The ICEBERG project investigates the sources, types and distribution of pollutants and their impacts on livelihoods and health in Arctic communities.

Climate change and human activities have multifaceted
and complex effects on land and ocean ecosystems in the Arctic. The increase of
human activities, along with the melting of glaciers and permafrost, releases
pollutants, such as plastics, heavy metals and harmful chemicals, threatening marine
and coastal ecosystems and human health in the region.

For the EU
to achieve its Zero Pollution Ambition, a deeper understanding of the complex
interplay of pollution and climate change and their impacts on Arctic communities is
needed. Pollution, including plastics, ship emissions and wastewater, pose threats
to the health of humans and ecosystems, which they inhabit and depend on.

Community engagement at the heart of the
project

The ICEBERG project (Innovative
Community Engagement for Building Effective Resilience and Arctic Ocean
Pollution-control Governance in the Context of Climate Change) explores
challenges related to pollution in the Arctic in the light of climate change and by
applying One Health approach, which recognizes the interdependence of the health of
humans, animals, plants and entire ecosystems. 

The
project also contributes to co-creating solutions to these challenges by developing
scenarios, strategies and recommendations in collaboration with Arctic communities
at three locations: Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), Iceland and Svalbard.

The project integrates natural and social sciences with Indigenous and
local knowledge, adopting an ethical, multi-actor and gender-sensitive approach to
assess the impacts, risks and vulnerabilities of local communities.

Through innovative community engagement, researchers will co-develop
resilience strategies to combat pollution and climate change, while also creating
recommendations for new pollution-control governance. 

"Plastic
Plastic and other litter floating in a harbor area in Greenland. Photo:
Ilona Mettiäinen.

Focus on governance
processes

The ICEBERG project will run three
years, 2024–2026. The project is led by the University of Oulu.

The ICEBERG team investigates the sources, types and distribution of marine
pollutants, such as plastics, ship emissions, wastewater and heavy metals and their
impacts on livelihoods and health with Arctic communities in Northern Iceland and
Southern Greenland by a transdisciplinary co-production process that utilizes also
simulations, remote sensing and local observations. 

The
Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland is leading the work package that deals
with the governance of sources and monitoring of pollution and the different policy,
regulatory, organizational and networking measures to tackle the presence of
pollutants in Arctic environment. 

– We will also
contribute to transdisciplinary knowledge co-production with local communities in
Greenland and Iceland, including by gathering observations of pollution and
co-designing community scenarios and pollution control strategies with the
communities. Our team also supports the development of inclusive and equitable
knowledge co-production framework, says researcher Ilona
Mettiäinen from the Arctic Centre.

On a practical
level the project develops, for example, automatic marine litter detection tools
using drones, AI and citizen science. The project evaluates the toxicological impact
of microplastics, nanoplastics and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on human
digestive health. Furthermore, the impact of pollution emissions on the marine food
web and traditional foods of Arctic communities are assessed.

More information:

Project website: www.arcticeberg.eu 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/arcticeberg

Researcher Adam Stepien
Arctic Centre, University of
Lapland
adam.stepien@ulapland.fi 

Research
professor Timo Koivurova
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
timo.koivurova@ulapland.fi