Arctic Yearbook 2014 | Page 573

573 Arctic Yearbook 2014   the Kola Peninsula. Then again, it is another reminder of extreme weather patterns witnessed throughout the Arctic. State Sovereignt(ies), Indigenous Rights & Local Voices Issues related to sovereignty were a central theme of CA 2014, as one of the aims of the discussions was to reflect on, re(de)fine and (re)conceptualize the notion of sovereignty in order to include ideas and values coming from indigenous interpretations and non-governmental perspectives. The goal of such a broad discussion was to introduce and debate changing understandings of security premises and paradigms in a very constructive way. Especially the rights of indigenous peoples ranging from individual and group rights, to rights to protect native languages and culture, livelihoods, and land were all topics brought to the fore, equally in the context of national policies and legislation, regional developments and programmes, and localized decisions over resource utilization, management and distribution of revenues. Discussion revolved also around the controversial issue of defining indigenousness as well as the position, voice and rights of non-indigenous northerners. Levels & Scales During the Academy, the overarching issues were discussed both in very localized contexts – even through case studies focusing on individual communities – as well as in broader terms. Questions such as cross-border cooperation and communication in the context of regional development were pervasive topics on the agenda as were changing national policies, strategies and positions both in terms of domestic and international developments. The importance of the Arctic region globally and in terms of shipping, climate and environmental policies and mineral reserves was repeatedly underlined by presenters and participants. In a similar manner, the roles and interests of actors not traditionally perceived as of relevance in the context of the Arctic region were debated. As events and developments in the north have wider repercussions far beyond the Arctic region and its borders (and vice versa), conclusions were presented, on the one hand, in terms of different levels and scales particularly because of the characteristically interconnected nature of those developments taking place on different levels, and on the other, reflected the ongoing debate over the conceptual artificiality of the idea of scales and levels altogether. Economic Development vs. Sustainable Development Arctic resources – both living and non-living as well as renewable and non-renewable, ranging from utilization of marine mammals to forestry and small- and large-scaleextraction of mineral Calotte Academy 2014