A new book co-edited by biology Professor Dawn Bazely is being hailed as the first comprehensive exploration of why human security is relevant to the Arctic.
Environmental and Human Security in the Arctic examines at what it will mean to achieve human security and how the health of the environment, identity of peoples, supply of traditional foods, community health, economic opportunities and political stability all play a role.
The traditional definition of security has already been actively employed in the Arctic region for decades, particularly in relation to natural resource sovereignty issues. This book tackles how and why the human aspect should be introduced and what this region can teach others about human security in the wider world. It also reviews the potential threats to security, putting them in an analytical framework and indicating a clear path for solutions.
Contributions come from natural, social and humanities scientists, hailing from Canada, Russia, Finland and Norway. It is co-edited by Bazely, director of the Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability; international relations Professor Gunhild Hoogensen of the University of Tromsø , Norway; Marina Goloviznina, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tromsø in the Department of Sociology, Political Science and Community Planning; and Andrew Tanentzap, the Banting Fellow at York University in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science.
Bazely led the Canadian section of the International Polar Year project, GAPS, Gas, Arctic Peoples and Security, and recently spent her sabbatical as a Charles Bullard Fellow at Harvard Forest, Harvard University. She was also a 2013 recipient of a President's University-Wide Teaching Award and was named a "hotshot prof" in The Globe and Mail's Canadian University Report.
Environmental and Human Security in the Arctic is considered an essential resource for policymakers, community groups, researchers and students working in the field of human security, particularly for those in the Arctic regions.