor his consciousness. If he failed to recall his middle names, for example, or his postcode, he would be hauled out of the water immediately. The swim took 65 minutes; the pleasure of glimpsing North Cape’s dramatic cliffs every time he turned his head was tempered by the vice-like pain of the cold water, and eventually by a searing sensation in his calf muscle, forcing him to float for a while on his back. Speed, in cold water, was essential for survival, but too much speed brought on muscle cramp. It was a fine balance upon which his life depended. A bonfire had been lit on the shore to warm him up after the ordeal, and the sight of it was a stimulus that spurred him on. By the end, he was showing the first signs of hypothermia, but as he stretched his chilled limbs towards the flames he quickly recovered.
“If you have a deep enough desire to do something, you have the capability to achieve it” Four years later, in the early hours of 15th July 2007, Lewis disembarked from the Russian ice-breaker that had carried him to the North Pole. He stood on the edge of the ice and reflected on what he was about to do. With an impressive clutch of record-setting cold-water swims to his credit, he was fired by a strong and clear purpose. Scientific findings had revealed that the Arctic sea ice was melting at an alarming rate, and as the world’s foremost cold-water swimmer he was using his achievements to highlight the effect of climate change on the world’s oceans. By testing his own capacity and continuing to push the boundaries of what was thought to be physically possible, he had come to understand the power of the mind over the body; and he had drawn together a support team of scientists, doctors and coaches in whose expert judgment he placed complete trust. The test swim, a couple of days beforehand, had been a disaster. Soon after he dived into the inky-black Arctic water, his goggles had misted over and then frozen to his face; then his fingers turned rigid, making it impossible for him to swim. After five minutes and 400 metres, the pain became unbearable and he was hauled out, gasping and frozen. As he looked at his swollen hands, he feared that he was attempting the impossible. But success does not rely on physical endurance alone. With the help of his team, Lewis regained his positivity and self-belief; meanwhile, they hit on the brilliant idea of punctuating the one-kilometre stretch with ten flags of different nationalities, each planted in the ice at 100-metre intervals. When he reached each flag, Lewis would think of the people from that nation who had inspired him, whose belief and encouragement had brought him to this point. He was ready. When he dived in, the water temperature was minus 1.7°C – just a fraction above the freezing point of sea water. Like last time, his goggles misted and froze immediately; but unlike last time, he ignored them. As his fingers began to freeze and cramp seized one leg, he dug deep into sheer bloodyminded determination, silently commanding himself to focus, to concentrate, to keep going. For the last 100 metres he had no idea how close he was to the finish. After a total of 18 minutes and 50 seconds, his team were yelling that he had made it; but the danger wasn’t over. Now, with all possible speed, he had to get out of the water and bring his body back to the temperature of a normal human being, under the supervision of his doctor. By that stage, even speaking was impossible. He had done something that no human should be capable of doing, and he had survived. Being the first person ever to swim across the North Pole was both a privilege and a prophecy, as Lewis well knew. This one simple act was breathtaking in its symbolism. The waters around the polar regions are warming at an alarming rate: when Lewis was training in Spitsbergen in July 2005, the water was 3°C, but when he returned in July 2017 it
had risen to 10°C – an increase of seven degrees in just 12 years. Another cause for alarm was the level of pollution on Spitsbergen’s beaches: he watched in horror as a polar bear climbed out of the water and picked its way through drifts of plastic waste in order to reach the tundra. Wherever he swam in the world, Lewis was witnessing a negative human impact: bleached coral, whale bones, polluted beaches, melting glaciers, an alarming absence of fish. For someone who has the ocean in his heart, it was inconceivable to stand aside and do nothing. He realised that, by using his swims to attract media attention, he could raise public concern; and as a negotiator, he could speak to environmental scientists and policy makers around the world. He could use his passion and experience to make a real difference. Lewis’s message is crystal clear. The oceans are facing three main threats – climate change, pollution, and overfishing – and we must grasp this opportunity to protect them. By swimming in Speedos, he is revealing both his vulnerability and his courage, and he urges world leaders to show the same courage in their response. His approach has been called ‘Speedo Diplomacy’: the media, of course, love the photographs, and he has gained huge public support worldwide. Over the last five years, he has been campaigning for the creation of Marine Protected Areas, and the results are astounding: 2.2 million square kilometres of ocean are now fully protected, including areas around Antarctica, South Georgia and Ascension Island. His next challenge is to persuade world leaders to fully protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, with a special emphasis on East Antarctica, one of the world’s last great wilderness areas. Passion and momentum are important, he says, but timing is crucial, because the creation of these protected areas is often a political decision – a government’s response to pressure from other governments, the science community and its own citizens. Every single person, he believes, can make a difference. He is living proof of that: in 2013 he was appointed by the United Nations as their first Patron of the Oceans. But his work has just begun, and the sea is calling him. Quotes from Achieving the Impossible by Lewis Gordon Pugh (pub. Simon & Schuster) Interview with Jo Woolf at RSGS, 12th September. lewispugh.com Many thanks to Lewis for giving up his time to be interviewed, and warm congratulations on being awarded the RSGS Mungo Park Medal, which was presented to him after his talk, Achieving Your Impossible, in Perth on 12th September.
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“Coastal sites like Nunalleq are at risk of being lost to the sea.”
Scott ish to th Con e Ar necti ctic ons
Image © Canada-UK Foundation Please visit www.canadaukfoundation.org/climate-sustainability-arctic-alive to find out more about this map!
Nunalleq: Stories from the Village of our Ancestors Dr Alice Watterson Archaeologist and Digital Artist, 3DVisLab, University of Dundee Since 2009, an international team led by archaeologists from the University of Aberdeen has been excavating the remains of a 500-year-old Yup’ik sod house on Alaska’s Bering Sea coast. Elders in the nearby Native village of Quinhagak have always known that the site was there, naming it Nunalleq, translating to ‘the old village’. Yup’ik tradition dictates that ancestors should not be disturbed. However, as Arctic regions are being exposed to increasingly destructive winter storms and climate change, protective sea ice and permafrost are rapidly receding. This means that coastal sites like Nunalleq are at risk of being lost to the sea. When the community began to find artefacts washing up on the beach, they began a collaborative project with archaeologists to conduct a rescue excavation of the site. Nearly a decade on, the site has gathered a collection of over 100,000 artefacts which tell the story of how the ancestors thrived in this landscape. These everyday items range from wooden spoons, bentwood bowls and grass baskets, to meticulously sculpted ivory hunting tools in the shapes of seals, birds and whales, wooden dance masks and frowning dolls. These decorations are an expression of the respect held by Yup’ik people, past and present, for environmental aesthetics and the animals they hunt.
interpretation and understanding how the methods we use frame the knowledge we create. Too often, pasts shaped from an archaeological or ethnographic perspective have been imposed on Native pasts without a chance for discussion. One thing that became clear early in the design process was just how many voices make up the Nunalleq story: archaeologists and their various specialisms, the Quinhagak elders and culture-bearers, traditional carvers, craftspeople and artists, as well as international and local students and volunteers. In designing the educational resource, we adopted an approach which drew upon traditional ways of sharing knowledge through oral storytelling. Insights range from archaeologists talking about what we can learn about the ancestors’ diet from the faunal remains on site, to elders remembering how they learnt to carve walrus ivory in the traditional men’s house or qasgiq, to local teenagers enthusing about learning traditional dance or yuraq.
