The project will provide the most comprehensive account so far of the types, amounts, and location of the on-and off-shore biological and mineral resources, including oil and gas, of northern and Arctic Russia from northern Norway in the west to the Bering Strait in the east. How can these resources be exploited sustainably over the next 10-20 and 20-40 years to ensure the economic development and social welfare of the regions concerned and their peoples?

The local non-state-bearing languages found in the Arctic are used in various degrees, but are all crucial for the ethnic identity as used in communication, media, literature, etc. The question of general sustainable development in the local regions of the Arctic includes also the question of sustainable development of intellectual culture and language competence. The 'glocalization' as covering both ‘globalization’ and ‘localization’ is the process where the impact of global cultural tendencies is seen as partly opposed by local tendencies. Even at the utmost remote settings one finds the co-presence and interplay of both universalizing and particularizing tendencies. The question is how exactly globalization takes place: How much impact do local cultural policy, local media policy and local language policy have on the development? Who are the decision-makers formally as well as informally? Arctic research is important in an international perspective as it may contribute to mainstream research revealing quite different results as to ideas of identity, culture, mobility, and world view.

Links between Climate and Human Well-being This project, involving scientists in the U.S., Canada, Russia, Sweden, Germany, and Japan, will document changes in large-scale disturbances (permafrost thaw, fire, insect outbreaks, and forest harvest) occurring throughout the Arctic. We focus especially on the effects of disturbance on future climate, ecosystem change, and the benefits that society receives from ecosystems.

Changing Trends in Polar Research as Reflected in the History of the International Polar Years The aim of the project is to study to what degree research in the Arctic and Antarctic during the first three International polar years primarily was driven by scientific criteria. To what extent were compromises made in the light of political barriers, territorial borders of circumpolar countries and logistical limitations? Employing historical perspectives we will review essential background factors during international workshops and conferences.

The Bering Sea is one of the world’s most productive marine environments. More than $1.5 billion worth of fish is caught there every year. The region is now undergoing alarming environmental changes, including climate change. The local indigenous peoples led by the Aleut International Association, have put together a monitoring project to assess the nature and extent of change. Rather than relying on high-tech remote sensing, the observations will mostly be done by indigenous peoples themselves, their intimate knowledge of their local areas providing them with a finely tuned ability to detect changes, however subtle. Observations will include the shift of southern species north, changes in distribution and abundance of fish and other temperature-sensitive species, changes in ice patterns, and weather observations.

Northern Material Culture through International Polar Year Collections, Then and Now: In the Footsteps of Murdoch and Turner This project is a modern version of the ethnological collecting by the 1st International Polar Year (IPY) expeditions to Pt. Barrow, Alaska and Fort Chimo in Quebec. It will involve Northern community residents, including students. Current material culture will be documented with digital photograpy and gathering of information on how the items are made and used. Educators can incorporate this into broader educational activities, which will expose students to the Arctic, Northern peoples and Arctic research history.

Informing, educating and involving the next generation is vital to the success of IPY. The YSC is committed to maximizing the benefit of IPY for the world’s youth through youth involvement and youth-focused education and outreach information. Some YSC projects include an international youth conference (2008), an educational website (on-going) and a joint expedition series to both poles (2007-2008).

Human Health in Arctic Regions The AHHI is an Arctic Council IPY (2007-2008) project that will focus on the health disparities that still exist among residents of Arctic communities when compared to communities in more temporate regions, and the human health challenges that are posed by climate change, environmental pollution, and sustainable development in Arctic regions. Research will be conducted in the US Arctic (Alaska), northern Canada, Greenland/Denmark, Iceland, Norway Finland, Sweden and northern Regions of the Russian Federation.

Comparative Studies of Marine Arctic and Antarctic Ecosystems and the Potential Consequences of Climate Change The polar ecosystems are of key importance for the earth's climate and biosphere. ICES will coordinate a symposium to present major results and conclusions of the IPY entitled “Comparative Studies of Marine Arctic and Antarctic Ecosystems and the Potential Consequences of Climate Change”. The congress will be held in 2010 in an ICES member state or affiliate country.

Polar field stations have been a key part of polar research for the past two centuries and one of the most tangible legacies of previous IPYs, yet they have been little studied. This novel project will look at field stations, both as sites of production of scientific knowledge in the field, and as flag carriers and symbols of geopolitical and diplomatic conflict and cooperation.