Professor

Dr. Joan Nymand Larsen is Professor of Economics and Arctic Studies at the University of Akureyri, Iceland; Senior Scientist and Research Director, at the Stefansson Arctic Institute, Akureyri; and an adjunct professor, in the Department of Economics and Business, University of Greenland.

Current research interests include the Arctic economy and its sustainability, and quality-of-life in Northern regions and coastal communities. Her work takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding human-environment relations, and is primarily field-based with a strong focus on working with stakeholders to develop co-designed solutions.

Her research in the EU H2020 NUNATARYUK permafrost project, involves fieldwork in the Disko Bay region of West Greenland, and investigates the impact of permafrost thawing on the Arctic coastal system and its effect on the availability and accessibility of resources, the stability of infrastructure, and the growth of potential new economic activities.

She served as President of the International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) 2008-2011, and as coordinating lead author for the Polar Regions chapter of the IPCC WG-II 5th assessment report.

She was member of the steering committee of LOICZ that preceeded the FEC; a board member on the Arctic Futures Programme with the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, Member of the Scientific Advisory Group of the Abisko Natural Sciences Research Station in Sweden, and member on the International Arctic Science Committee Working Group on Social and Human Sciences.