Arctic: an introduction
Soffia Gudmundsdottir, Executive Secretary, Protection
of the Arctic Marine Environment
The Arctic is characterized by a harsh climate with extreme
variation in light and temperature, short summers, extensive
snow and ice cover in winter and large areas of permafrost.
Its terrain varies from high mountains to flat plains, wide
tundra and great expanses of sea, snow and ice. The plants
and animals of the Arctic have adapted to these conditions,
but this has rendered them in some cases more sensitive
to increased human activities.
Historically, the harsh environment, difficulty of access
to resources, and scattered nature of the population patterns
has restricted rapid development and communication in the
circumpolar Arctic region. In the past half-century, however,
the rapid pace of technological and economic development
in Arctic regions affects the culture and well-being of
their human residents, including many indigenous peoples
whose traditional way of life has been, until now, at least
partially been protected by the very nature of the remote
and extreme environment in which they live.
The Arctic Council was established in 1996 and is a distinctive
regional form of co-operation between governments and indigenous
peoples in the Arctic region addressing all three of the
main pillars of sustainable development; the environmental,
social and economic. The scientific work and policy guidance
of the Arctic Council is carried out in several expert working
groups focussing on such issues as monitoring, assessing
and preventing pollution in the Arctic, climate change,
biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, in addition
to emergency preparedness and prevention. Among these programmes
is the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME).
The Arctic Council identified several priority tasks for
PAME directed towards pollution prevention and control measures
for the Arctic marine environment. PAME’s role is
to coordinate implementation of the regional programme of
action for the protection of the Arctic marine environment
from land- and sea-based activities through coordinated
action programmes and guidelines, complementing existing
binding and non-binding arrangements.
The environmental, economic and socio-cultural changes
occurring in the Arctic today are primarily driven by two
key factors: Climate change and increasing economic activity.
To respond to these changes, the Arctic Council has recognized
that existing and emerging activities in the Arctic warrant
a more coordinated and integrated strategic approach to
address these challenges and agreed in 2002 that a strategic
plan for protection of the Arctic marine environment be
developed under PAME leadership. On of the aims of this
plan is to build on the internationally recognized need
to manage human activities within the context of entire
ecosystems, applying them to achieve the sustainable development
of the Arctic marine environment.
Previous climate change studies have concluded that the
average temperature in the Arctic has already increased
by more than twice the global average over the past 50 years
and is projected to continue. The estimated warming of the
Arctic with longer ice-free season is predicted to increase
access to Arctic resources with longer navigation season
and opening of the northern shipping route corridor linking
Europe and Asia across the North Pole. These changes are
resulting in increased use, opportunities and threats to
the Arctic marine and coastal environments.
While increased accessibility and marine transportation
will require greater support and pose increased environmental
risks, there will also be opportunities for social and economic
development through increased investment and infrastructure,
and improved access to goods, services and supplies. Several
economic sectors, including mineral resource development,
oil and gas development, tourism and commercial fishing,
will also be advanced and made more competitive with improved
access.
However, the increase in temperature of Arctic marine
environment could have a negative impact in particular on
the lives of indigenous and other Arctic peoples. Present
warming trends in the Arctic will result in accelerated
release and distribution of harmful substances into the
environment and alter habitat for terrestrial and marine
species that can affect population levels and range, and
change traditional food availability for Arctic populations.
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