ABSTRACT
The concerns of indigenous peoples over resource development and environmental change in the Arctic arise because of the close relationship between the social, cultural, economic, political and ecological situations of local communities and their physical environments. Research suggests that the application of indigenous environmental knowledge in development projects, environmental management and environmental impact assessment both enhances the likelihood of success and acknowledges that indigenous peoples are environmental experts who possess and have access to information unavailable or denied to scientists. The importance of indigenous participation and contribution to the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS) was also explored in a seminar on indigenous knowledge, held in Reykjavik in 1994. The AEPS has allowed indigenous peoples’ organisations and non-governmental organisations a greater international role in Arctic environmental politics and they have used the AEPS to position themselves to achieve international visibility with regard to environmental action.
