Update on Work Package 2 Progress

From a workshop at kick-off meeting, at Arctic Centre (Photo: Markku Heikkilä)The development of the EU Arctic Impact Assessment study and report is the main activity within the Work Package 2 of the "Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of development of the Arctic" project. The assessment will identify trends in the Arctic, discuss their environmental, social, political and economic impacts in the Arctic and on the European Union, as well as assess the role of EU policies and actions in shaping and mitigating developments in the region.

What makes the EU Arctic Impact Assessment different than other studies is a critical role of stakeholders, who will help experts in analysing the developments in the Arctic, the impact of EU policies, and will play central role in identifying recommendations for the EU policy-making. For this purpose, a set of factsheets will be prepared to provide stakeholders with background information and trigger discussion.

So far, the WP2 team developed methodology for the study, has been conducting research and has been organizing for stakeholder consultations. Currently, factsheets on seven themes identified for assessment are being drafted: Climate change; Maritime shipping; Oil and gas developments; Mining; Fisheries; Land use changes; and Social and cultural changes.

The factsheets will be published in September 2013 and the first round of stakeholder consultations will take place in Rovaniemi on the 3rd October 2013.

Simultaneously, the team of experts is working on the Impact Assessment in Policy-making Report, which will present how different types of assessments influence policy-making.