This volume (INSROP Working Paper 167–1999: ‘The Challenges of the Northern Sea Route. Interplay between natural and societal factors’ by W. Østreng (ed.), L. Brigham, D. Brubaker, E. Gold, A. Granberg, V. Grishchenko, J. Jernsletten, K. Kamesaki, A. Kolodkin, K. Moe, G. Semanov and M. Tamvakis) integrates all the main findings and conclusions of six years of INSROP research. It can be considered the ‘INSROP final report’.