Challenges of marine decision making in the Arctic: Insights from the Moscow Summer Academy 2015 on how to model interplays between ecology and economic behaviour

The current article has been inspired by the interdisciplinary set of lectures that were offered in terms of the Summer Academy on Economic Growth and Governance of Natural Resources in Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSA 2015, 20/07 01/08/2015), as well as by the recent developments in Arctic marine governance. Scholars with intimate knowledge of issues related to economic growth, resource governance and management of natural resources have, in terms of MSA 2015, addressed a series of issues that play a discernible role in current environmental challenges, including Arctic ecosystems, in a wider context of non-linear social-ecological systems undergoing rapid changes. This endeavour largely succeeded in providing MSA participants with a comprehensive view of methodologies and applications through the use of robust modeling tools. Foremost experts in game theoretic settings, optimal control theory and analysis of dynamic systems have paved the way for MSA participants, through their lectures, for developing a better understanding of how environmental managers deal with uncertainty, risk and complex decision making processes with respect to existing constraints.