Greenland Institute of Natural Resources Stops New Collaborations with the US
The situation with the US has caused the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources to stop new collaborations and trips to the US. Instead, it is focusing on the Kingdom of Denmark and European countries.
Director of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Josephine Nymand, says that they will not enter into new collaborations with the US.
She is the former chairwoman of the Research Council. At that time, she fought for greater collaboration with the neighbor to the west.
Since then, the situation has taken a turn—especially after this January, when the US for a long time would not rule out taking over the country by military force.
“We have collaborations from before all this happened. We will continue with them, as these are researchers we have worked with for many years and whom we trust,” says Josephine Nymand. “But we do not enter into new agreements or projects with US partners we do not know.”
KNR has recently described how the alleged influence peddler Tom Dans has become chairman of the US Arctic Research Commission.
This has triggered warnings from two research profiles: US researcher Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard from the Danish Institute for International Studies and Marianne Holmer, chair of the Research Committee in Denmark and member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.
Josephine Nymand says that it was not many months ago that Tom Dans was at a conference in Aarhus, where the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources was also present.
Here they were aware of his whereabouts, so they could navigate around him.
The Break with the US
It is not just new research collaborations that have stopped with the US. The Greenland Institute of Natural Resources has also stopped all travel.
“We have told our employees and researchers that they should not travel to the US for conferences, meetings, research, or the like.”
There are several reasons why collaboration with the US is no longer relevant.
First, Josephine Nymand cites an example of the Trump administration censoring certain research that has used words that do not fit its view of diversity.
Josephine Nymand says that there have been examples of researchers in the US having had some of their data removed. That is why the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources makes a point of entering into data ownership agreements.
In this way, they can protect themselves from being censored by the US in their existing collaborations.
Second, the Trump administration has made it mandatory for travelers to provide their social media accounts. There have been examples of researchers who have been stopped at airports.
“I can’t do much to help our people if they are detained. So that’s why we have said that it is better that we don’t go over there as the situation is now,” says Josephine Nymand. “Because of that, and the situation in general, we have chosen to say that we will not enter into new collaborations with the US.”
This is not the first time that the institute has had to break with a collaboration partner. It has experienced this before with both Russia and China.
Dialogue with the Authorities
Josephine Nymand has a good dialogue with the relevant departments in the Self-Government.
The director of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources says that they are also—like researchers in Denmark—in ongoing dialogue with the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) and the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (FE).
This is because there are several areas of research that have both civilian and security overlaps.
KNR has recently described the example from Politiken with the Danish whale biologist Peter Teglberg Madsen, who refused to cooperate with American authorities.
He studies whales, among other things, by recording their sounds under the sea. This can also include sounds from nuclear submarines.
However, Josephine Nymand says that she still has contact with people at the American embassy in Denmark, whom the institute trusts and has worked with for many years.
But that trust can also be abused, right? Just as Chinese citizens have a duty to pass on information, could it not also be conceivable that the United States would put similar pressure on their employees?
“Yes, trust can be abused. That is why I am very aware of what we are talking about,” she says. “When we have a question of doubt, we have approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We have a good dialogue with them.”
In addition, the director of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources says that they are very careful to adhere to the guidelines given by the Greenland Government and the ministries.
Focus on Europe
Half of the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources’ finances come from the Self-Government. They raise the other half through collaborations on projects.
Before the situation with the US, they had a close collaboration with the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
Thus, Tom Dans’s role in the Arctic Research Commission and the politicization of research will not have much significance for the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, assesses Josephine Nymand.
“This is largely due to the fact that we have already taken our precautions, that we have adapted and shifted focus to collaboration with the Kingdom of Denmark and other countries.”
Since January, there has been increased interest from France and Great Britain in particular in entering into new collaborations. Switzerland also has a growing interest in Greenland, just as the EU is more present in Greenland and working for more research cooperation.
“They have allocated money directly for their researchers to start collaborating with Greenland. Here it is natural that they reach out to us. We have also focused a lot on the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Source: KNR (in Danish)