New report on the utilisation of local resources in the Arctic area
“Utilising Local Capacities” is a new report from Centre for Military Studies by Andreas Østhagen, Senior Fellow at The Arctic Institute. The report examines to what extent local capacity enhancement based on volunteers or small-scale public arrangements can contribute to maritime emergency preparedness and response in northern waters.
The report examines four Arctic territories stretching across the North Atlantic: From Nunavut (Canada) in the west to Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, and Svalbard (Norway) in the east. Based on this, the report outlines a number of recommendations for further enhancing Arctic emergency response capacities in advance of major incidents. Amongst other the report recommends improving the spread of information concerning offshore safety and survival for the local population, enhancing community role-clarification with clearly defined lines of responsibility in preparation for large-scale incidents and establishing a hub for learning and knowledge enhancement concerned with maritime emergency management.