Human Development in the New Arctic

Abstract

In the decades ahead global change will have major consequences for the Arctic natural environment and human populations. In this chapter we reflect on the state of human development in the new Arctic and some of the key components of human wellbeing, including the basic sources of change. We address the importance of data and monitoring as ways forward to track changes in human development. The speed of Arctic change, its complexity, and the uncertainty about future directions, makes it increasingly important to understand how human development is changing, and precisely what and how individual aspects are changing. Rapid change in the Arctic has increased the emphasis placed on devising indicators for monitoring and measuring change in human development and quality of life. The Arctic Social Indicators (ASI) framework and method for monitoring and tracking change in human development is briefly discussed, and an application to the case of Nunavut, Canada, is presented.