ARCA - Biocultural Heritage in Arctic Cities

Resource for Climate Adaptation?

ARCA is a Belmont Forum consortium project consisting of social and natural scientists and artists. It’s main research question is: “How can biocultural heritage embodied in Arctic urban green spaces and natural landscapes serve as a resource for climate adaptation?" It combines the methods of social anthropology, climate science, remote sensing, human geography, arts and community engagement to co-create publicly accessible and place-specific science and arts products. The Vienna anthropology team is focusing on the role of local and Indigenous ecological knowledge and human-nature relations embodied in urban green spaces and landscapes in environmental adaptation and cultural resilience. Our ethnographic research sites include Anchorage in the USA and Kirkenes in Norway. Together with research partners and local communities, our team co-organizes collaborative workshops, including presentations, artistic interventions, participatory mapping and discussions.

This project is funded by BMBWF for Belmont Forum

Arca Logo


 News

February 2025 | Fieldwork and Workshop

On February, 17-26 Olga Povoroznyuk conducted fieldwork in the Sør-Varanger Municipality in Norway and organized a community workshop.

Read more...


 Project Team

portrait picture Olga Povoroznyuk

Olga Povoroznyuk
Principal Investigator


 partner institutions


Belmont Forum Logo

Cultural Heritage Logo

Logo Ministerium

JPI Climate Logo