Governing the Bering Strait Region

Drawing on the chapters dealing with the ecological, economic, and sociocultural systems of the Bering Strait Region, this chapter identifies key issues of governance arising in the region and makes use of our approach to informed decisionmaking for sustainability to guide thinking about options for addressing these issues. We identify two issues as priority concerns: (i) what will be the consequences of increased access to the region and the subsequent rise in the volume of commercial shipping and (ii) how will environmental changes affect the well-being of the region’s human residents? In each case, we examine data and evidence relevant to informed decisionmaking. We then identify options (without advocacy) that decisionmakers may consider in selecting responses to the priority issues in such a way as to maximize the achievement of sustainability.