Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013

The Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013, an Arctic Council project, examines the interdependence of social and ecological systems in the Arctic. It advocates for a resilience framework to assess how rapid environmental and social changes interact, identify threshold risks, and build adaptive capacity for indigenous and non-indigenous populations.

• The Arctic is experiencing rapid changes driven by both environmental processes and social, political, and economic factors. While climate change is significant, other drivers such as globalization, geopolitical changes, migration, and the demand for resources and transportation can be more important in certain contexts.
• A resilience framework is proposed to integrate the assessment of linked social and ecological changes across different scales. This approach helps identify the risk of threshold effects—abrupt and potentially irreversible shifts—and informs strategies for adaptation or transformation.
• Abrupt environmental changes have been observed across the Arctic, with some thresholds already crossed. Examples include the formation of new lakes and wetlands in some areas, contrasted with the rapid draining of lakes and loss of freshwater resources in others due to permafrost degradation.
• Changes in the Arctic have global implications, particularly regarding the Earth's climatic regulatory systems. The loss of Arctic sea ice creates a positive warming feedback that affects weather patterns and extreme conditions in the Northern Hemisphere, while thawing permafrost releases methane and carbon dioxide.
• Past policy decisions and interventions have eroded traditional sources of resilience for Arctic indigenous cultures. Specifically, forced settlement, loss of land, and management strategies that limited diversity have undermined flexible cultural adaptations like nomadic lifestyles and diverse subsistence practices.
• Effective governance in the Arctic requires participatory processes to manage conflicting priorities and incorporate diverse forms of knowledge. Because rapid change is likely to produce 'surprises,' adaptation strategies must be flexible and responsive.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2013). Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-src-2013-arctic-resilience-report-summary.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013. 2013. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-src-2013-arctic-resilience-report-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013 |date=2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-src-2013-arctic-resilience-report-summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2013arctic, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-src-2013-arctic-resilience-report-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }