ABSTRACT
Planning for a more sustainable world often takes place under conditions of radical uncertainty. In the Arctic environment, risks related to resource exploitation have increased as new areas are made accessible by climate change and a diminished ice cap in the polar basin. This chapter presented a case from Svalbard, an archipelago almost 1,000 km north of the Norwegian mainland, half way to the North Pole. East Svalbard is unpopulated. The point is that, although the available scientific knowledge was limited, evidence sufficient for management measures did exist in 'communities of practice', and a monitoring system developed over time. This system might also provide a platform for co-production of knowledge and a more proactive co-management regime. The chapter demonstrates that the knowledge basis for managing both East Svalbard and the rest of the island could be ameliorated with a more systematic, transparent and intentional co-production of monitoring data, one which supports a more proactive co-management regime.
