Thomas Johansen

Petroleum and Indigenous People in the Arctic: Challenges and Opportunities for Coexistence Thomas Johansen

This book examines the challenges presented by indigenous people for oil and gas companies in the Arctic, and opportunities for their successful coexistence. The new prospect for the Barents Sea expressed in Norway?s High North Strategy (2006) could make this area the most industrialized in the Arctic. The Arctic is also a homeland for many different indigenous people, with over 40 different languages, and the native people say the North is their homeland. The investigation primarily addresses the following research question: What are the challenges with indigenous people for the oil and gas industry working in the Arctic? For the purpose of gaining insight and building a holistic picture of the complexities of these challenges, we have gathered data from several different disciplines including international law, indigenous culture, society and economy in the Arctic, and biology. The book proposes several opportunities that oil and gas companies may take in order to protect these distinct ways of life and reduce adverse impacts from operational discharges, tankers and pipelines.