Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013

The Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013 provides a framework for understanding the interdependence of Arctic social and ecological systems. It identifies biophysical thresholds—such as sea-ice loss and permafrost degradation—and social thresholds that threaten the well-being of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. The report emphasizes that resilience is not merely the ability to maintain a state but includes the capacity for adaptation and transformation. It highlights the critical role of traditional knowledge and the need for adaptive governance to manage the cumulative impacts of climate change, industrial development, and geopolitical shifts.

• The Arctic is experiencing rapid and pervasive changes driven by climate change and social-economic factors, including increasing demand for resources, transportation, migration, and globalization.
• Arctic sea-ice loss may represent a global tipping point, creating a positive warming feedback that affects weather patterns and extreme conditions across the Northern Hemisphere.
• Permafrost degradation is causing abrupt landscape transformations, including the formation of new wetlands and lakes in some areas, while causing the rapid draining of lakes and loss of freshwater in others.
• Traditional indigenous knowledge and cultural adaptations, such as nomadic lifestyles and diverse subsistence practices, are vital sources of resilience, though they have been eroded by forced settlement and restrictive management strategies.
• Adaptive capacity in the Arctic is determined by seven key assets: natural capital, social capital, human capital, infrastructure, financial capital, knowledge assets, and cultural capital.
• The 'ingenuity gap' in the Arctic refers to the fact that the pace of biophysical and socio-economic change is outstripping the speed at which institutional and governance capabilities can adapt.
• In the Bering Strait, the increase in shipping traffic poses risks to marine mammal populations and indigenous food security, yet international maritime policy often only reacts to crises rather than proactively managing these risks.
• Sámi reindeer husbandry in Finnmark, Norway, is threatened by the loss of grazing lands due to industrial development and a governance model that imposes a production-oriented agricultural approach over traditional nomadic systems.
• Food security in the Arctic is a complex composite indicator affected by interacting drivers, including the high cost of store-bought food, contaminants in traditional foods, and the loss of traditional knowledge.
• Transformative capacity involves a paradigm shift in social goals and system structure, which may be necessary when incremental adaptation is no longer sufficient to maintain human well-being.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2013). Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/ArcticResilienceInterimReport2013-HighRes.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013. 2013. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/ArcticResilienceInterimReport2013-HighRes.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013 |date=2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/ArcticResilienceInterimReport2013-HighRes.pdf |access-date=23 October 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/ArcticResilienceInterimReport2013-HighRes.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }