Panel discussions at the Arctic Circle 2021: Arctic natural resources – solutions for resilience and food security!

After almost two years of the deadlock of face-to-face Arctic events due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Arctic Circle Assembly 2021 has been the first event organized in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik on 13-19 October. With 1300 participants from 50 different countries, the Assembly attracted 400 speakers to share their ideas and opinions on a diverse range of issues of Arctic importance. In the Assembly, Finland’s Natural Resource Institute (LUKE) has hosted a panel discussion on challenges to Arctic natural resources to explore solutions for resilience, particularly related to food security in the Arctic. Given the fact that global resource competition and its connection to food security have become interlinked, the panel has discussed global and local stressors affecting food security for the Arctic and its population. Prof. Kamrul Hossain, as one of the three speakers, has given a speech on the rights of Arctic Indigenous peoples to maintain and develop their traditional food practices and food systems to achieve food sovereignty. The session ended up with meaningful interactive discussions between the panelists themselves and with the stakeholder audiences.