“I had never worked on a project where the stakeholders were so intrinsically connected to their past.”
In 2017, I was invited to join the project to design a learning resource for schoolchildren in the region that curates the story of the excavations in a way which also engages with Yup’ik ways of knowing and traditional oral storytelling. As an archaeologist and reconstruction artist, I am well versed in interpreting site plans and fragmented artefacts into standing structures and imagined scenes of past activity. However, I had never worked on a project where the stakeholders were so intrinsically connected to their past. Co-design of the educational resource was a fundamental part of the outreach work because the content had to be sensitive to Yup’ik beliefs and values. For a long time, the authoritative voice of history has been claimed by western archaeologists, historians and ethnographers. Archaeology is a science, but it is also involved with the process of
In August 2018, the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Centre, a village owned and run facility, invited the public through its doors for the first time to view the collection in its entirety. At a time when indigenous communities across the world are reclaiming ownership of their cultural artefacts from museums and institutions, Nunalleq is a timely example of what can be achieved through balanced collaboration. However, the sense of ownership and identity runs deeper than the material remains. We are hopeful that outreach work like this might further support dialogues which creatively connect science and history with traditional knowledge and contemporary connections to the past. The Nunalleq educational resource is available for download from the archaeology project website, www.nunalleq.wordpress.com.
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Qaanaaq in the 21st Century
Bridget Ye Non-fiction storyteller and photographer The ‘opening of the Arctic’ has renewed transatlantic endeavours, but also raised significant environmental concern. As the Arctic continues to respond dramatically to contemporary climatic changes, discussions surrounding the region have examined the human and wildlife implications of environmental sensitivity. Climate change is a pressing matter in the long term, but is it the only Arctic matter that deserves our attention? Driven by this thought, I travelled to Qaanaaq, Greenland in 2017 to learn from the local people about coping with 21st-century Arctic change. After speaking with seven of Qaanaaq’s residents, I identified three outstanding themes: 1) Modernisation; 2) Tensions; and 3) Contemporary Climate Change. Qaanaaq, an ‘Inughuit’ (northern Greenlandic) town, is one of the world’s northernmost human settlements. Its roughly 650 inhabitants are descendants of the semi-nomadic Thule Inuit, who migrated from Alaska, founding the village Thule over two millennia ago. Thule remained a hub of the far north when Greenland became a Danish colony in the 1720s until it was vacated in 1953 and replaced by a US Cold War airbase. The building of the airbase necessitated the relocation of roughly 200 Inughuit, the majority of whom were displaced 100km north to what would become Qaanaaq.
Modernisation Learning from their ancestors and encountering for themselves Greenland’s climatic extremes, the Inughuit have developed a fierce resilience to the inevitable environmental challenges of Arctic life. In the span of three decades, the Inughuit experienced rapid modernisation that began with physical change. Mobile housing, a Catholic church, hospital, school and supermarket were among the establishments erected in Qaanaaq that were at once foreign. Having led traditionally semi-nomadic lives, the Inughuit now conformed to a lifestyle founded on Western values. As requirements for survival in Qaanaaq shift from placing food on the table to securing income for food and bills, hunting has become less necessary or rewarding since the arrival of imported goods and especially after the 2010 EU ban on seal products. In addition to evolving identity, modernisation has placed pressure on the Qaanaaq community’s social health. Though not conclusively causal, there is a connection between the timing of modernisation and a noticeable increase in addiction, abuse, gambling, and mental illness in Qaanaaq and Greenland overall. In times of great change and great stress, people cope differently. The number of individuals struggling with addiction in Qaanaaq may be relatively slim, but the consequences are far-reaching in such a compact community.
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Tensions After a nationwide municipal reform in 2008, Qaanaaq lost its status as a municipal capital, and government resources were redirected towards the new municipal capital of Ilulissat. Consequently, the local hospital in Qaanaaq no longer accommodates long-term patients or emergency cases; school teacher turnover rates increased; political representation decreased; mental health counsellors make fewer annual visits; and municipal regulations generally favour Ilulissat. Notably, the Inughuit have become more aware of both their geographic distance from the rest of Greenland and their political separation. Especially at a time when Greenland is making strides towards independence from Denmark, Qaanaaq’s diminished representation and say in political affairs have caused the community to feel voiceless. Aside from disagreements with the government, the Inughuit have faced opposition from the WWF, Greenpeace and other international organisations over hunting practices. From the Inughuit’s perspective, these outside entities have not fully understood the philosophy behind hunting – to hunt sustainably, live considerably and prioritise ‘need’ over ‘want’ – that also embodies the essence of Inughuit life.
Contemporary climate change On top of these pressing socio-cultural concerns, contemporary climatic changes have certainly not gone unnoticed. The Inughuit have observed especially unusual environmental variations in recent years related to the onset, duration and extent of sea ice. Warmer oceans have shortened the duration and extent of sea ice, limiting hunters’ movement and access to wildlife and contributing to shortened hunting seasons. Climate change has certainly created advantages and disadvantages, though observed challenges have mainly aggravated existing sociocultural concerns and are not the root of the Inughuit’s difficulties. Should municipal hunting regulations better reflect Qaanaaq’s climate and needs, and should Qaanaaq gain greater access to resources, perhaps contemporary climate changes would place less pressure on the community.
Concluding remarks In Qaanaaq, rapid modernisation and sudden stagnancy over the course of around 60 years have produced transformative consequences that 21st-century climate change now intensifies. Yet, despite facing this triple exposure, the Inughuit are here to stay. As one of Qaanaaq’s residents said to me, “you need to be tough to live here,” and the Inughuit have certainly demonstrated great resilience in the face of changes unprecedented both IN nature and in magnitude. The history, culture and identity of Arctic people extend beyond their hunting heritage, and climate change is one concern among many unresolved underlying socio-cultural concerns that perhaps deserve greater global recognition.
Lessons from a Lifetime in the Arctic Hazel and Luke Robertson RSGS Explorers-in-Residence The North Slope of Arctic Alaska is a beautiful and unforgiving place. For Teena and Jim Helmericks, this remote part of the world has always been home.
(along the Dalton Highway or ‘Haul Road’ as it’s known locally) to Fairbanks in central Alaska. In the early days of their residency, all supplies arrived once a year on a large turboprop plane, meaning meals had to be meticulously planned many months in advance. Every morning at 6am Jim or Teena turns on the generator, the only means of providing power to their home. And so they live their daily lives desensitised to its background hum. Every few weeks they pump water from the lake into huge tanks in the house. With fresh water a scarce resource, showers are short and sweet, taken only every few days. No sewage system means the euphemistically named ‘honey bucket’, which sits under a wooden box with a hole and a toilet seat for cover, has to be emptied regularly too.
Where the Colville River meets the Arctic Ocean lies the four-mile-long unassuming Anachlik Island. The arrival of the summer sun here at 70 degrees north eventually brings an unbroken period of 24-hour light that stretches over almost three months. Although the day is long, the season is short – and there is much to be achieved before darkness sets in. Polar bears venture onto floes to hunt seals, migratory birds arrive from as far away as Antarctica to raise a new generation, and caribou herds culminate their long spring migration across this vast tundra. It’s not just Alaska’s animal residents who busily prepare for the winter ahead. For the Helmericks – year-round residents of Anachlik Island – summer used to mean hurriedly building their current home from scratch. Nowadays, it typically entails occasional subsistence hunting, preserving fresh produce, and maintaining the residential buildings that once housed their children and families, all of whom have since left. As the only house on the coast for more than 300 miles, between Barrow to the west and Kaktovik to the east, the Helmericks can’t afford poor planning. In contrast, winter here brings only a few hours of twilight each day and temperatures regularly below -30°C. Although these long dark winters are brutal, in some ways the Helmericks are freer. With the Arctic Ocean lying locked-tight in places for many months, travelling becomes an easier process. In the past using skis, sleds and husky dogs, and now snowmobiles, means large distances can be covered over frozen ocean and land. The Helmericks largely live off their surroundings, fishing in the Colville River and hunting caribou on the tundra by their house. No part of the animal is wasted. Caribou skins were once used for winter clothing, just like the native Inupiat who have long called northern Alaska home. Other food supplies come in tins or are dried, either flown in or acquired during a 900-mile round-trip via boat and dirt track
We had the privilege of spending a few days at the Helmericks’ homestead on the final stage of our Due North: Alaska expedition. By the time we met Teena and Jim, we had travelled over 1,500 miles by kayak and bike from the southernmost point of mainland Alaska, and here, as throughout our trip, we were treated to impeccable hospitality. Those few summer days staying on Anachlik Island had a great impact on us. Witnessing the Helmericks’ strong connection to the land, their extensive knowledge of flora and fauna and changing weather conditions, and their deep appreciation of the value of their environment, was humbling. In many societies, this kind of connection to nature, where things come from and where things go, is being lost. Dislocated from nature, we find ourselves removed from understanding, and hence appreciating, the true value of resources. The Helmericks’ very survival depends on using what they have or can create wisely, and not taking more than they need. These are people that live and breathe the Arctic and understand that the dependency on this wild environment to survive brings with it a requisite for respect. Perhaps we can all learn a thing or two from the Helmericks: by seeking to understand where our resources come from and where they go, and by taking only what we need.
“Their extensive knowledge of flora and fauna and changing weather conditions, and their deep appreciation of the value of their environment, was humbling.”
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Message in a Bottle Andy McKinnon
Producer and Arts Manager, UistFilm
“The message in a plastic Coca-Cola bottle was found on Baile Sear beach in North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.”
wonders what hunting there will be when his youngest daughter Eva grows up. Everything is connected. Our carbon emissions heat the planet. The polar icecaps melt. Sea level rises. Things are changing in Uist too. Every year the western shores are eroded with increasing storm surges. The name Baile Sear is Gaelic and translates as East Town despite it being on the west coast. We know that there used to be more land to the west which has now been eroded. With melting polar ice come rising sea levels globally. The latest analysis predicts sea level rise of over 30cm by 2050 if global heating continues unchecked. Will that make life in lowlying islands like Uist impossible in the future?
Niels put a message in a bottle on the ice floe. The hunter society in which he grew up, in Upernavik, Greenland, is vanishing like the ice and with it a culture deeply interwoven with its environment. On North Uist, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, I found the message. Here, increasing storm surge and projected sea level rise is already threatening sustainability of life in low-lying islands such as Uist. The message in a plastic Coca-Cola bottle was found on Baile Sear beach in North Uist. It was amongst the multitude of plastic flotsam swept onto our shores. I was on a regular flotsam foraging beach walk, collecting flotsam for a marine litter awareness project, when I spotted something different about this plastic bottle. Inside, written in English, but mostly barely decipherable due to UV exposure, was the story of an unsuccessful hunting trip in Baffin Bay high in the Arctic, by Niels Berthelsen, from Upernavik, north west Greenland. The message began, “13.06.2004 01.00pm The north of Upernavik – 75.38.16 north, 61.25.36 west. We are some hunters from Upernavik who live [in a community of] about 3,000 people. We are trying to hunt beluga whale. We have not [been] catching whales right now…” The hunting was not good for Niels that year. The glacier ice is melting at a rapidly accelerating rate, and their traditional ways of life are disappearing with it. Everything is disconnected. The old ways are useless now. By 2017 the population of Upernavik had diminished to around 1,000 people. Habitat change has shifted the migratory ranges of many animals on land and sea. Niels
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In the winter of 2005, one of the worst storms in living memory caused extensive flooding in low-lying areas of the west coast of South Uist and cut off escape routes to higher ground. Tragically, five members of a family died when their car was washed away during an attempt to flee to safety. The local authority, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, has revised planning regulations to counter the effects of predicted future sea level rise. Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre in Lochmaddy, North Uist sits by the shore and is already unable to develop on this site due to predicted storm surge levels. An LED light installation around the building activated by the incoming tide, by Finnish artists Timo Aho and Pekka Niittyvirta, raises awareness of the issue. The artwork is a very simple and effective visualisation of the issue of rising sea levels. Inspired by a new generation of children speaking out about the climate emergency, I hope to travel to Upernavik to retrace the voyage of the message in a bottle, to meet Niels and his daughter Eva, and to make a documentary film about what the future holds for us all.
An Interview with Calum Maclean Calum Maclean Broadcaster and outdoor swimmer Do you think protecting Scotland’s cultural heritage and natural landscape is important? If so, why? ‘Se rud a tha sònraichte to dh’Alba a th’anns a’ Ghàidhlig – (agus Alba Nuadh!) agus mar sin tha dleastanas againn a’ brosnachadh, na coimhearsnachdan anns a’ bheil I a’ neartachadh agus pròis a bhith againn innte – ‘se rudeigin a’ bhuineas do dh’Alba air fad. Tha sinn cho fortanach ann an Alba leis na cruthan-tìre nàdarra is saorsa a th’againn. Tha mi smaointin an dà chuid cultar nan daoine is an àite a’ dol an cois a chèile – feumaidh sinn a’ bhith mothachail air a sin. Le tuigse air mar a chunnaic na daoine a thàinig romhainn an tìr, faodaidh sinn ar tuigse fhèin a’ neartachadh. Bu thoil leam an dà chuid gum fàs sluagh na Gàidhealtachd – daoine òga a’ chumail ann – agus dìon a’ chumail air ar cruth-tìre aig an dearbh àm. Can you draw any parallels between Scottish and Arctic cultures? Chì mi gu bheil coimeas ri dheànamh eadar Gàidhlig agus leithid cànain nan Sámi – gu bheil an dà chuid air crìonadh gu mòr, gur robh mòran dhaoine anns na dùthchannan, agus a-measg riaghlaidh a’ cuir sios orra – cha tig “bàs” do chànan leis fhèin, ach tro ghnìomhan dhaoine. Faodar coimhead air a’ bhriathrachas farsaing a th’aca airson rudan ann an nàdar, agus coimeas a’ dhèanamh leis a’ Ghàidhlig, far a bheil còrr is ceud facal ann airson beanntan! Chìthear gu bheil adhbharan dòchais ann – gu bheil oigridh ag ionnsachadh a’ chànain ann an sgoiltean, gu bheil aithneachadh ceart ann do chànan – ach tha an t-uabhas ri dhèanamh fhathast. Tha sinn uile beò ann an saoghal lànn Bheurla san latha a’ th’ann – ‘se a bhith lorg rudan a’ chumas sinn a’ cleachdadh ar cànain eile a tha cudromach. What are the benefits of speaking Gaelic? Why do you think more people should learn the language? Iomadh bhuannachd! Tha e math dha d’eanchainn, gheibhear sealladh nas fharsainge air an t-saoghal, nì e ionnsachadh cànanan eile nas fhasa, dean iognadh air luchd-turais, faodar “Buachaille Èite Mhòr” a’ ràdh gun eagal. Ann an iomadh dhùthaich eile, tha e dìreach nàdarra barrachd air aon chànan a bhith agad – bu choir dhuinne amas air sin, agus tha Gàidhlig ann mar tha, cleachd i!
Visit rsgs.org to read this in English on the RSGS blog!
Do you have a favourite Gaelic word? What is your favourite (or most difficult) word to teach non-Gaelic speakers? Uisge! Aon fhacal a chluinneas mi daoine a’ strì leis gu tric, sin “Loch” – ‘s toil leam sin a’ mhìneachadh do dhaoine – oir ‘se fuaim cumanta ann an Gàidhlig th’ann an “ch” – nach eil a’ nochdadh sa Bheurla. What do you enjoy most about your job as a film maker and presenter? Nam bheatha, tha mi ag amas air 2 rud a’ dheànamh, a nì toilichte mi: sin a’ bhith a-muigh, agus a’ bhith cruthachail. Mar sin, ma ‘s urrain dhomh obair far a bheil an dà rud sin air an gabhail a-steach, tha mi riaraichte! How did you first get involved in making your own films? Bha seanail uabhasach YouTube agam o chionn bliadhnaichean mòra (tha e fhathast an ach chan innis mi dhut dè th’ann!) agus bhithinn a’ dèanamh fiolmaichean beaga gòrach le mo charaidean, is dh’fhàs e as a sin. Dh’fhàs m’ùidh ann an dealbhadaireachd cuideachd, thòisich mi blog mu shnàmh, chaidh m’fhaighneachd fiolm neo dhà a’ dheànamh do BBC The Social is lean cùisean as a sin! What was your favourite film to make? ‘Sdocha nuair a shnàmh mi Eas Labhra airson sreath Dhan Uisge air BBC ALBA. Leum mi a-steach do t-sruth nuair a bha e a’ ruith aig an astar as luaithe! Bha e cho luath, dh’fheuman a’ dhèanamh 6 turas! Chan e snàmh a’ mholainn do chàch – bha sgioba sàbhailteach nam chois, ach bha e sporsail! How did you first get involved in outdoor swimming? Gu ceart o chionn mu 10 bliadhna, bha mi air ais ann an Tasmania is gun innse do dhuine shnàmh mi thairis air abhainn Derwent san dorchadas aon mhadainn – mu Chilemeatair, an snàmh as fhaide a rinn mi riamh. Abair togail a’ fhuair mi! What is the most memorable outdoor swim that you have done? ‘Se na snàmhan a’ nì mi gun cus planaidh, agus mi beagan mìchinnteach mun deidhinn a tha a’ còrdadh rium as motha – le mì-chinnt an dean mi a’ chùis. Bha turas a’ ghabh mi cuairt air Loch MaRuibhe, gus an t-eilean taobh a-staigh an loch, taobh a-staigh an t-eilean(!) air Eilean Sùbhainn a’ lorg. Fhuair mi lorg air – bha an solas ag atharrachadh air na beanntan fad an latha, bha an t-uisge ciùin, an uairsin fiadhaich, bha boghafroise ann, is bha cuairt-dànachd agam ann an àite àlainn. Do you have any exciting projects, swims or adventure challenges lined up for 2020? Tha mi a’ beachdachadh air cuairt neo dhà fada – aon snàmh glè fhada thairis air iomadh latha ann an Alba, is aon chuairt ann an Canada – ann an canù tha mi smaointin. Tha mi airson tòrr snamh-coiseachd a’ dhèanamh – sin a’ snàmh le gach rud campachaidh nam chois, is cuairtean thairis oidhche neo dha a’ dhèanamh – tha sin a’ còrdadh rium gu mòr.
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Climate strike in Edinburgh, September 2019
The We Futu Wa re nt
Image © Richard Dixon, Friends of the Earth Scotland
We Want Change!
Holly Gillibrand Environmental activist, 14 years old As a child, I was taught about the Arctic and all the wild animals living there. In school I made a giant poster about fierce polar bears, charismatic Arctic foxes and angelic beluga whales which my teacher stuck up on the classroom wall. My schoolmates and I confused the Arctic and Antarctica and thought that penguins lived alongside polar bears. All of these snow-white creatures surviving on a desolate, lifeless landscape intrigued me. I watched March of the Penguins, Frozen Planet and Ice Age. But our wildlife is in trouble, partly due to climate change. Climate change is heating the planet, making life very much harder for a lot of species, like polar bears in the Arctic who rely on sea ice to hunt, and penguins in Antarctica who need ice to raise their chicks. It is impacting people in coastal areas who are having to move because their homes are in danger of being washed away. It is not some future problem that may or may not happen. It is affecting normal people right now, today, and it will continue to get much worse. All around the world, young people have been striking from school every Friday because we are angry at the adults. We are angry because our governments and business leaders are not acting on the most important issue we have ever faced: the breakdown of our climate and nature. We want change and we will not sit in silence while the people who have the most power exploit and pillage our
Climate strike in Edinburgh, January 2019
planet’s life support systems and continue to encourage exploration for oil and gas. The oceans are acidifying, rising and warming, the rainforests are being cut down, the polar ice caps are melting, coral reefs are being bleached, our seas are overfished and full of plastic, fields are sprayed with pesticides, extreme weather events are becoming ever increasingly common, and extinctions are happening 1,000 to 10,000 times what is thought to be natural. Whatever issue you’re choosing to focus on – whether it’s climate change, wildlife loss, deforestation, plastic pollution – you have the power to make an enormous difference. But the only way we can make the biggest change possible is with unity. We need to unite in the face of the breakdown of our climate and nature. Together, we need to demand that our government, politicians and business leaders treat the destruction of our living planet with the urgency that is required, so that we can save it before it’s too late.
