Defining Arctic Community Sustainability

Abstract

The question of defining sustainability is a subject of much discussion in the literature, with much of it centering on debates regarding the definition of the more controversial term "sustainable development." Part of this discourse has examined questions of the erosion of natural and social capital, the evolution and diversity of institutions, and the dilemmas associated with achieving a balance between economic growth and maintenance of environmental quality. Through our initial discussions, we recognized the legacy of failures associated with non-locals defining criteria of sustainability (and community well being) for northern peoples. We, in turn, responded to this problem by applying for supplemental funding from NSF to involve communities in our study. As a part of our grant, we proposed that we work with local community members to define appropriate community sustainability goals. In this summary, we present the results of our work – - a the list of the elements which are considered by locals to reflect the conditions for achieving Arctic community sustainability. In the first stage of the research, we worked with the communities of Arctic Village, Aklavik, Old Crow, and Kaktovik. Our effort to define community sustainability goals was completed through meetings of local organizations (e.g., hunters and trappers committee) and at project-sponsored workshops. We also met one-on-one with formal and informal local leaders to discuss the project and with them entered into discussions about the applications of the term sustainability in a northern community context.