SustainME - Sustainable Human Use of the Arctic Marine Environment

The SustainME (Sustainable Human Use of the Arctic Marine Environment) project is an interdisciplinary research project funded by NordForsk and led by the University of Ottawa in Canada (Dr. Jackie Dawson), with the Nordic co-lead being the Institute of Marine Research in Norway. The international consortium comprises 17 partner institutions, and the project spans a 5-year period from 2025 to 2029. 

The overall aim of the project is to co-produce new knowledge that supports the Sustainable Use of the Arctic Marine Environment (SustainME) by identifying and assessing adaptation solutions that can mitigate the impacts and risks associated with the combined effects of sea ice loss and growing human-use pressures on the Arctic marine environment.

Prof. Joan Nymand Larsen is leading the research at the Stefansson Arctic Institute and, together with Dr Jón Haukur Ingimundarson, will co-lead the research on food security in the Arctic within the project, which includes fieldwork in Ilulissat, West Greenland.

The work on Arctic food security, co-led by Joan, adopts a holistic understanding of well-being that encompasses mental and physical health, local economic security, secure livelihoods, and food security (subsistence and store-bought). This component of the project links sea ice and ocean conditions, marine transport, and living marine resources to community well-being and food security.

The Stefansson Arctic Institute will collaborate with partners from the University of Ottawa, the University of Manitoba, the University of Calgary, Toronto Metropolitan University, the University of Montreal, the Institute of Marine Research, the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, the UiT Arctic University of Norway, the Danish Meteorological Institute, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

For more information:

NordForsk – Sustainable Human Use of the Marine Environment (SustainME)

Prof. Joan Nymand Larsen jnl@unak.is