Windmills altering the Arctic landscapes (Photo: Dorothee Ehrich).

Indigenous people and Northern local communities have traditionally lived in close contact with and off nature, and developed arrangements for resource management that can be under considerable pressure due to large industrial development projects. The aims of the research project The Arctic governance triangle: government, Indigenous people and industry in change (TriArc) are to examine how large development projects like mining, production of electric power, and aquaculture challenge traditional resource use and management, and the types of governance arrangements established to regulate the relationship between traditional land use and large industrial development. The project includes a significant comparative component assessing the countries in the circumpolar area –  Canada, Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden –  as well as drawing upon Australian experiences where Indigenous people have experience with new projects on resource development.

How do large development projects like mining, production of electric power, and aquaculture challenge traditional resource use and management, and the types of governance arrangements established to regulate the relationship between traditional land use and large industrial development?

State, marked, and civil society are core components of the theoretical framework. The concepts of governability, accountability and legitimacy are central to the discussion about interaction and potential governance between actors within these sectors of society. How is the Indigenous involvement in processes of resource development informed by international and national political and legal realities, the behavior of various corporative actors, and Indigenous peoples’ own institutions? To what extent can we identify forms of governance that promote Indigenous engagement with resource development and management? TriArc examines to what extent decentralized governance contributes to more appropriate, effective and legitimate governance solutions promoting Indigenous engagement in resource governance systems.

Windmills altering the Arctic landscapes (Photo: Dorothee Ehrich).

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