Arctic sustainability: perspectives on research advances and emerging agenda from a decade of Arctic-FROST coordination network

Research Coordination Network (RCN) “Arctic-FROST: Arctic FRontiers Of SusTainability: Resources, Societies, Environments and Development in the Changing North” spent a decade (2014-2024) advancing theory and practice of sustainability research in the Arctic region. It engaged hundreds of scholars from a variety of disciplines, as well as Indigenous knowledge holders, to make a significant contribution in Arctic sustainability science, an emerging and highly relevant cross-disciplinary field aimed at facilitating sustainability, resilience and adaptation amid rapid environmental and socioeconomic changes in the Arctic. Network’s activities documented key milestones in Arctic sustainability research, including conceptual and methodological shifts, such as transitions to contextualized and Indigenized understandings of sustainability and knowledge co-production as a leading method. Despite considerable achievements, the network also identified future research priorities to be addressed in the next decade. They include eliciting innovative and decolonized approaches to building relationships and fostering co-production with Indigenous communities, further engaging with policy stakeholders, as well as arts and humanities, connecting critical and practical dimensions of sustainability, supporting community- and Indigenous-led research, and focusing on governance, justice, equity, legitimacy, and power in sustainability research, among others. The Arctic-FROST experience is instrumental for developing agenda for the 5th International Polar Year (2032-2033) and sets a guiding framework for future sustainability science in the Arctic.