As the name suggests, the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law (NIEM) specializes in environmental and minority law. Particularly, it has a special focus on researching the law relating to (Arctic) indigenous peoples, as well as environmental law as it is applied in the Arctic regions. The Institute also provides its expertise to the Advisory Board on International Human Rights Affairs, an independent consultative organization on human rights issues, appointed by the Government of Finland.
Established in 1985, the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law is led by Associate Professor Dr Kamrul Hossain and has a staff of some 10 researchers. The Institute is responsible for Arctic Law and Governance specialization within the Master Programme of International and Comparative Law (MIC Law) at the University of Lapland, and it leads the Arctic Law Thematic Network of the University of the Arctic.
Projects and activities >
The Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, along with Polar Law Institute based at the University of Akureyri, jointly hosts the publication of the Yearbook of Polar Law (Brill Academic Publishers). In addition, it publishes its own research publication series Juridica Lapponica. The Institute is also involved in several different research projects and events both as a coordinating institution and as a participant.
The book gives a comprehensive analysis of vulnerabilities, challenges and needs that the Barents population experiences today or may encounter in the future. In the book, researchers provide recommendations for new strategies to tackle insecurity and improve the wellbeing of both indigenous and local communities.
There has been very little documented research conducted on food security in the Barents region when compared to other areas of the Arctic, such as Canada and Alaska. The authors specified that food security in the Arctic-Barents region is subject to a plurality of conditions attributable to the heterogeneity of the territory and national contexts that influence the governance of these territories.