The Blue Economy Potential of Alaska and North Norway (AlaskaNor)

Contacts:
Malte Humpert, Squaw Valley, California – malte.humpert@thearcticinstitute.org – +1 202 352 8162
Dr. Andreas Raspotnik, Bodø, Norway – andreas.raspotnik@thearcticinstitute.org – +43 699 1019 8737
Andreas Østhagen, Oslo, Norway – andreas.osthagen@thearcticinstitute.org – +47 473 30 349

Washington, D.C., 1 April 2019 – The Arctic Institute (TAI) joined the High North Center for Business and Governance in Bodø, Norway in a three-year project that examines the blue economy potential of Alaska and North Norway. The AlaskaNor-project aims to both improve knowledge concerning the blue economy in these two Arctic regions, as well as enhance long-term collaboration between businesses and relevant stakeholders in Alaska and North Norway.

Dr. Andreas Raspotnik, Senior Fellow at The Arctic Institute, highlights: “Alaska and North Norway share similar characteristics, particularly regarding the regions’ economic dependence on maritime industries and their potential for blue economy development. However, no knowledge has been shared or even obtained yet concerning the opportunities for both regions to mutually tackle the manifold challenges of regionally developing their blue economy. AlaskaNor aims to addresses this knowledge gap.” In his capacity as Senior Researcher at the High North Center, Raspotnik acts as AlaskaNor’s project leader.

AlaskaNor is a $1.3 million project funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nordland County, running from September 2018 to July 2021. The international project comprises 18 partners from North America and Norway, among others the Center for the Blue Economy (Monterey, California), the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (Oslo, Norway), the Institute of the North (Anchorage, Alaska), and the Wilson Center (Washington, D.C). It is coordinated by the High North Center for Business and Governance, located at Nord University in Bodø, Norway.

TAI’s Founder Malte Humpert leads AlaskaNor’s work package four on Arctic Shipping and Maritime Transportation, collaborating with the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (Anchorage, Alaska), the Centre for High North Logistics (Bodø/Kirkenes, Norway), the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association (Oslo, Norway) and the Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska, Anchorage.

He states: “The core challenge for any Arctic business development is the distance to relevant markets further south. Alaska and North Norway are both maritime regions where the total amount of maritime activity has increased over the last decade. There are, however, questions concerning the profitability of Arctic shipping. Similarly, investments in local port infrastructure and emergency response systems are in demand, but are materialising slowly.”

In his capacity as a Research Fellow at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Andreas Østhagen leads work package five on Regional and International Governance. He highlights: “The concept of the blue economy and blue growth has gained more and more popularity in Arctic debates. It is, however, sometimes difficult to pinpoint the linkage between the international level and effects in local communities in the Arctic. A key question is therefore how the international level sets the parameters for the blue economy in Alaska and North Norway.”

For more information about AlaskaNor, see its webpage or contact us at The Arctic Institute. AlaskaNor’s project partners will meet in Bodø, Norway, on 2 April 2019 – the day before this year’s High North Dialogue.

The High North Center for Business and Governance has been a long-standing partner of TAI. TAI helps the Center to develop and organize their yearly conference High North Dialogue, held in Bodø, Norway since 2014. Researchers from the Institute also regularly write for the Center’s newspaper High North News.