Tag Archives: arctic council

United States leadership in the Arctic

17 March, 2015Generalacidification, arctic council, climate, indigenous people, The Circleuser

The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent ties up to the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic Ocean Sept. 5,
2009. The two ships are taking part in a multi-year, multi-agency Arctic survey that will help define the Arctic continental shelf. Photo: Patrick Kelley, U.S. Coast Guard

Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., USCG (Ret.) is the US State Department’s Special Representative for the Arctic. This article originally appeared in The Circle 01.15.
When I became the first United States Special Representative for the Arctic in July 2014, I had just retired from nearly 40 years in the United States Coast Guard, finishing my career as the 24^th Commandant. Ironically, I both started and ended my Coast Guard service focusing on the U.S. portion of the Arctic. My first assignment was aboard a Coast Guard cutter homeported in Adak, Alaska, in the Aleutian Island chain. During this assignment, I saw first-hand what the Arctic was all about. At the end of my career, I oversaw the completion of the first-ever Coast Guard Arctic Strategy, an achievement I’m very proud of and that has served our country well.
Now I have the great fortune to lead U.S. Arctic diplomacy and prepare for the United States’ chairmanship of the Arctic Council. I feel very privileged to do so at such an important time in the history of the Arctic region. Not since the Cold War has there been such a focus on the Arctic and the critical role it plays in the world. The Arctic Council – the only forum focused solely on the circumpolar Arctic – has evolved in encouraging ways to help Arctic governments and residents meet new challenges.
As chair, Canada has done a fantastic job of raising public awareness about Arctic indigenous peoples and their economic needs. We will follow Canada’s leadership and many of its priorities as we take the chair on April 24, 2015. Our chairmanship theme, “One Arctic: Shared Opportunities, Challenges, and Responsibilities,” reflects the fact that although there are many dimensions to the Arctic, in the end it is one region of peace, stability and cooperation.
We see three general sub-themes logically flowing from the overarching theme under which we will organize a number of new initiatives: Arctic Ocean safety, security and stewardship; improving economic and living conditions; and addressing the impacts of climate change.
The Arctic Ocean is still relatively unstudied as compared to the other oceans. We want the Council to support scientific research cooperation through a binding agreement that would reduce barriers to access for ships, equipment, research teams, samples and other logistical issues, and at the same time explore whether a Regional Seas Program for the Arctic Ocean might further cooperation on research priorities and joint efforts. We want to shine a light on the emerging problem of ocean acidification – a direct consequence of climate change that is happening more intensively in the Arctic Ocean than anywhere else owing to its cold temperatures. With the ever-increasing human presence in the Arctic Ocean, we plan to hold tabletop and live exercises among the Coast Guards and rescue services to ensure we are all prepared for the natural and/or man-made disasters that are all but inevitable.
Improving economic and living conditions is a high priority for the United States because all of the Arctic States have citizens living there, albeit in different circumstances. Much of the Nordic Arctic is well-developed; generally speaking, the Saami indigenous peoples enjoy better economic and living conditions than indigenous peoples in the United States, Canada, Denmark/Greenland and Russia. Our communities are largely remote, often poverty-stricken, and lacking in some of the most basic human needs such as access to clean water, indoor plumbing and sewage services, reliable, affordable electricity and fuel, and good jobs. These conditions contribute to physical and mental health problems, and eventually to high suicide rates, especially in men and boys. We hope that all eight Arctic States will join us in exploring solutions to these problems, including testing and deploying new technologies through public/private partnerships, encouraging foreign direct investment to stimulate job growth, and sharing expertise and best practices across our borders.
We all know that climate change is happening faster in the Arctic than in other regions of the world; in fact, the impacts of climate change underlie nearly all human activity in the region. We hope to focus on climate change in our chairmanship in several ways, but most importantly by pressing the Arctic States and the Observer States to reduce their black carbon and methane emissions.
Our country does not contain the largest piece of the Arctic, but we do take the Arctic region very seriously and we look forward to our coming two years in the chair of the Arctic Council.

Improving the lives of Northerners

16 March, 2015Generalarctic council, Canada, climate, indigenous people, The Circleuser

Leona Aglukkaq is the Conservative Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Nunavut and Minister for the Arctic. This article originally appeared in The Circle 01.15.
As Canada approaches the conclusion of its two-year Arctic Council Chairmanship, I’m proud to say we have worked to directly improve the lives of Northerners and foster environmentally responsible development throughout the Arctic.
Following my appointment as Minister for the Arctic Council in August 2012, I consulted with Northerners from across the Arctic and their message was clear: the well-being and prosperity of the people living in the North must be the top priority for the Council.
For this reason, Canada’s Chairmanship has focused Arctic Council work on the theme, “Development for the People of the North.”
There have been more than a few examples of the projects that we have developed over the course of our two year chairmanship, reflecting this overarching agenda. A key priority has been the establishment of the Arctic Economic Council (AEC), which held its inaugural meeting in September 2014. Many economic and social challenges including high costs of living, skilled labour shortages, and extreme weather are common across the Arctic. From my travels, it became clear to me that we often do not share information well between Arctic peoples. Often times when we face a challenge, someone somewhere else in the Arctic has already faced that same challenge and has a solution. Rather than reinvent the wheel, we, as a Council, should foster collaboration across the Arctic. The AEC will serve as a fundamental mechanism to facilitate Arctic-to-Arctic collaboration between business leaders by providing a forum to discuss common challenges, share best practices and look for business opportunities to develop and benefit the North.
The AEC will also serve as a link between business and government by enabling businesses to inform the work of the Arctic Council. Additionally – and this will be key to its success – Arctic Indigenous peoples have representation on the AEC, which ensures that those living in the North are active participants in decisions affecting their communities.
The AEC’s work is forging ahead, and it has now established working groups on responsible resource development, maritime transportation and stewardship in the Arctic.
Development has many aspects, including economic, social and environmental. These elements should all be considered as we work to achieve sustainable Arctic communities.
With this is mind, Canada is also working with its Arctic Council partners to promote mental wellness across the North. The goal of this project is to identify and share best practices to enable communities to improve support for mental wellness and resiliency of their residents. I am especially looking forward to the Mental Wellness Symposium taking place in Iqaluit, Nunavut in March which will focus on working with communities to advance efforts in mental wellness intervention.
Another key priority of Canada’s Chairmanship has been to incorporate traditional and local knowledge more effectively into the Council’s ongoing work. This knowledge has helped Indigenous peoples survive for millennia, and helps us understand changes in the region. The value of traditional knowledge is immense. By better incorporating it into decision making processes we will ultimately see better results for the Arctic and the people who live there.
The importance of traditional knowledge was recently highlighted in the search for Sir John Franklin’s ships from his failed 1845 voyage. One of his ships, HMS Erebus, was found just off the coast of my hometown of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut (see p. 32). For generations of oral history, Inuit have said the location was near King William Island, which is exactly where Erebus was found. This discovery emphasizes the strength and importance traditional knowledge plays in shaping not only our past, but also our present and our future. Successes such as these should make Inuit and all Arctic Indigenous peoples proud.
Over the course of Canada’s two-year Chairmanship, we have also advanced the Council’s work on other key issues, including climate change, biodiversity conservation, and shipping safety. These actions range from developing a framework for action to reduce black carbon and methane emissions in the Arctic to a new action plan to enhance oil pollution prevention.
A fundamental objective of our Chairmanship has been to strengthen the Arctic Council. This included enhancing the capacity of the six Indigenous Permanent Participant organizations to contribute to the Council’s work. The Permanent Participants have a unique and fundamental role at the Council – they are at the table with the Arctic States to ensure that they are involved in decisions affecting their communities. As we move towards the end of our Chairmanship, we are working closely with our neighbour and the incoming Chair, the United States, to advance our shared priorities for the Arctic region.
I look forward to welcoming our Arctic Council partners to Iqaluit in April for the ninth Ministerial Meeting, where we will highlight our accomplishments, and chart a path for the next two years and beyond.

Will Arctic business collaboration lead to a greener northern economy?

30 January, 2014Generalarctic counciluser

A new forum will bring Arctic businesses together to advise the Arctic Council, the Arctic’s main international governing body, on the unique economic challenges facing the north.
A flagship initiative of the Canadian chairmanship of the Arctic Council, the Arctic Economic Council (AEC) was developed to foster sustainable business development in the Arctic through international cooperation, and bring a business perspective to the Arctic Council.
WWF welcomes the AEC, and hopes it will ensure the long-term health and prosperity of the region by committing to corporate social responsibility, managing risk and environmental impacts, and planning for long-term stability.
Specifically, WWF hopes the AEC will:

Create green investment mechanisms to finance sustainable development in the circumpolar Arctic, particularly renewable energy projects.
Establish and share common Arctic regulations for the assessment of risk and environmental impacts, and conducting those assessments at every stage of industrial development projects.
Finance and share research that establishes environmental baselines and monitors industrial impacts.
Take into account all aspects of an ecosystem – biological, economic and cultural, and the cumulative impacts of human activity on the entire system.
Develop local, national and international policies that lead to long-term economic stability, rather than short-term domestic revenue.
Agree on a broad membership, including civil society organizations, and invite only businesses with a demonstrated record of environmental protection.

Industry is a critical player in the future of the Arctic. The AEC presents an opportunity to harness the private sector’s resources to develop innovative solutions leading to sustainable business decisions throughout the Arctic.
Few details are currently available about the AEC. We hope our recommendations will be reflected in the group’s operating terms.
See the official release from the Arctic Council.

Life on ice should not lead to decisions on ice

28 October, 2013Generalarctic council, sea iceuser

Bearded seal on ice, Spitsbergen, Norway
© Wim van Passel / WWF-Canon

Anybody can make choices when they have all of the information, especially if all of the information leads to one inescapable conclusion. It’s a lot harder to make choices when you only have part of the information, and must wait many years to see if the information was exactly correct. That is the position that faces policy makers now in the Arctic, as they make choices based on the disappearing sea ice.
We know the ice is shrinking – that has been clearly demonstrated by satellite monitoring over the past few years. We do not know exactly what that means for Arctic life. A new report from the Arctic Council lays out what we know and what we don’t know about the effects of the ice shrinkage. “Life Linked to Ice” talks about the direct and indirect changes that Arctic species face as the ice shrinks. For species such as polar bears, it is clear that their preferred hunting grounds will be less available. Other effects are not so easily visible, but may be just as drastic. The change in light and temperature with the loss of sea ice encourages different species of the smallest life in the ocean. As those species change, the species that feed on them may change, affecting the whole system.
As the report concludes, “To what extent Arctic species will adjust to these changes is uncertain. Changes are too rapid for evolutionary adaptation, so species with inborn capacity to adjust their physiology or behavior will fare better. Species with limited distributions, specialized feeding or breeding requirements, and/or high reliance on sea ice for part of their life cycle are particularly vulnerable.”
Despite the uncertainty, there are choices that could or should be made. As WWF points out in the report, waiting until we know as much as we’d like may be too late for any effective actions to be taken. This is particularly true of managing areas for conservation. Creating a park or other protected area can take decades. Arctic governments and peoples need to immediately take a close look at this report and its recommendations. There is one recommendation that is not in the report, but should be, and it’s simple: act now.

As businesses move north, is the Arctic Council keeping pace with environmental stewardship?

23 October, 2013Generalarctic council, governance, oceansuser

Minister Leona Aglukkaq spoke at the dinner for delegates held 21 October at the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre. © Arctic Council Secretariat

Canadian Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq speaks before Arctic Council delegates, October 21 2013. © Arctic Council Secretariat

Climate change and sea ice receding present new opportunities for mining, oil exploration and transportation in the Arctic. Climate change is affecting the circumpolar Arctic twice as fast as regions located in lower latitudes, bringing Arctic development to the forefront of the agenda as Canada begins its second chairmanship of the Arctic Council.
Arctic states are planning to bolster development and exploitation of the region by embracing an opportunistic development approach. The Arctic Council is transforming from a body concerned with environmental protection and sustainable development to one with a clear mandate to enhance economic cooperation. Last week’s Throne Speech from the Canadian government also emphasized the development of the Canadian North, with hardly a mention of conservation.
WWF supports the well-being of the Arctic’s indigenous communities,and development is necessary to create prosperity for the north. But when global warming is melting sea ice across the region, leading to increased Arctic accessibility, it is important to recall the Council’s original mandate of environmental protection and sustainable development. WWF is concerned by the recent narrowing of the Council’s sustainability remit to just one of its domains, the economy. Chief Gary Harrison from Arctic Athabascan Council said in Whitehorse yesterday that he doesn’t want the Council to evolve “from an environmental body to an extractive body.”
Arctic states are working towards the establishment of a circumpolar business forum and the Council’s new diplomatic mission to support businesses in Arctic development is important. This shift of focus on the Arctic circumpolar cooperative agenda must consider the balance between short-term development and the long-term sustainability of the region. There is a vast difference between the speed of industrial development and the progress on environmental protection. There is a risk that development will outpace conservation.
Positive signals are coming from United States officials that science will be central to the American chairmanship beginning in May 2015. Arctic states cannot afford to neglect protecting the Arctic environment, and they must take responsibility for the long-term functioning of rapidly changing Arctic ecosystems and live up to the original mandate of the Council.

