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Geography PhD candidate Rudy Riedlsperger presented at the annual meeting of Arctic-FROST at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The Arctic FRontiers Of SusTainability (Arctic-FROST): Resources, Societies, Environments and Development in the Changing North is an international interdisciplinary collaborative network that teams environmental and social scientists, local educators and community members from all circumpolar countries to enable and mobilize research on sustainability and sustainable development in the Arctic. Dr. Andrey Petrov, Professor of Geography at the University of Northern Iowa, is director of Arctic-FROST.  

The 2014 ArcticFROST annual general meeting brought together Arctic researchers from various backgrounds to discuss concepts of 'sustainability' in the circumpolar North. Foci included health, sustainable development and indigenous peoples, education, urban vs. rural Arctic environments, research ethics and processes, and community sustainability, among others. Early career scholars made up about one third of the forty participants. Rudy, who is co-supervised by Drs. Trevor Bell and Arn Keeling, presented a paper based on his PhD research, titled: ‘Sustainability’ in an Inuit context: An example from Nunatsiavut, northern Labrador.

According to Rudy, “The conference provided a great venue for understanding where sustainability science stands in the Arctic, and for appreciating the variety of disciplines or approaches that are involved in tackling issues ranging from permafrost degradation to the sensible use of resources. The conference was followed by a workshop for and by early career scholars that included mentoring and feedback sessions to reflect on papers and presentations.”

Those who have an academic or practical interest in Arctic sustainability may consider becoming a member of ArcticFrost by signing up here: http://uni.edu/arctic/frost/become-a-member/