Tromso Center:
Direction in a Complex Arctic System
Prepared for the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
and the Troms County Working Group
Tara Beck, Whitney Gantt, Britta Johnson, Louisa
Kennedy, Giff Laube, Yeri Lopez, and Theo Ohlgart
PA 867, Spring 2007
Our client and project
 Client: UW–Madison Nelson
Institute for Environmental
Studies and the Troms County
Working Group
 Objective: Analyze Barents
Euro-Arctic Region (BEAR)
sustainability issues and create
an institutional focus for a
center in Tromso, Norway
Systems Map of Pressure Points
Goals and Criteria for Tromso Center
1. Sustainability

Can the proposed direction:
 Restore environmental
balance?
 Provide opportunities for
economic profit?
 Ensure social equity?
3. Administrative Feasibility

Can the proposed direction:
 Be implemented easily?
 Be implemented
speedily?
2. Political Feasibility

Can the proposed direction:
 Meet international and
national norms?
 Garner support from
international bodies and
domestic populace?
4. Justifiability

Can the proposed direction:
 Fill a gap in existing Arctic
Management scheme?
Policy Clearinghouse
 Identified gap in current
management plan: no
central coordinating body.
 Proposal:
 A physical and conceptual
center for policy research,
debate, coordination, and
implementation
 Involves rotating
stakeholder representatives
in addition to permanent
staff.
Indigenous Peoples’ Integrated
Policy Center

The IPIPC would advocate and
support indigenous peoples
threatened by extractive industries
throughout the world.

Proposal:
 Funded by an endowment from
BAER petroleum revenues.
 Norway as a global leader in
creating alliances and
international cooperation.
 Stakeholder levels: Sami people,
Norway, and indigenous peoples
throughout the world.
Ecolabeling for BEAR Fisheries

Ecolabeling: Using market forces as
a compliance mechanism

Marine Stewardship Council: Only
international ecolabeling organization
for fisheries

Proposal:
 Norwegian/Russian team will
coordinate applications to MSC
on behalf of BEAR fisheries
 Team will send Tromso Center
affiliate to MSC Council
 Team will prepare reports on
fisheries policy to
Norway/Russia
Center for Integrated Maritime
Transport and Technology

Current knowledge gaps include:
maritime transport, oil spill response in
Arctic conditions, and overall
environmental pressure

Proposal:
 Use the latest information
technology to fill gaps: GIS,
remote sensing, and satellite
tracking
 Promote investment in the High
North by decreasing uncertainty
 Improve safety within the
shipping industry
 Collaborate with Russia; combine
science and policy tools;
disseminate information in
Norway and Russia
International Ecotourism
Partnerships
 Ecotourism promotes
awareness of local culture and
the environment
 Ecotourism is a growing sector
of northern Norway’s economy
 Proposal:
 Partner with local
ecotourism operators
 Representatives from the
center educate visitors on
the systemic nature of the
BEAR
Implementation Options
Tusen Takk
Thank you
Спасибо
Giitu