Annika E. Nilsson

Annika E. Nilsson is Senior Research Fellow at Stockholm Environment Institute and Affiliated Faculty in Environmental Politics at KTH, where she is currently a guest researcher at the Division of History of Science, Technology and Environment .

Her research is about the science-policy interface, with a special focus on Arctic change and international politics. She is involved in several interdisciplinary research projects about the Arctic and also participates in scientific assessments under the auspices of the Arctic Council. She has a PhD in environmental science from Linköping University and also over 20 years of professional experience as a science writer.

On-going projects

Arctic Governance and the Question of Fit in a Globalized World

The Arctic is changing rapidly in ways that fundamentally affect the region’s ecosystems and societies and create new challenges for governance, while new access to resources and transportation routes raises political stakes. In the midst lies the Arctic Council as a regional high-level policy forum. This Formas-funded project (2015-2017), carried out together with , investigates the opportunities and limitations for international regional governance to meet challenges of rapid environmental and related social change in a context where drivers of change are often global yet where the power to intervene lies mainly at the national and subnational levels. Specifically, it investigates the changing role of the Arctic Council. The project focuses on three research questions: 1) What goals and notions about goals and appropriate scale of governance are evident in statements and media coverage of Arctic change? 2) How are stakeholders positioned vis-a-vis each other and different governance structures?, and 3) Given the current discourse and stakeholder landscape, what are the possibilities and limitation for the Arctic Council, as an international regional governance body, to contribute to achieving stakeholders’ differently positioned goals and priorities?

The aims of the project are to better understand Arctic politics in this time of rapid environmental and social change and to use the Arctic case as a uniquely illustrative example of the politics of global change. In doing so, it will also contribute to the broader literature on international regional governance with a critical-geopolitical analysis of the issue of fit.

Mistra Arctic Sustainable Development - New Governance

The mission for the Mistra-funded programme Arctic Sustainable Development – New Governance (2013-2017) is to provide a framework for nuanced understanding of the conditions for development in the European Arctic by focusing on the historical construction of resources, the emergence and effectiveness of governance structures, and the local and regional impacts of global trends. The programme focuses on the construction of the European Arctic through three research questions that address the links between processes at international, national, regional and local levels in key resource use activities 1)  how have particular resource-based activities been established and legitimized, and which actors have played key roles in these processes?, 2)  how are these patterns continued in current governance processes, and what are the possibilities for changing these? and 3) what are the effects on sub-regional and local levels, and how can governance for sustainable development be supported?

Annika Nilsson is co-leading a work package together with Umeå University on the changing global context of the European Arctic. It focuses on analysing the broader, global context of governance and sustainable development in the European Arctic, with particular attention to interactions between environmental change, resource demand, the global economy, and geopolitical changes. Her own work includes developing scenario methodology aimed at providing a set of narratives of global change projections that can be used as background for analysing the potential future role of governance. This will be relevant for the specific context of the European Arctic but also at a more general level for understanding the potential and limitations of Arctic governance in a world of rapid environmental and political change. She is also involved in analysing the notion of sustainability research in the Arctic and in assessing the usefulness of natural capital and ecosystem services in relation to governance (http://arcticteeb.net/)

Arctic Sustainable Development – New Governance is led by Umeå University and also includes collaboration between Stockholm Environment Institute, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Arctic Resilience Report

The Arctic Resilience Report is an Arctic Council assessment aimed at better understanding the integrated impacts of change in the Arctic with focus on the risk for large shifts in ecosystems services that affect human well-being. Its goals are to 1) Identify the potential for shocks and large shifts in ecosystem services that affect human well-being in the Arctic; 2) Analyse how different drivers of change interact in ways that affect the ability of ecosystems and human populations to withstand shocks, adapt or transform, and 3) Evaluate strategies for governments and communities to adapt

The project is led by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Stockholm Resilience Centre and builds on collaboration with other Arctic countries and indigenous peoples in the region, as well as several Arctic scientific organisations. A first report was published in May 2013 at the end of the Swedish chairmanship of the Arctic Council: Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013.  The final scientific report is expected in the spring of 2016 and a synthesis of policy-targeted insights will be delivered at the close of the US Chairmanship in 2017.

Annika E. Nilsson led the first phase of the ARR project and is currently leading efforts under the heading “Shaping Change” which focuses on analyzing the role of governance.

More information and publications are available here .

Adaptation Action for a Changing Arctic (AACA)- Barents regional report

To meet the increasing challenges of rapid environmental and social change in the Arctic, the Arctic Council has initiated the flagship project Adaptation Action for a changing Arctic (AACA). A major task is to “produce information to assist local decision-makers and stakeholders in three pilot regions in developing adaptation tools and strategies to better deal with climate change and other pertinent environmental stressors.” AACA covers three pilot regions, of which the Barents region is one. The overall goal is to enable more informed, timely and responsive policy- and decisions-making related to adaptation action in a changing Arctic. The reports from the project are due for the 2017 Arctic Council ministerial.

Annika E. Nilsson is convening lead authors for a chapter on “Future Narratives” which is closely linked to the scenario work carried in the project Mistra Arctic Sustainable Development - New Governance. While scenarios have been used extensively in planning and for assessing future options in an uncertain world, there is no well-developed approach that takes both global and local contexts into account. This chapter aims to develop both theoretical foundation and present results from participatory scenario workshops than integrate knowledge from different fields of expertise in ways that are relevant for decision makers on the ground.

More information about the AACA project.

Publications

Jürisoo, M., and A.E. Nilsson (2015). Global context of mineral resources in northern Europe: geopolitical and sustainability dynamics. SEI Discussion Brief. Stockholm: Stockholm Environment Institute.

