Bridging the GAPS between ecology and human security - Environmental and Human Security in the Arctic - page 130

2004). One eminent ecologist even penned a book of advice for citizens about
ecology (Slobodkin 2003).
While Slobodkin's book was favourably reviewed in some quarters (e.g.
Bosselman 2004), this was not the case for Denise Lach, a social sciences
professor based, at the time, in a sustainability research centre with an inter-
disciplinary focus (Lach 2003). Lach concluded her critique by remarking:
'the author says that “ecology is in danger of becoming an uncomfortable
blend of science and a passé but still trendy mass movement” (p.13). I'm sorry
to report that this topic does little to remedy this description of ecology for
the citizen reader' (Lach 2003:890).
In light of Lach's critique, one of three main questions that we explore in
this chapter is: why, despite all of the soul-searching, do the research findings
of ecologists appear to have such little impact in our broader society?
This chapter took root during the 2004 workshop 'Human Security and
the Arctic' held at the University of Tromsø. Workshop participants were
challenged to assess the relevance of the human security framework for Arctic
regions. The organizer, Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv, pointed out that while
most countries with Arctic regions are amongst the wealthiest in the world,
many of their northernmost communities are notoriously under-resourced
(Einarsson et al . 2004). Northern residents have reduced access to many social
and health services, influencing health disparities, resulting in higher mortal-
ity rates, for example, compared with those of fellow citizens living in more
southern regions of the same country. Additionally, Arctic peoples have been
amongst the first to observe environmental change associated with a warm-
ing climate (ACIA 2004) and to assert that their traditional ways of life were
being directly affected by the lifestyle choices of people living thousands
of kilometres away (AMAP 2002, 2009; Watt-Cloutier 2005). During the
Tromsø workshop, two further questions emerged: what is the connection
between ecology and human security? And, if there is a direct link to be
made, given what we know about the pace of change in Arctic ecosystems:
how relevant is the human security framework for ecologists studying eco-
logical change in Arctic ecosystems and mobilizing their knowledge of this
change to our broader society?
In this chapter, we discuss these three overarching questions in the
context of ongoing debates about how ecologists might best address the
science-policy gap (e.g. Haeuber and Ringold 1998; Vaughan et al . 2007;
Lowe et al . 2009; Brown et al . 2010). We propose that an interdisciplinary
approach offers significantly increased potential for effectively mobilizing
ecological theory, while recognizing that achieving an authentic interdisci-
plinary culture remains a challenge within prevailing academic institutional
structures (Pfirman et al . 2007). Furthermore, we suggest that the human
security framework provides an effective means for connecting ecologists
with other stakeholders and actors (Tanentzap et al . 2009).