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A Tale of an Impatient Commuter and a 41-Hour Journey Eilidh Watson PhD candidate, Glasgow Caledonian University
Time. Having enough of it is a luxury. We live in such a fastpaced, immediate society that we demand quick solutions to everything. As flight prices have reduced , flying has become the most favourable option for many. It is easy to book and the journey (supposedly) takes up less of our precious time. Despite years of passionate interest in climate change and environmental protection, I will be the first to admit that I have subconsciously turned a blind eye to the environmental damage that flying causes. Choosing not to fly was something I had never previously considered. I have always viewed travelling as the inconvenient chore or task that has to be done. I travel to my office every day by train which is rarely a pleasant experience. No matter the destination, I therefore always look for the fastest and cheapest travel option. However, this all changed when I was asked to travel to Stockholm via land and sea. In July of this year, the Young Geographer team were offered the opportunity of a lifetime: to travel to Sweden to meet Greta Thunberg and present her with the RSGS Geddes Environment Medal. Through the support of the RSGS, we were able to make a conscious decision and rule out flying. The planned journey involved passing through six countries with eight connections, including five trains, two ferries and three buses. In total, the journey involved 41 hours of continuous travel. In contrast, a direct flight from Edinburgh to Stockholm takes on average two hours and fifteen minutes. Quite a considerable difference in time. In 2019, there has been a significant increase in the use of the Swedish phrase ‘flygskam’ which translates as ‘flight shaming’. It was first coined when climate activists began to put pressure on the airline industry and their customers for a lack of environmental consideration. Before, I never felt that this applied to me. This experience allowed me to stop and consider the hypocrisy of my previous actions. Not only was this trip to Stockholm an exciting chance to meet an individual who has been pivotal in the youth movement against climate change, it was an opportunity to give this ‘no flying’ thing a go.
Image © Cameron Mackay
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My previous reasons for opting to fly focused around convenience in terms of time and money. However, when booking the trip, I was amazed to find that the prices for our journey, albeit considerably longer and booked very close
Image © Cameron Mackay
to departure, were comparable to flying. This was a pleasant surprise. The only obstacle in the way now was preparing myself for the long journey time. I expected a horrendously long experience and to be uncomfortable every step of the way. This could not be further from the truth. As someone who usually has a really busy schedule and is always battling with the ‘too much to do, not enough hours in the day’ conundrum, this journey allowed me to be able to change how I viewed travel. Previously I thought, “those that can afford the time to travel like this probably have too much time on their hands.” Now I think that this is the smarter way to travel. There were no queues, no concerns over baggage allowance or long waits for baggage on a never-ending carousel. The ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam, for example, had a rooftop bar, a cinema, shops and several restaurants. Even our cabin held surprises in the form of comfortable beds and en-suite facilities. Our train journeys saw us crossing through beautiful countryside, bustling cities and across borders: stress free and relaxed. Everything was calm and effortless. A personal highlight for me, as well as a first for all of us, was the train that went onto a ferry. Before this journey, I often viewed environmentally conscious decisions as a sacrifice or a burden, but this experience opened my eyes to a new way of thinking. These decisions don’t have to be a sacrifice. I realised that I can’t get it right all of the time but I don’t have to, to make a difference and inspire change. I am not saying I will never fly again, but this trip has opened my eyes to a new way of travel that makes the journey part of the adventure. Now that I know that, environmentally conscious decisions like this will be much easier to make in the future. Development in booking apps or websites that will allow a single trip to be booked that involves multiple modes of transport would definitely make journeys like this more accessible and easier to plan. With this, I think land and sea travel, especially to Europe, could be the future. This previously impatient commuter would happily find the time to fly less in the future and is no longer ‘impatient’.
Visiting Arctic Nations Through Slow Travel
Cameron Mackay Environmental Projects Assistant, University of Strathclyde Looking back on our journey from Scotland to Stockholm to interview Greta Thunberg, switching air travel for a slow travel journey across land and sea really worked for us. We had a great adventure passing through places we may otherwise never have seen and we drastically reduced our carbon emissions in doing so. Our main take-away from this was that, for people who can afford the time and costs of this type of journey, it would be a great way to take individual action on climate change. For hundreds of years, Scotland has maintained deep links with Arctic nations, be it through trade, culture or ancestry. To get there today, flying might seem like the most simple and affordable option but, given that the cultures and communities of the Arctic are rapidly changing in many places due to climate change, is it possible that there are more responsible ways to get there? When our editorial team for this magazine was tasked with travelling to Sweden to interview Greta Thunberg, this is the exact question we faced. To avoid flying, we travelled by ferry, train and bus across land and sea to cover the distance between Scotland and Stockholm. This was a very different experience to flying and involved several quick train changes and some hectic sprints across European city centres. However, there were also so many moments of peace where we could take in some incredible views such as watching Britain’s coastline fade into the sunset from the deck of our ferry and seeing the skylines of Amsterdam and Copenhagen rush past the train window. Looking back at the work of writers throughout Scottish history who have brought us all closer to our own landscapes in Scotland, you can see this same theme of slow travel emerge. In the not-so-distant past writer Nan Shepherd also touched on this idea, outlining how slowing down and taking more time to engage with the landscape around you can foster a much deeper sense of connection with the natural world. As Scots moving through the world, it felt fitting for us that we embodied these same attitudes on our journey to Stockholm. Looking to the bigger picture, it is inspiring to see the number of flight-free campaigns and individuals who are currently advocating low-carbon travel – Greta being a fantastic example as, shortly after she spoke to us, she embarked on a carbon-neutral sail across the Atlantic to North America. As much as we enjoyed our journey, there is one thing that seems impossible to leave out of a conversation about going flight-free. We could afford the time and were able to have the costs of our journey to Stockholm covered, which was more expensive than a flight would be, and that is a huge privilege. It isn’t realistic to put the expectation on everyone else to do the same. For those who do have the
privilege of being able to take on a slow travel adventure, it is a hugely impactful individual action to take. However, the real solutions surely lie with governments who have the power to tax aviation and subsidise rail travel to make the costs more equal. Only then can we find low-carbon travel options that are fully inclusive and can be accessible to a much wider proportion of society.
From Greta...
