Commentary
Arctic Futures Initiative:
A Holistic Approach to Arctic Futures
Anni Reissell, Hannu Halinen, Peter Lemke & Charlie Vörösmarty
In the age of globalization, the Arctic interacts
with the rest of the world, and vice versa, in a
complex manner—societally, economically,
technologically, and environmentally. The
complexity of the dynamic global system
poses significant societal, research, policy and
governance challenges for the Arctic. Then
again, the Arctic has to be seen in a global
context.
The Arctic is of increasing strategic interest,
both regionally and globally, due to the
opportunities as well as challenges brought
about by the pronounced physical, biological as well as social and economic changes observed across
this critical part of the Earth system. Much of the interest is either directly or indirectly centered on
the Arctic as a key epicenter of global climate change—both in terms of the impacts on it as well as
Anni Reissell is Science Coordinator at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and Guest Research Scholar at the
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). Ambassador Hannu Halinen is Special Advisor to the
IIASA Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Co-Chair of AFI Advisory Board, and member of the Arctic
Yearbook Editorial Board. Peter Lemke is professor at the University of Bremen, heads the Climate-Initiative
REKLIM of the Helmholtz Association, and is Co-Chair of the AFI Advisory Board. Charles Vörösmarty is Director of
the Environmental CrossRoads Initiative, Advanced Science Research Centre, City University of New York, Member of
the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC), and Co-Chair of the AFI Advisory Board.