INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR BUILDING EFFECTIVE RESILIENCE AND ARCTIC OCEAN POLLUTION-CONTROL GOVERNANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Project Information

ICEBERG

Grant agreement ID: 101135130

DOI

10.3030/101135130

EC signature date 22 November 2023

Start date 1 January 2024

End date 30 June 2027

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 5 987 060,00

EU contribution

€ 5 987 060,00

Coordinated by

OULUN YLIOPISTO
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ICEBERG (INNOVATIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR BUILDING EFFECTIVE RESILIENCE AND ARCTIC OCEAN POLLUTION-CONTROL GOVERNANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF CLIMATE CHANGE)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The European Arctic is rapidly changing due to climate change and human activities. Reduced sea ice has increased shipping, tourism, fisheries, and pollution from various sources. Pollutants—including plastics and toxic chemicals—accumulate in ecosystems and food chains, threatening biodiversity and human health, especially in coastal communities. Climate change amplifies these risks by altering species and pollutant dynamics. Addressing these challenges requires integrated environmental, social, and health approaches, strong community engagement, and multi-level governance.
ICEBERG’s goals are to:
1. Assess sources, types, distributions, and impacts of pollutants combined with climate stressors on ecosystems and communities using a One Health approach.
2. Co-develop strategies to enhance community resilience and strengthen pollution governance, focusing on mitigation and adaptation.
The project targets three Arctic “gateway” regions: western Svalbard, southern Greenland, and northern Iceland. Its impact pathway includes generating knowledge via advanced monitoring and modeling; creating tools for real-time pollution tracking and citizen science; engaging communities to co-create solutions; and influencing policy at EU and Arctic levels.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Key activities and achievements M1–M18
WP1 advanced comprehensive pollution assessment across Arctic sites (Fram Strait, Svalbard glaciers, fjords, coastal zones) through integrated field sampling, laboratory analysis, and modeling. Highlights include Lagrangian trajectory modeling combined with ship emissions data and ecosystem models to simulate pollutant dispersion and impacts on plankton. Extensive sampling and chemical analysis of soil, freshwater, snow, seawater, sediments, and stranded marine litter for heavy metals, PFAS, plastics, and organic contaminants. Studies on microbial biofilms and antibiotic resistance on plastics and microplastic accumulation in zooplankton.
WP2: Conducted interdisciplinary fieldwork integrating Indigenous and local knowledges in Iceland and Greenland. Developed beach litter monitoring tools including drone-based surveys, time-lapse cameras and AI-driven marine litter detection, and an interactive community platform for real-time pollution reporting. Engaged local communities through consultations, workshops, and citizen science initiatives, strengthening local monitoring capacity. Performed toxicological studies on contaminants in Arctic food chains, including nanoplastic effects on human health. Developing climate-related indicators focused on extreme weather impacts and initiated future pollution scenario workshops co-designed with communities.
WP3: Completed comprehensive review of governance frameworks on Arctic pollution at global, Arctic Council, EU, and national levels (Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard). Produced seven thematic policy papers. Developed a searchable database categorizing policies by location, pollutant, and sector. Conducted stakeholder interviews to identify governance challenges and alignment with international treaties and regulations. Fieldwork in Iceland and stakeholder engagement in Greenland to gather local governance insights.
WP4: Developed ethical and operational frameworks to guide ICEBERG’s interdisciplinary research and collaboration. Highlights are the ICEBERG Code of Conduct outlining principles for ethical and inclusive engagement, the Flow of Information Timeline to coordinate tasks and reduce research fatigue, stakeholder mapping and co-evaluation frameworks with participatory ethics tools, Integration of gender perspectives into pollution research through tailored methods and collaboration across WPs.
WP5 created the project website, and supported with multimedia content. WP6 initiated joint activities with sibling projects on citizen science and One Health.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

During the first 18 months (M1-M18) of the ICEBERG project, progress has been made toward achieving our objectives that extend beyond the current state of the art in Arctic pollution research, governance, and community engagement.
1. Informing policy makers to plan mitigation actions
WP1-3 advanced understanding of pollutant sources, transport, and ecological impacts in the Arctic, integrating high-resolution modeling with field data. This closes knowledge gaps highlighted by the IPCC AR6 and supports tailored mitigation strategies. Governance reviews identified regulatory gaps, enabling novel policy recommendations.
2. Achieving transdisciplinary outcomes with broader societal impact
ICEBERG combines natural and social sciences with Indigenous and local knowledge to address pollution holistically. Community monitoring platforms and citizen science empower local rightholders and communities in Greenland, Iceland, and Svalbard, promoting inclusive research and decision-making aligned with social equity and sustainability.
3.Exposome Approach:
Moving beyond single-pollutant studies, WP1 and WP2 assess combined chemical, lifestyle, and social exposures affecting Arctic populations, supporting cumulative health risk evaluation within a One Health framework.
4.Social Cultural, and Gender Perspectives:
The project work integrates gender-responsive and participatory methods, filling critical gaps in understanding pollution’s differentiated social impacts, particularly through co-created data with Indigenous rightholders.
5.Interlinkages between local responses and multi-Level governance
The 3 case studies reveal complex multi-level governance challenges and opportunities. Collaborative work with stakeholders uncovers gaps and pathways to improve regulatory governance coherence and pollution mitigation.

CNR-ISP team sampling snow in Ny-Ålesund and five glaciers to map pollutant deposition. ©CNR-ISP

Participatory mapping in Qaqortoq to identify vulnerable coastal pollution areas. ©ISG

Collecting aged plastic litter for nanoplastic analysis with citizens, Árskógssandur, Iceland.©INRAE

ICEBERG Consortium and Advisory Board meet for General Assembly in Nantes. ©KASKAS

Incubation experiments on Arctic waters to study pollutant effects on ocean biogeochemistry. ©GEOMAR

Time-lapse cameras set up with citizens tocapture images to train AI for beach litter detection.©CAU

Distributing surveys to cruise ship tourists to gather perspectives on Arctic tourism.©UOULU

Focus groups with women in Húsavík and Eyjafjörður, Iceland, on gendered exposure to pollution. ©SAI

SciDrones and Ocean Missions citizen scientists monitoring beach litter by drone, Iceland.©SciDrones