“It is important that we address the climate crisis because we don’t have any other option. The future living conditions for all species are at risk. I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t. “It is so incredibly important that young people are getting together, going together and marching together and saying that this is enough. We are not going to accept this anymore because we are the future. Young people are the future: we are the future voters, we are the future leaders. “It is important that older people and those in power listen to the young people because, even though we might not be as experienced as they are, we understand things in a different way. We see things from a new perspective. “My message to the young people in Scotland is to hold the older generations accountable. The fight doesn’t end here. We can be as many young people as possible marching but what we really need to achieve change is to bend the emissions curve. “My message to the Scottish Parliament, I think, is the same to every parliament. They are currently not doing nearly enough and they need to really step up the game and to realise what is at stake. This is a question of life and death, and they can’t just keep compromising. “There are a lot of people who inspire me. At the moment I think those who inspire me the most are the children on school strike, but also all of the other activists who are fighting for this cause because we are all on the same team. Especially the many children and young people who are protesting in places where they are not allowed, and they risk their freedom.” From an interview with Young Geographer editorial team, Stockholm, Sweden, 12th July 2019. To watch a short video about this adventure to interview Greta, please visit: shorturl.at/goCE9
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Stirling Youth Strikes
Sophia Riederer University of Stirling, Founding member of YouthStrike4Climate Stirling For many years now, scientists have been proving that the way in which we are treating this planet and using its resources is not sustainable. However, no one is listening: climate agreement goals are being missed and the irresponsible actions of our governments clearly show that they are not taking this problem seriously. This has left me feeling quite helpless sometimes. However, standing up for what you believe in and actively fighting for it yourself is one of the most empowering things you can do. It has been very uplifting to see so many environmental movements growing exponentially over the past year. It feels like finally, this vital issue is becoming more mainstream. I live and study in Stirling, and even in such a small town there is so much activism to get involved in. If you feel like something is missing, just create it yourself! That’s what two good friends and I did after attending a climate school strike in Edinburgh. We thought, why not start our own YouthStrike4Climate group in Stirling? That way we could reach even more people and raise awareness within the local community where some people might otherwise have never heard of this organisation. Of course, we started out quite small but, just like all over the world, the movement is growing here in Stirling too. We have been able to reach more and more people: our last protest was attended by roughly 300 individuals from all age groups. We have already achieved a small success by protesting at the doorstep of Stirling Council with such a large crowd. Shortly after the event Stirling Council declared a climate and ecological emergency, finally following suit with many other councils in
the UK. This is just a first step: we need to keep pressuring our governments to act according to this emergency. Another group I am involved in is Extinction Rebellion. This movement has many autonomous groups all over the world. The focus of our group in Stirling is to create awareness of environmental problems through local projects. For example, we are organising information stalls and clothes swaps in the town centre and planning many creative projects. This has involved producing thought-provoking art in public spaces staging ‘die-ins’. A few of us also travelled to London to support the International Rebellion that was taking place at the beginning of October. During this two-week event, Extinction Rebellion demanded that the government tell the truth about the environmental emergency and rapidly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to achieve global climate justice. There are many other exciting things happening in Stirling at the moment. For example, the Students’ Union of Stirling University has recently declared a climate and ecological emergency and has become the first carbon-neutral students’ union in the whole of the UK. The progress we are making might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but I believe that over time all of these small steps accumulate. The latest IPCC report gave us 12 years, now already reduced to 11, to avert potentially irreversible climate disruption. Let’s hope this change towards a more sustainable mindset will happen fast enough.
“No one is listening... this has left me feeling quite helpless sometimes.”
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Young Arctic and Scottish Voices Perspectives from Greenland
Perspectives from Scotland
Cicilie, 12, Nuuk, Greenland
Stella, 9, Edinburgh, Scotland
I like to be young in Greenland because it’s fun to be out with my friends in the winter and just go for a walk in the cold weather. I’m afraid that the ice will melt; it will be bad for other countries too.
I’m 9 and live in Edinburgh with my brother and sister and my parents. Edinburgh is a small city, but it has a lot of tourists from all over the world. In the shops you can also buy food from all over the world, but most of it is wrapped in plastic.
It is expensive to live in Greenland because food costs a lot more than in other countries. I think there should be more modern shops as the ones here are a bit boring. I like when it’s summer because you can go sailing and you can fish; in the autumn there will be Greenlandish blackberries and blueberries..
Midoli, 13, Nuuk, Greenland Nuuk and Qaanaaq have different cultures – in Qaanaaq they still go hunting like in the old days, but in Nuuk they hunt with guns and so on. I love animals, but I also love eating the meat. I don’t like the meat in the shops because the animals are not well treated. Living in Nuuk is fun and I have many hobbies – particularly dancing and hunting, and also being with my friends. I like books, especially Harry Potter. I´m afraid that nature is going to disappear because of the people who are trying to make bigger houses and cities. When I grow older I want to go all over the world, and maybe try to stand up for nature to try and stop people who build cities.
Isabella, 13, Nuuk, Greenland Right now it’s snowing – I like snow but I want summer and sun, because the snow is really cold and slippery. I don’t fear anything here – I feel pretty safe living in Greenland, and I only see bigger things coming, like more stores, more houses and so on. We live a pretty normal life – maybe a little different than other countries – but I have only tried living in Greenland so I don’t know. We don’t live in igloos or ride on polar bears like some people think!
Ea, 13, Nuuk, Greenland The thing I am most worried about is the climate, for sure. I think that if the ice in the Arctic is melting, all of the Arctic animals will die, and that will be so sad – but I hope that it is not going to happen.
Since January this year, I have gone to the School Climate Strikes on Fridays. I stand outside the Scottish Parliament to try and get the politicians to listen to us and to make changes quickly to stop climate disruption. My hobbies are running, reading and tree climbing. I do cycle around sometimes but it’s a shame because there are too many cars, so it isn’t safe.
Fergus, 12, and Euan, 14, Balbeggie, Scotland We really like going wild swimming and paddleboarding at a nearby loch that is full of wildlife and is really nice and peaceful — and particularly when it is sunny! We also enjoy wakeboarding in Dundee Harbour, because we like learning new tricks. We’re really concerned about the sea getting hotter and the coral reefs dying as a result of that. Coral reefs produce about half of our oxygen, and if they are dying then there will be less air to breathe which is crucial to us.
Munro, 13, Milnathort, Scotland I live in Scotland with my parents and younger brother. While Scotland is a nice place to live, it can sometimes get a tiny bit cold and wet! In the summer, my family and I go camping – it’s one of my favourite times of the year! I really like camping because in Scotland it is always quiet, no matter where you go! The population here isn’t as big as other countries, so it can be really peaceful if you find the right spot. I enjoy playing the violin, piano and saxophone and I play in two orchestras. By 2030, climate change could be irreversible, and I think this will have a big effect on this generation and the next few to come. A million animals face extinction and I think we need to do something to change this soon, or later we will be using more of the Earth’s resources than we can renew.
