dr. A.J.M. (Annette) Scheepstra

GUIDE-BEST I am the project leader of this through NWO funded project. With this project we aim to deepen our understanding of key drivers that affect the behaviour of tourists during and after their visit, the likelihood that they become ambassadors for Antarctic conservation (and environmental protection more generally), and the role that guides play in this process.

EU-Polarnet  EU-PolarNet is a Horizon 2020 funded Coordination Action project. The overall target is to coordinate polar research in Europe and develop a comprehensive European polar research programme. In Eu-PolarNet, I was responsible for the stakeholder mapping and the inclusion of social science and humanities. In EU-PolarNet 2 I am responsible as a stakeholder guardian to safeguard stakeholder and right-holders engagement throughout all aspect of the project.

WBPI I am coordinator of the Willem Barentsz Polar Institute , a virtual network institute, bringing together Dutch Polar researchers. WBPI functions as an international contact point for Dutch polar research.

Arctic CouncilThe Ministry of Foreighn Affaires is hiring the Arctic Centre to represent the Netherlands in three working groups of the Arctic Council (CAFF, AMAP en SDWG). I am coordinating these activities.

SEES.NL-2022 The second SEES.nl took place from 13-22 July 2022. I was responsibe for the expedition planning and organisation

Furthermore I am involved in these projects:

Svalur is a Belmont Forum funded project. It stands for Understanding Resilience and Long-Term Environmental Change in the High Arctic: Narrative-Based Analyses from Svalbard.

INTERACT, an infrastructure project with a network of 83 terrestrial field bases (under which the Netherlands Arctic Station) in northern Europe, Russia, US, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Scotland as well as stations in northern alpine areas. INTERACT specifically seeks to build capacity for research and monitoring in the European Arctic and beyond, and is offering access to numerous research stations through the Transnational Access program.

UArctic, a cooperative network of universities, colleges, and other organizations committed to higher education and research in the North. 

SIOS, an international infrastructure project to establish better coordinated services for the International Research community with respect to access, data and knowledge management, logistics and training.

FINISHED PROJECTS

Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic part C

The overall objective of the AACA is to enable more informed, timely and responsive policy and decision making in a rapidly changing Arctic. In May 2013 the Arctic Council decided to continue its work on the AACA initiative and requested the AMAP Working Group to “produce information to assist local decision-makers and stakeholders in three pilot regions in developing adaptation tools and strategies to better deal with climate change and other pertinent environmental stressors”. This has resulted in the AACA-C project which will deliver its overall integrated report to the 2017 Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting.

I am co-author of the chapter about Local and regional perspectives for the Barents Region.

Sustainable Development Working Group

The goal of the SDWG is:

• to propose and adopt steps to be taken by the Arctic States to advance sustainable development in the Arctic, including opportunities
• to protect and enhance the environment and the economies, culture and health of Indigenous Peoples and Arctic communities, as well as
• to improve the environmental, economic and social conditions of Arctic communities as a whole.

I represented the Netherlands in the SDWG from 2014-2017.

SEES.nl was a special multidisciplinairy expedtion to East Spitsbergen. This Dutch Scientific Expedition Edgeøya Spitsbergen took place in 2015 August 19-28. On board the Ortelius more then 50 scientists and 10 policy makers and media will looked for the effects of climate change in the remote island Edgeøya. We for instance compared ecological data that Dutch researchers collected there in the 70s and 80s of the last century. I was respronable for the practical organisation of the expedition and also worked as a guide on board.

Book History of Dutch Polar research

With Anita Buma and Richard Bintanja, we form the editorial team of a book about the last 50 years of Dutch Polar research. The book ' Door de kou bevangen' is officially released at the 8 of March 2016 during a KNAW symposium. 

The Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of development of the Arctic is a first step to strengthen communication and outreach within the EU and between the EU and the Arctic community about the contribution the EU is making to address environmental and other issues raised by the rapid development of the Arctic region as a result of economic and climate change.

I am one of the 2 leading authors of the chapter Mining in the European Arctic in the Strategic Assessment of Development of the Arctic report and a contributing author in the chapter Social and Cultural Changes in the European Arctic.

The report is published in september 2014, in Ocotber 2015 an improved version of the report is also published as a book.