Empowering Arctic communities with practical guidance to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emerging environmental and technological risks
Now and in the near future, disasters such as wildland fires, flooding and permafrost thaw leading to infrastructure failure are important risks to consider. The ice melting and new areas with open waters can also be an issue in terms of increasing shipping activity, which leads to an increased risk for accidents at sea. Small Arctic communities must be prepared for all these incidents, as they are the first responders, or they must have plans for evacuation, for example, in many of these scenarios. A good system for receiving support in the event of an emergency is also an issue they can prepare for. The hope is that this project will evolve in the future to tackle other risks besides oil spills that small Arctic communities face. The aim of this project is to give guidance to small communities on best practices related to prevention, preparedness and response to natural incidents (flooding, avalanches, destroyed infrastructure, effects of severe weather etc), oil spills and accidental releases of radionuclides that might threat the living conditions for small communities in the Arctic.
Objectives:
Project leads are Norway, Canada, Aleut International Association, and Saami Council.
Arctic Council Working Group