26 March 2025 | 16:00 - 18:00 (MDT)
Open Session - HYBRID
Room: UMC Fourth Floor - 425
Organisers: Yulia Zaika (Kola Science Centre RAS & ISIRA of IASC); Yoshihiro Iijima (Tokyo Metropolitan University); Gareth Rees (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
Zoom link to the Session (password-protected)
The password needed to connect to the session will be distributed the day prior to the start of the sessions to all registered conference participants. Further guidelines on how to participate virtually in the ASSW 2025 can be found on the ASSW 2025 website.
Session Description:
The International Science Initiative in the Russian Arctic (ISIRA) is a Russian and international cooperative initiative to assist Arctic science and sustainable development in the Russian Arctic, and is the advisory group within the structure of IASC. Today, the international architecture of science collaborations has alterated due to the extensive changes in the geopolitical environment. As the IASC's platform for communication ISIRA can play an important role to sustain and maintain the scientific dialogue. We aim to discuss the opportunities and possible solutions for present situation, and invite comments, existing examples and visions from different countries involved in the Arctic research especially in the light of the upcoming IPY 2032-33.
Instructions for Speakers: Oral presentations in this session should be at most 10-minutes in length, with an additional 2-3 minutes for questions (unless more detailed instructions are provided by session conveners). See more detailed presenter instructions here.
Oral Presentations:
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unfold_moreIntroduction to the session and ISIRA Group of IASC — Yulia Zaika
Yulia Zaika 1
1 IASC Secretariat (ISIRA Group) and Federal Research Centre Kola Science Centre RASFormat: Oral virtual
Abstract:
The current practice of international scientific dialog with Western strategies of exclusion of the Russian scientific segment forms a set of emerging contradictions in the face of the Arctic scientific community and the future sustainable development of the region. The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is a vast border territory that is undergoing a whole set of natural, economic, environmental, and social changes that are particularly pronounced during the period of global climate change. The recently published IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Sixth Assessment Report 2023 states that decisions made in this decade could affect the state of the planet for a millennium to come. This requires the urgency of decisions, especially those related to the Arctic region, and the importance of a balanced approach in analyzing and monitoring changes. The presentation discusses the possibility of international scientific dialog in new for the Arctic scientific space geographies and institutions of cooperation (BRICS+ countries) and ways of forming mutual scientific interests within the global climate discourse through methodological approaches of disaster diplomacy as a component of science diplomacy.
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unfold_moreThe reality and effectiveness of the Japanese side's recent collaborative studies on Russia — Yoshihiro Iijima
Yoshihiro Iijima 1; Hiroki Takakura 2; Shinichiro Tabata 3; Tetsuya Hiyama 4
1 Tokyo Metropolitan University; 2 Tohoku University; 3 Hokkaido University; 4 Nagoya UniversityFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
Observational studies and sociological fieldwork in the North Eurasian Arctic have been conducted continuously since the 1990s in collaboration between Japan and Russia across the natural and social sciences. In the framework of the Arctic research projects in Japan (GRENE-Arctic, ArCS, and ArCS II) since the 2010s, the cooperation has become strengthened. However, recent geopolitical difficulties have forced fieldwork-type research to stagnate practically. In order to cope with this situation, communication between researchers has been maintained through different types of collaborations, such as remote sensing and modeling studies, international symposiums, and other research opportunities. For example, the international symposium "Above the Permafrost: How Climate Change and Resource Development are Changing Local Life in the Arctic" was held in December 2022. There, we were able to discuss the latest status of permafrost changes, the livelihood and other economic activities of indigenous peoples (including Sakha people) who live on permafrost, their culture and identity, and the possibility of their sustainable development, together with Russian researchers. The Belmont-Forum Arctic Cooperative Research Program "HYdrology, PErmafrost and resilience in the Eastern Russian Arctic and Subarctic (HYPE-ERAS)," has lasted until FY2022. The project achieved integrated indigenous and scientific knowledge to improve resilience to changes in the water environment, including rivers, permafrost, and land use in eastern Siberia. In both cases, difficulties remained in returning research results to stakeholders, but continued communication among researchers would be of great significance.
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unfold_moreThree decades of Russian-UK research collaboration in the Russian Arctic — Gareth Rees
Gareth Rees 1
1 University of CambridgeFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) of the University of Cambridge began collaborating with the Geography Faculty (GF) of Moscow State University in 1992. The focus of this collaboration was the development and application of methods using satellite imagery to study the distribution and behaviour of subarctic vegetation in Russia. The collaboration was built from the bottom up, beginning with peer-to-peer links, and developed over the subsequent decades to establish institutional connections at progressively higher levels and to embrace a broader scope of activity. Although it was not completely terminated as a consequence of Russia’s sanctioning following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, its scope was dramatically decreased and it now remains at a very level. Here I describe the historical development of this very long-lived collaboration, its achievements and the conditions necessary for its success, and discuss whether these can provide a model for the development of new collaborative research between Russia and the west.
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unfold_moreReaffirming international commitment for sustained polar research — Clare B. Gaffey
Clare B. Gaffey 1; Narissa Bax 2; Naomi Krauzig 3; Kévin Tougeron 4
1 Oregon State University; 2 Greenland Institute of Natural Resources; 3 Università Politecnica delle Marche; 4 Université de MonsFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
Climate change is exerting complex and transformative effects in the Arctic and Antarctic; regions that are essential to global climate, biodiversity, and sustainable futures. Given the polar regions’ roles in Earth’s system, a robust, coordinated, and innovative strategy to monitor and manage climate change effects is needed. Insufficient baseline data, inconsistent international collaboration, and short-term financing are obstacles to effectively monitor these changes. This hinders our understanding of biodiversity shifts, their implications for food security, and climate change mitigation. Confronting the impacts of climate change will require interdisciplinary collaboration and genuine participation of nations, including Indigenous communities. Current and expected geopolitical conflict constrain international cooperation to effectively monitor Arctic systems. Existing pan-Arctic initiatives provide a starting point for facilitating international cooperation to address scientific objectives despite political tensions. This talk will provide an overview of our recently published essay titled “A call to strengthen international collaboration to assess climate change effects in polar regions.” We will highlight international research partnerships, existing infrastructure and polar data depositories, and suggest commitments to sustained research partnerships despite geopolitical tensions. Additional recommendations include establishing regular international requirements to track progress based on available science, optimizing the use of existing infrastructure and resources, enhancing data sharing practices, and securing long-term financing to sustain research.
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unfold_moreCooperation between Western and Russian Scientists: Challenges and Potential Way Forward — Vladimir Romanovsky
Vladimir Romanovsky 1
1 University of Alaska FairbanksFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
Climate warming triggers and promotes numerous changes in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic environment, which in turn affects the stability of northern ecosystems, threatens infrastructure, and causes the release of additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The timing and rate of these changes are two of the major factors in determining the anticipated negative impacts of climate warming on the Arctic ecosystems and infrastructure. In this situation free access to the Arctic by scientific expeditions and the international exchange of data, knowledge, and information are extremely important. A free exchange of information and data is crucially important not only for present-day activities but maybe more important and desirable for the development of accurate and reliable projections of future changes in the Arctic environment. However, it is difficult to achieve in current geopolitical conditions. The recent geopolitical situation has made scientific cooperation in the Russian Arctic, which comprises a significant portion of the entire Arctic Region, very difficult if not impossible. It is not possible for the western scientist to participate in fieldwork in Russia for safety reasons. However, there are some possibilities to engage with Russian scientists in collaborative meetings on “neutral” platforms such as on-line meetings or in-person meetings organized in certain “neutral” countries. In this presentation emerging challenges will be discussed, and some steps will be proposed to mitigate this situation and to promote further cooperation between Western and Russian scientists.
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unfold_moreCan and should Russian arctic science be re-integrated into international research? — Gareth Rees
Gareth Rees 1
1 University of CambridgeFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
Global climate change cannot be properly comprehended without including the polar regions, both of which are challenging to study by virtue of their remoteness and hostile climates. While scientific investigation of Antarctica is conducted within the framework of the Antarctic Treaty System, increasing geopolitical tension obstructs effective collaboration in the Arctic.
Climate ‘tipping points’ are expected in the Arctic, with permafrost-related phenomena especially significant. The terrestrial Arctic is far from spatially homogeneous, with strong asymmetries – in recent climate history, and in the distribution of vegetation, permafrost, and human population – between eastern and western hemispheres. Because of this asymmetry studies of the Arctic that do not include Russian territory, which accounts for virtually all of the eastern hemisphere, are unsuitable for the larger picture.
The ‘Arctic Exceptionalism’ that characterised the 1990s and continued into the early years of the 21st century led to increased international collaboration and a reduction in geopolitical tensions. In particular ISIRA (International Science Initiative for the Russian Arctic) was established in 1994, under the auspices of the International Arctic Science Committee, to foster bilateral and multilateral research in the Russian Arctic. While ISIRA still exists, truly international collaboration with Russian arctic research has declined since 2010, dramatically so since the latest invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the international response to it.
The task of re-integrating Russian arctic science is urgent, and this can now only be achieved by creating and rebuilding peer-to-peer, ‘bottom-up’ links between researchers, with support from larger institutions and organisations.