The marine protection gap

21 October, 2013Generalarctic council, governanceuser

The Canadian icebreaker ship Louis St. Laurent, breaking through the sea ice of the Canada Basin, Beaufort Sea, Alaska, United States. © Paul Nicklen/National Geographic Stock / WWF-Canada

Representatives of Arctic states, Indigenous peoples and observers to the Arctic Council are gathered here in Whitehorse, Yukon to begin the first major meeting under the new Canadian chairmanship.
While Whitehorse is a long way from the Arctic Ocean, the sea will be on people’s minds as they gather here. This will be their first official chance to talk about a major task that the Council has completed, an identification of the most important marine areas in the Arctic.
This identification covers both international sea areas, and also those in national waters. It was driven by a previous Arctic Council report, the Arctic Marine shipping Assessment, that recognized increasing use and development of the Arctic will require some way of protecting the places most important to life there. The Council deserves praise for this achievement – it also requires the ambition to follow it with concrete actions for marine conservation.
So far, the Council has agreed to explore the need for environmental protection for places in international Arctic waters. This is a start, but a much smaller start than is really required to protect Arctic life, and the livelihoods of the peoples who rely on that life. The reality is that only about 15% of what the Council calls Arctic marine areas are “international”, that is, beyond national jurisdiction of any one state.
Now that the Council knows where the important marine areas are, and knows that most of them are in national waters, it needs some way of advancing protection of those nationally-controlled areas. Of course, the protection of those areas is really up to the states concerned, not a job for the Council. What the Council could do is to look at the important areas already identified, and work out which of those areas would, taken together, provide a bottom line of protection for Arctic marine life and ecosystems. This could provide an international plan for prioritizing protection, a plan that could and should then be put into practice by all the Arctic coastal states through appropriate national instruments.
While working at a national level on marine protection, Arctic states and observer states should join their forces to identify international areas where may apply together to the United Nations for special protection status.

Arctic Council will study Arctic adaptation

23 September, 2013Generalarctic counciluser

I attended the latest Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme Working Group meeting in the Faroe Islands to communicate WWF’s vision for the future of the Arctic. In these remote islands, the Arctic countries were discussing how to approach adaptation actions in the context of a rapidly changing Arctic. The overall idea of this new project is to assess impacts of climate change as well as other changes expected to affect the region like increasing industrialization, shipping and tourism.
In order to assess adaptation actions in the Arctic on short and long term, the group will rely on existing scenarios on global key drivers of change. Expected global developments are likely to impact the Arctic’s people and ecosystems. Global economic development and our increasing demand for natural resources will be one of the important challenges for the Arctic environment during decades ahead.
As emerging economies like Brazil or some Asian nations mature and global human population in 2050 is projected to hit 9.6 billion, there is a pressing need to adopt a forward-looking sustainability framework to guide our management of the environment. WWF understands adaptation through the lens of our relationship with nature which means that adaptation actions in the Arctic region must aim to enhance both human well-being and ecosystem resilience.

Are the Faroe Islands Arctic?

16 September, 2013Generalarctic council, governanceuser

Rainbow over the Faroe Islands. © Marc-Andre Dubois / WWF

This week, I’m in the Faroe Islands in order to attend a meeting of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), one of six Working Groups of the Arctic Council.
At 62°00’N, the Faroe Islands lie midway between Norway and Iceland, about 4° south of the official boundary of the Arctic Circle. There’s an ongoing discussion about defining the boundaries of the Arctic — highly relevant for these islands, whose government just released an Arctic policy entitled: The Faroe Islands – a Nation in the Arctic. This self-governing region is part of the Nordic family of nations, but are these remote islands Arctic?
On Sunday, our group was invited to participate to a bus tour leaving from Tórshavn, the capital of the archipelago to the Viðareiði . Viðareiði is the northernmost village in the Faroe Islands. It was cold, rainy, windy and beautiful. The islands are located at the heart of the Gulf Stream delivering a cold oceanic climate, which means that the islands don’t experience a long-lasting accumulation of snow. The bus wandered over bridges and tunnels along steep slopes facing powerful North Atlantic waters.
The average temperature in July is an important environmental and biological indicator of ‘northernness’. An average temperature of 10º C closely corresponds to the treeline. If we use this indicator, large terrestrial areas of the Faroese archipelago mountains are indeed Arctic.
The harsh climatic conditions and the expected consequences of Arctic industrial development here lead me to conclude that the Faroe Islands will indeed be an important stakeholder in the Arctic’s future.