Image © Mike Robinson
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Reflections From the Ice
The Polar Academy Team Bathgate Academy Emma A while ago I was one of the invisible teenagers in my school. I had no self-esteem, and no confidence. Then the Polar Academy came into my life in late 2017. It came at a time in my life where I really needed it. I am not the same person I was two years ago – in fact, far from it. I have achieved so much, I have climbed mountains, seen the northern lights, been to ice caves, trained for months on end and skied across Greenland for days. I am so much more confident and resilient than I was. I have done unimaginable things that I would’ve never dreamed of doing. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the Polar Academy.
Orla I liked getting to train beside my friends every week, learning new skills like how to put up a tent in three minutes – and our regular intensive fitness training! I loved the endurance weekends. Getting to haul tyres for 30km through Scottish hills might not sound like fun but it really was! When we got to Greenland this really helped me feel prepared. It was great knowing we’d worked hard as a team and knew we’d be ready. When we got to Greenland the views were breathtaking and although the pictures are great, they don’t do it justice. The feeling of being there will live with me forever.
A shock came when we were told that we had to return from our ski trek early. This was because the sea ice we crossed had melted due to rising temperatures. This taught me that not everything goes to plan. But the big lesson was about global warming. It’s a big problem; people can’t deny it now. We saw it with our own eyes. If something isn’t done, Greenland will be changed forever and I think this will have horrible environmental consequences.
Abbey Being on the helicopter from Kulusuk to Tasiilaq is 15 minutes I will never forget. Seeing the deep, dark blue waters sent shivers throughout my whole body. Landing in the small towns was amazing. Clusters of small, colourful houses dotted all over with beautiful snowy mountains as a backdrop. The villages are full of culture; getting to meet people in the town was definitely one of many highlights to the trip. They live such unique lives and I loved hearing the stories from people in the village. Being to Greenland and participating in the Polar Academy has not only helped to shape me into the confident individual I now am, but has also completely changed my perspective of life. I will be forever grateful.
Matt It was the week before the expedition and my nerves had turned to excitement. It felt real that I was going on an Arctic expedition to Greenland. The time in Greenland was the most amazing 16 days of my life — it was phenomenal. And now I realise I can overcome whatever challenges life gives me; I have less self-doubt and more confidence. I am not that person who is nervous about what other people think of me. I am Matt, the adventurer – and that’s thanks to Polar Academy!
The Polar Academy identifies ‘invisible’ 14-17 years old secondary school children, crushed by a lack of self-esteem, and gives them the chance to redefine their physical and mental limits. Participants are put through a rigorous ten-month training programme before being immersed in the wilds of Greenland, navigating through some of the world’s remotest terrain for ten days. Their confidence soars with every step. On their return to Scotland, each pupil shares their experiences with their peer groups, speaking to more than 20,000 school children in their region. They are living, breathing proof that dreams are attainable and that ordinary pupils can achieve the truly extraordinary. The Polar Academy was founded by RSGS Explorer-in-Residence Craig Mathieson.
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Svalbard... 78°N, 15°E... A little chilly, on average... Illegal to die... More polar bears than humans... Has a mountain called Ben Nevis (922m). Scotland... 56°N, 4°W... Not so chilly, but a bit wet... Not illegal to die... Probably more sheep than humans... Also has a mountain called Ben Nevis (1,345m).
Scotland to Svalbard
Sarah Wilson Knight Vice Chair, 2050 Climate Group Svalbard is a wonderful little island located somewhere in the Arctic Circle, between mainland Norway and the North Pole (about 200 miles from it). From glorious blue skies to being a ‘cal, dreich place’, it often experiences winter temperatures of -40°C or lower. It wins the prize for having the world’s northernmost everything: liquor store; piano; full service hotel; and university. Longyearbyen (the Longyear Town) is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world, where most people on Svalbard are resident. This intriguing little place has a population aged almost entirely between 25 and 44, and almost no one beyond the years of 60. When I first stepped out into the polar night in Svalbard to begin some ‘polar survival training’ the cold hit my chest hard. I was escaping the dark Scottish winter for somewhere a bit darker (24 hours of darkness) and to experience proper cold. To my disappointment this cold lasted for just one day. What we experienced in this polar night was a Svalbard heat wave. It went from -20°C to 1°C overnight. The second time my feet hit that chilly wee island I was somewhat relieved by cold, 12 hours of daylight and a real threat from wandering polar bears. Luckily, the temperature was about -35°C. What makes polar survival dangerous is exposure and being utterly ‘in the middle of nowhere’, far from the shelter of civilisation. Some useful facts to keep in mind if you ever find yourself in polar regions: burst your blisters – they will freeze in the form of sheets of ice and hack at your foot; it’s very easy to burn snow; polar bears could be wary of you if you sing to them – never scream; and wind and sweat could kill you. Another thing I learnt – the average temperature has increased by 4°C in the last 30 years in Svalbard. Worryingly, if we remain ‘business-as-usual’, Svalbard will experience
a 10°C increase in annual air temperature in the next 80 years; one of the most dramatic increases in the world – something I don›t want to experience when I am 109 years old. I fear for future generations who will experience the global implications of this. The landscape of such beauty and mystery will entirely change for both nature and the young population who depend on it. I felt both responsible and obligated to take climate action in any way I can (with the help of the 2050 Climate Group). When on polar bear watch (a solitary walk far from the team whilst they sleep, literally on the watch for polar bears) I took time to reflect. For the first time in my life, I felt truly alone and that I’d surrendered to the powerful forces of nature. I felt tiny and insignificant – and it felt great! But I felt a sense of sadness and helplessness as I was unable to help that wonderful little place I’d become so fond of. This was followed by some daydreaming and forgetting about the polar bear threat! When I returned to my warm homeland of Scotland, it was difficult not to feel hypocritical about flying to an area which really is at the forefront of climate change. However, I was determined to use this experience to instigate a fresh and focused mindset to my fellow volunteers at the 2050 Climate Group. 2050 Climate Group is a Scottish charity working to empower, equip and enable young leaders (18 to 35) to take their own action on climate change – to join a growing climate leaders network (also beginning in Malawi) and to push the boundaries on personal, professional and political climate action. The enthusiasm and determination from this group, Svalbardian young people and young leaders globally is crucial.
