The criticism highlights the Government of Greenland’s irritation about a lack of communication from researchers coming in from abroad.
It made headlines around the world – and in Polar Journal AG yesterday – when a study in the scientific journal Science revealed the surprising fact that last year, a landslide had triggered a mega-tsunami which reverberated in the Dickson Fjord for nine days.
In Greenland’s capital Nuuk, too, the news came as a surprise to some, including members of the Greenlandic government. Two of them, Naaja H. Nathanielsen, Minister for Industry, Trade, Minerals, Justice and Gender Equality, and Kalistat Lund, Minister for Agriculture, Self-sufficiency, Energy and Environment, were so surprised, in fact, that they sent out a joint statement.
In it, they criticize the research institution behind the study, GEUS, for not informing their government about the results of the study.
“This is interesting and socially relevant research, but at the same time it is worrying when the public, without warning, can read about the results of research that could have had disastrous consequences.”
“The Government of Greenland has not been presented with the new results from Dickson Fjord. This is not satisfactory, and GEUS will therefore be contacted in order to improve communication going forward,” the statement reads.
GEUS regrets miscommunication
GEUS – the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland – is an independent research institution funded by the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Utilities. Its charter includes conducting geological and seismological research in Greenland, and for this reason it has an office in Nuuk and various activities around the country.
But in this case, it would seem, its ties to the Greenlandic government were not sufficiently considered.
In a statement to Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq, GEUS’ Head of Communications, Anja Fonseca, says that she regrets that the government did not ‘feel’ properly informed.
“It is regrettable that Naalakkersuisut [Greenland’s government] feels it has not been informed about the study at Dickson Fjord. We will take the dialog directly with our good partners in the Greenlandic authorities, and therefore we have no further comments,“ Anja Fonseca, told Sermitsiaq in a written comment.
Task force to minimize risks
In their statement, the two ministers underscore the fact that the research concerned information that could potentially save the public from danger.
“Especially when it comes to natural disasters, it is crucial that all information reaches the right authorities as quickly as possible. Naalakkersuisut [Greenland’s government] is working hard to map areas with a greater risk of landslides. The work aims to minimize the risk to our daily activities in the fjords by being able to understand and possibly predict such dangerous situations,” the statement reads.
Therefore, the statement goes on, the Greenland government has set up a task force to ensure ‘effective preparedness and clear communication’ so the population can be notified quickly in case of landslides.
“In this context, local knowledge is of great value. We encourage anyone who has observations that can be related to unstable rocks and slopes to submit a report form to us via the website https://govmin.gl/da/fjeldskred/,” the ministers wrote.
Research should be of benefit to Greenland
In the concluding part of the statement, one turn of phrase seems important to note: ‘local knowledge is of great value’.
This goes hand in hand with Greenland’s national research strategy for 2022-2030, published at the beginning of 2023. In the strategy, the government expressed the wish that “researchers should do more to include original and local knowledge in their research projects.”
This follows a general sentiment in Nuuk that some researchers come to the country without giving anything back to the people whose land they conduct research in. In 2019, this sentiment was among the reasons that the Greenland government joined the Danish government in establishing the international research dissemination secretariat Arctic Hub.
The lack of communication from GEUS, thus, goes directly against what the Greenland government, according to its research strategy, wants from research conducted in Greenland; that it should ‘first and foremost, be of benefit to Greenland’.
Reading between the lines of the ministers’ statement, it would seem that Greenland’s government is currently not satisfied with the efforts done to keep them informed about research in their country. And that if further infractions occur, their next step, rather than strongly worded statements, might be new legislation that would force the issue.
Ole Ellekrog, Polar Journal AG
More on the topic:
