Announcement - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Arctic Transformation and Resilience Study Group

| Sep. 24, 2019

The Arctic is the fastest changing environment on the planet and these changes are having both local and global impacts that are stretching the ability of social and natural systems to adapt. Arctic science and policy providers must develop new methodologies to identify and solve Arctic problems at a meaningful scale and in a meaningful timeframe. The Arctic Council's Arctic Resilience Action Framework (ARAF), the first regional resilience framework in the world, designated four areas for focused effort on resilience — science, capacity, governance, and finance.

This semester, the Arctic Transformation and Resilience Study Group will focus on the governance element and work together to deliver a compilation and brief analysis of existing policies that support or inhibit resilience in the Arctic. Students will deliver this to the Secretariat of the Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group.

In addition to providing the deliverables described above, the five weekly work sessions will also feature Q&As with top Arctic scientists, policymakers, indigenous knowledge-holders, and finance experts.

The Study Group will be led by Arctic Initiative Senior Fellow Joel Clement, an Arctic Policy expert with a background in climate and energy issues, resilience and climate-change adaptation, landscape-scale conservation and management, and Arctic social-ecological systems. Prior to joining the Kennedy School, Mr. Clement served as an executive for seven years at the U.S. Department of the Interior where he served as director of the Office of Policy Analysis, working to help Native Alaskan communities in danger of losing their lands and livelihoods because of climate change. In addition, he is an Associate with the Stockholm Environmental Institute and a Senior Fellow with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

This study group will be held on Tuesdays, from 6pm–7:30pm beginning October 29, and including November 5, 12, 19, and  26. For more information or to sign-up please, contact brittany_janis@hks.harvard.edu. Space is limited; please register by October 21.

For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation: Janis, Brittany.“Arctic Transformation and Resilience Study Group.” Announcement, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, September 24, 2019.

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