Social Risks of Achieving Sustainable Development in the Arctic Region

Abstract

The sustainable development of circumpolar countries is of great importance for the whole world, because the Arctic Region is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of economic activity. From the perspective of the concept of sustainable development, the intensification of industrial activity in the Arctic region makes the issues of achieving long-term environmental and social sustainability for local communities relevant. Despite the fact that the Arctic countries, especially the countries of Northern Eu-rope, are leaders in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, additional attention is needed to coordinate efforts to achieve them at all levels of administrative-territorial management. The relevance of our study is determined by the need to overcome the challenges and threats to the sustainable development of the Arctic territories of circumpolar countries. The aim of the study was to analyze the social risks of achieving sustainable development of the Arctic region. The methodological basis of the study was the system approach, methods of structural-historical and comparative-geographical analysis. It was substantiated that social risks in achieving sustainable development in the Arctic region are limited access to educational services; social tension in the labor markets, produced by professional and qualification imbalances of labor demand and supply and problems of youth employment; child poverty and poverty of the indigenous population. The scientific novelty of the research is in substantiating the social risks that pose a threat to the sustainable development of the Arctic region. The prospects for further research are conditioned by the need to solve urgent socio-economic and managerial problems associated with the sustainable development of the Arctic region.