Doing scientific fieldwork in the Arctic often means many hours spend on getting the right permits from governments and other authorities for travels, collection and export of samples, movement of equipment etc. We all know of projects that were delayed or otherwise troubled by confusion over permits and related paperwork.

Until now, there has been no available overview of the most relevant permits and regulations in the Arctic. Information for each specific country has often been distributed across several websites with no or limited coordination. 

To help mitigate this dilemma, INTERACT (International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic) and APECS (Association of Polar Early Career Scientists) now launch the first ever comprehensive platform on permits and regulations relevant to scientific fieldwork in all Arctic Council member states. 

The platform is meant as a service to scientists in their search for relevant rules, regulations and permits to do fieldwork in the Arctic. The platform includes information for the following destinations: Alaska (USA), Canada, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Svalbard (Norway) and Sweden.

For each destination the platform provides information about:

−       Short introduction to country/region

−       Cross border travel (persons, equipment, samples, chemicals)

−       Access to specific areas

−       Permits to conduct fieldwork and collect samples

−       Field instrumentation

−       Safety equipment

−       Regional/local permits

The platform is a contribution from INTERACT and APECS in support of the ‘Agreement on Enhancing International Arctic Scientific Cooperation’ ratified by all Arctic Council member states in May 2018. With the new platform INTERACT and APECS hopes to make things easier for arctic scientists by providing links and contact information for the most common types of regulations and permits.

INTERACT and APECS will update the platform regularly. If you encounter incorrect information on the platform or have suggestions for improvements, please contact katharina.beckmann@nateko.lu.se or svenja.holste@apecs.is  

Previously, INTERACT has produced a number of other products to help scientists in the planning of their fieldwork, including the following books:

INTERACT Station Catalogue

INTERACT Fieldwork Planning Handbook

INTERACT Practical Field Guide

INTERACT Fieldwork Communication and Navigation Guidebook (in press)

INTERACT Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Arctic Fieldwork (in press)