Nilsson, A.E. (2014) Hållbar utveckling som norm och politiskt verktyg. In Azar et al. Miljöpolitikens spelplan. Rapport från Miljöforskningsberedningen. Stockholm: Fritzes.

Azar, C., Finnveden, G., Johannesson, K., Johansson-Stenman, O., Ledin, A., Munthe, J., Nilsson A.E., Nordin, A., Rockström, J., Smith, H., Sörlin, S., Vahter, M., Nordin, T. (ed) (2014) Miljöpolitikens spelplan . Rapport från Miljöforskningsberedningen. Stockholm: Fritzes.

Azar, C., Finnveden, G., Johannesson, K., Johansson-Stenman, O., Ledin, A., Munthe, J., Nilsson A.E., Nordin, A., Rockström, J., Smith, H., Sörlin, S., Vather, M. Inrätta ett miljöpolitiskt råd direkt under statsministern. DN Debatt 16 October 2014.

Christensen, M., Nilsson, A.E. and Wormbs, N. (eds) (2013) Media and the Politics of Arctic Climate Change. When the Ice Breaks. London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Nilsson, A.E. and Döscher, R. (2013) Signals from a noisy region. In: Media and the Politics of Arctic Climate Change. When the Ice Breaks.  Eds. Christensen, M., Nilsson, A.E. and Wormbs, N. London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan; pp. 93-113.

Christensen, M., Nilsson, A.E. and Wormbs, N. (2013) Globalization, climate change and the media: An introduction. In: Christensen, M., Nilsson, A.E., and Wormbs, N. (eds) Media and the Politics of Arctic Climate Change. When the Ice Breaks. London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan; pp. 1-25.

Christensen, M. Nilsson, A.E., and Wormbs, N. (2013) Changing Arctic – changing world. In: Media and the Politics of Arctic Climate Change. When the Ice Breaks. Christensen, M. Nilsson, A.E. and Wormbs, N. (eds) London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan; pp.157-171.  

Nilsson, A.E. and Filimonova, N. (2013) Russian interests in oil and gas resources in the Barents Sea. SEI Working Paper 2013-5. Stockholm: Stockholm Environment Institute.

Avango, D. Nilsson, A.E., Roberts, P. (2013) Assessing Arctic futures. Voices, resources and governance, Polar Journal. On-line 10 June 2013. DOI: 10.1080/2154896X.2013.790197.

Nilsson, A.E., Sommerkorn, M., Wilkinson, C., Robards, M. Vlasova, T.  (2013). The Arctic Resilience Report: Background, aims and scope. In: Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013. Arctic Council (ed). Stockholm: Stockholm Environment Institute and Stockholm Resilience Centre, pp. 3-14.

Sommerkorn, M. Cornell, S., Nilsson, A.E., Wilkinson, C., Robards, M., Vlasova, T. and Quinlan, A. (2013). A resilience approach to social‑ecological systems: Central concepts and concerns. In: Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013. Arctic Council (ed). Stockholm: Stockholm Environment Institute and Stockholm Resilience Centre, pp. 15-25.

Nilsson, A.E., Nilsson L.M., Quinlan, A. and Evengård, B. Food security in the Arctic: Preliminary reflections from a resilience perspective (2013). In: Arctic Resilience Interim Report 2013. Arctic Council (ed). Stockholm: Stockholm Environment Institute and Stockholm Resilience Centre, pp. 113-117.

Nilsson, A. E. (2012) The Arctic environment from low to high politics. Arctic Yearbook 2012 . Northern Research Forum and University of the Arctic.

Nilsson, A.E. (2012) Knowing the Arctic: The Arctic Council as a cognitive forerunner. In: T.S. Axworthy et al. (eds.) The Arctic Council: Its place in the future of Arctic governance. Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program. ISBN 9780973765151. Ch. 7.

 Nilsson, A., Gerger Swartling Å, and Eckerberg, K. (2012). Knowledge for local climate change adaptation in Sweden: Challenges of multilevel governance. Local Environment 17 (6-7):751-767; doi: 10.1080/13549839.2012.678316

 Cavalieri, S., McGlynn, E., Stoessel, S., Bruckner, M., Koivurova, T., Nilsson, A.E (2011): “Spurensuche: Der ökologische Fußabdruck der EU in der Arktis”. Osteuropa , Jg. 2-3, 211-223.

Cavalieri,S., McGlynn, E., Stoessel, S., Stuke, F. Bruckner, M., Polzin, C., Koivurova, T., Sellheim, S.,Stepien, A., Hossain,K., Duyck,S., Nilsson,A.E. (2010) EU Arctic Footprint and Policy Assessment. Final report. Ecologic, Berlin.

Nilsson, A.E. and Gerger Swartling, Å. (2009) Social learning about climate adaptation: Global and local Perspectives. SEI Working Paper and Mistra-SWECIA Working Paper No. 1. Stockholm: Stockholm Environment Institute.

Nilsson, A. E. (2009) A changing Arctic climate. Science and policy in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. In: T. Koivurova, C. Keskitalo, and N. Bankes (eds), Climate Governance in the Arctic, Springer; 77-95.

Nilsson, A.E. (2009) A changing Arctic climate: More than just weather. In J. Shadian and M. Tennberg (eds), Final Frontiers or Global Laboratory? The Interface Between Science and Politics in the International Polar Year (IPY), Aldershot: Ashgate; 9-33.

Nilsson, A. E. (2009) Arctic climate change: North American actors in circumpolar knowledge production and policy making. In H. Selin and S. VanDeveer (eds), Changing Climates in North American Politics: Institutions, Policymaking and Multilevel Governance, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 199-215.

Nilsson, A. E. (2007) A Changing Arctic Climate. Science and Policy in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. PhD dissertation. Department of Water and Environmental Studies, Linköping University.