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Arctic Day - Voices from the Troms Youth Council, Norway Cameron Mackay Environmental Projects Assistant, University of Strathclyde Kalina Dimitrova Graduate Structural Engineer, Goodson Associates On 25th March the Young Geographer editorial team were invited to the first Arctic Day organised by the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in Inverness. The opening speech of the conference from Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs of the Scottish Government, underlined Scotland’s close links to the Arctic, through culture, geography and history. Scotland also shares many of the characteristics of the high North: rural communities, a dispersed population, and a heavy dependence on natural resources. Despite many challenges, there is still optimism for the future. We spoke to two members of Troms Youth Council, Norway to hear about their experiences.
snow until Christmas Eve.” According to Hedda, “one year the snow also came very late. I think it was snowing in June, it was crazy.” Last summer Norway experienced record temperatures of up to 35 degrees. Inge explained that because of the heat “things started burning. Trees would be set on fire because everything was so dry. It was a big problem.” Hedda mentions, “It was so dry that we couldn’t get enough feed for animals.” Inge considered that there’s definitely more to come. “It’s crazy that we can see it already because I remember it wasn’t like this when I was little and when I was growing up.” Climate change will also affect livelihoods. One of the main industries in the north has always been fishing. According to Inge, “There will be a big problem in Norway. We need the fish to survive and experts are [saying] that fish is going to move now that the climate is changing. And that might create a huge problem for Norway and for Scotland and for many countries that depend on it.’’
Ingeborg Gjerdrum Foshaug and Hedda Ottarsen Nøstvik joined their respective Student Youth Councils at the age of 13. They were then invited to an election for the County Youth Council, Troms. Inge is now in her third year on the council, and she is also its leader. Hedda is in her second year on Asked if the impacts (L) Hedda Ottarsen Nøstvik (R) Ingeborg Gjerdrum Foshaug the council, and already being seen she’s also involved were one of the reasons young people are currently involved with Arctic Frontiers, an organisation that links academia in school strikes for climate across the world, Hedda said, with decision makers from government and business for “Youth nowadays see other problems than youth before responsible and sustainable development of the Arctic. and I think it’s very obvious with this strike. And you can see Hedda gave a speech with a guest speaker, which caught how many youths that are a really big part of it, and you can the attention of the people organising the Arctic Day, and see that they care.’’ they invited the girls to come to Scotland and speak. As Scotland is trying to build a stronger relationship with the Arctic, the girls confirmed there are links between the two communities. Hedda sees similar problems around mental health: “nowadays we communicate with one another in a [different] way than we used to before. When you’re on the Internet you can be another person and you can hide and it’s much easier.” The conversation didn’t shy away from climate change. The girls have already been seeing a change in the weather pattern where they live. Inge remembers when she was growing up, “it used to start snowing in October and the snow would stay and then it would be snowy until after Easter. But now, the snow comes and then it melts and then it comes and then it melts and this year there wasn’t
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Inge adds, “We also see it in the media. There is a lot of focus on climate. Everybody is thinking through their decisions now more than they used to.” Asked what the next steps need to be both locally and internationally to find answers to climate change and solutions to the north region’s problems, the girls had an important message: “Small steps can be big steps,’’ says Hedda. The girls then told us about home, from food to the outdoor activities and beautiful landscapes, where we realised we have some things in common. We’re used to the cold and enjoy summers swimming in the sea, but where we eat haggis and Tunnocks Teacakes, the specialist food in Norway is dried fish or meatballs.
From the Scottish Government Scotland has a long and varied history with the Arctic region. We are the world’s closest non-Arctic nation to the Arctic Circle, our Shetland archipelago being as far north as Cape Farewell in Greenland. Thanks to geographical proximity and similar outlooks, Scotland and its High North neighbours have long looked at each other for inspiration, solutions and ideas. To this day, connections forged through history continue to spur new academic partnerships, trade exchanges, cultural projects and joint cooperation in every sector of our daily lives. In order to strengthen existing links and open new avenues for engagement with Arctic countries, the Scottish Government has launched Arctic Connections, Scotland’s first Arctic Policy Framework. Far from being a geopolitical statement, Arctic Connections aims to serve as a prospectus for renewed Scottish-Arctic cooperation. Reflecting on the challenges that Scotland shares with its Arctic neighbours – many of which stem from rurality and remoteness – the policy framework sets out opportunities for mutual learning, policy exchange and multilateral collaboration. From biodiversity monitoring and encouraging sustainable tourism, to providing high-quality health services in remote areas and developing clean energy solutions, there is a lot Scotland and Arctic countries can learn from each other and even more they can achieve together. In an increasingly connected world, working with like-minded international partners to find joint solutions to common issues must be the default position. Scotland has a lot to contribute to these discussions but there remains a lot we can learn from others. The importance of multilateralism has never been greater as the challenges we are collectively facing have never been more severe. The Arctic region and its melting glaciers are illustrative of the devastating impact of global warming on our planet. These challenges cannot be tackled in isolation but can only be addressed if countries come together to confront them. For this reason, while promoting neighbourly engagement with the Arctic, we also appeal to the wider international community to increase collective action, accelerate decarbonisation and build a sustainable future for all.
shareholder in its future. But the paths we intend to pursue are as important as our journey’s destination. Our approach is about giving and sharing, about ensuring our collective efforts improve the wellbeing and resilience of our communities. This is why the final section of the document – where we set out key actions and commitments – is titled ‘Scotland’s offer to the Arctic’. Our policy framework puts people firmly at the heart of Scottish-Arctic dialogue. This approach is reflected in the commitments we have made in the document. Going forward, for instance, we will promote new young people exchanges between Scotland and Arctic countries. We will share expertise on the promotion of indigenous languages while encouraging collaborations on community regeneration, with a particular focus on female entrepreneurship in rural and islands areas. We will continue to develop marine science cooperation as well as partnerships on the creative industries. We will foster knowledge exchange on the delivery of connectivity and environmentally safe decommissioning. It’s a stretching and exciting agenda centred around sustainability, equality and mutuality. The Scottish Government is determined to pursue these objectives in conjunction with Scotland’s academia, creative sector, business community and civic society. By means of Arctic Connections we are building an open and diverse platform that we will share with both Scotland-based organisations and international partners. The publication of the policy framework is itself the result of a process during which we have consulted widely and reached out to Scotland’s civic society. I am especially grateful for the support and expert advice that RSGS, including its Young Geographers, have provided throughout its development. Arctic Connections encourages Scotland to look North while serving as an invitation card to our Arctic neighbours. I hope many on both sides of this centuries-long dialogue will respond.
Ms Fiona Hyslop MSP Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs
Our ambition is bold: we want to promote Scotland as not only a key partner in the Arctic neighbourhood but also a
RSGS & the Scottish Government
Recently, the RSGS has been working with the Scottish Government to develop connections between Scotland and the Arctic. RSGS holds a seat on the Scottish Government Arctic Policy Advisory Forum, and has produced an edition of The Geographer featuring some of the voices and issues that are central to moving any policy forward. In addition, RSGS has been represented by members of our Young Geographer editorial team at two of the Scottish Government’s Arctic Policy Framework events in 2019: in Inverness, and in Orkney for the launch. We welcome the Scottish Government’s increasing alliances with Arctic nations and look forward to working with them as this exciting policy takes shape.
“It is important that older people and those in power listen to the young people because, even though we might not be as experienced as they are, we understand things in a different way. We see things from a new perspective.” Greta Thunberg
RSGS: A better way to see the world
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