Resilience in Social-Ecological
Systems of Northwest Eurasia
University Seminar & Reception:
Bruce Forbes
Research Professor
Arctic Centre
University of Lapland
Rovaniemi, Finland
Tuesday, April 12th
4:30pm @ Wilson 301
RISES is a four-year research project (2012-2016) funded by the Academy of Finland. The project aims to
reconstruct the environmental histories of integrated social-ecological systems in Fennoscandia and Yamal,
West Siberia that have been characterized by both climate change and the constant adaptation of people and
their reindeer herds through the late Holocene. The herds migrate long distances on territories characterized by
rapid climate and land-use change, in particular oil and gas development. The team is experienced in strongly
interdisciplinary and theoretical research. Intensive study areas for collecting experimental (quantitative) and
descriptive (qualitative) data are selected for two bioclimatic zones, near and beyond treeline, in each
region. The project links indigenous (Sámi and Nenets) oral histories with archaeology, palaeoecology and
modern ecological and climate studies for a holistic explanation of stable states. We are in the process of
producing a state-of-the-art assessment on the relative roles of, and feedbacks between, humans, animals
and climate in the structure, function and resilience of past and contemporary systems.
SPONSORS:
* Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation
* School of Architecture Innovations in Practice
* Center for Russian and East European Studies
* Department of Slavic Languages and Literature
* Department of Environmental Sciences