MPM Special Issue: Arctic Shipping, Transportation, and Regional Development

Circumpolar nations face both challenges and opportunities as climate change opens access to the Arctic, bringing increased traffic – passengers and cargoes – into the region.

This special issue sets aside the question of mitigation of climate change, and takes as its starting point that climate change is occurring, that it cannot be, in the near term, reversed, and that, through reduction in the Arctic ice pack, will result in increased economic development and thus a consequent increase in traffic in and through Arctic waters.

In this issue we strive to identify the key challenges in the development of northern and Arctic transportation and examine how they can be effectively addressed, examine the potential for positive and negative ‘feedback loops’ from Arctic warming, create a basis for future collaboration among scholars and practitioners in the field, and develop assessment techniques to assist stakeholders in choosing efficient and environmentally-friendly approaches to develop Arctic shipping, transportation, and regions.

The intended audience for the issue comprises stakeholders involved in Arctic shipping, transportation, and regional development and others who wish or need to learn more about these issues, such as journalists, policymakers, or residents of northern communities.

Among the eight papers, the first four investigate the potential and development of Arctic shipping from the macro perspective, and the last four papers focus on more specific topics.

Articles are free to view only via this page until 31 December 2018.

Find more information here.