Kankaanpää, Paula
PhD Physical Geography, Helsinki UniversityTitle: Director, Professor
Email: forename.surname @ ulapland.fi
tel. +358 (0)40 777 7825, (2768)
Professor Paula Kankaanpää has been the Director the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland in Finland since 2000, where she acted also as a Vice-Rector in 2006-09. She is the chair of the Advisory Board of the Finnish Meteorological Institute and she chaired the IASC Regional Board in 2000-02. Dr. Kankaanpää has long experience on science and policy interface as she worked for the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, the Arctic Council, the Barents Council and the Antarctic co-operation in Finnish Ministry of the Environment since the beginning of 90’s.
She was responsible on the project of Arctic Environmental Impact Assessment Guidelines, and, later, led the CAFF Overview Report of the Arctic Council which she initiated when working as the Deputy Executive Secretary of CAFF in Iceland 1999.
She is geographer by background and made her PhD as sea ice research scientist at the Finnish Institute for Marine Research. Currently she is a Fellow at Dartmouth College Dickey Centre until August 2010.
Present work: Director, Professor
Working history in brief
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland. Rovaniemi.
Director, Professor, Vice rector (research).
- CAFF Secretariat of the Arctic Council. Akureyri, Iceland.
Deputy Executive Secretary.
- Ministry of the Environment, Helsinki.
Senior Adviser on Polar Affairs.
- University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Researcher.
- Finnish Institute of Marine Research, Helsinki.
Researcher.
Chairperson in Commitees
- Advisory Board of Finnish Meteorological Institute. 2008 - 2012
- Science Board of the University of Lapland. 2007 - continues.
- Co-chair of the Research Strategy Task Force of the Universities of Lapland and Oulu. 2007 - 2008.
- Regional Board of the International Arctic Science Committee. 2000 - 2002.
- International Drafting Group of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council Third Meeting of Environment Ministers. St.Petersburg, Russia. 7 Oct. 1997.
- Polar Working Group of the Ministry or the Environment. 1996 - 1999.
Member of Committees
International
- Council of the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States. 2005 - continues.
- Board of Directors of United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Grid-Arendal. 2004 - 2008.
- Regional Board of International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) 2000 - 2008 and member of IASC executive committee 2000 - 2002.
National, ministries
- The Arctic Committee of the Government of Finland. 2010-13.
- Background Group for the Arctic Council, Ministry of the Foreign Affairs. 2000 - continues.
- National Background Group for the Barents Council, Ministry of the Foreign Affairs. 2000 - continues.
- Committee for Antarctic Research and Logistics, Ministry of Education. 2007 - continues.
- Working Group on Northern Dimension Policy by the Prime Minister’s Office. 2002 - 2003.
- Preparatory Working Group on Northern Dimension Policy by the Prime Minister’s Office. 2001.
- Committee of Subsistence Living and Reindeer herding, Ministry of the Agriculture and Forestry. 2001 - 2007.
National, other
- National Committee on Arctic and Antarctic Research by Academy of Science and Letters. 2006 - continues.
- Scientific Board of Forest and Park Service of Finland. 2003 - 2006.
Regional
- Board of Lapland Environment Centre. 2009 - continues.
- Helsinki University and Enontekiö Municipality Co-operation Working Group for Kilpisjärvi Research Station. 2008 - 2009.
- Advisory Board of Kolari Station of Finnish Forest Research Institute. 2003 - 2004.
- Advisory Board of the Rovaniemi Station of Finnish Forest Research Institute. 2001 - 2004.
Expert Tasks
- Associate Editor. Polar Geography. Taylor & Francis. 2009 - continues.
- European Science Foundation. Pool of Referees. 2009 - 2010.
- Finnish Representative in the Arctic Council working group for International Polar Year Legacy. 2009.
- International Expert Panel on Science Priorities for the Canadian Arctic Research Initiative. 2008.
- Steering Group Member in Project "Governance in a Rapidly Changing Arctic". University of California Santa Barbara. 2009 - 2010.
Project Leader and Received External Project Funding