The Arctic is among the areas hardest affected
by global climate changes. However, their causes do not lie in the Arctic.
The analysis of trends, based on data collected through early cooperation
within the framework of the Arctic Council, clearly speaks in favour
of effective action at global levels. This underscores the importance
of the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December.
Sea ice is receding and changing its character in the Arctic Ocean.
This gives rise to possibilities and challenges. Nevertheless, this ocean
is far from lawless. An extensive international legal framework already
applies to it - with or without ice. We thus have a large tool-box. The
challenge is to take timely measures - something which in turn requires
effectively implementing the ground rules and formulating appropriate
policies. We need to identify and address the real issues, not engage
in abstract discussions on alternative legal frameworks. The Arctic Council
may provide for essential input to policy formulation in several fields.
The Law of the Sea Convention provides the comprehensive legal framework
with the ground rules, including for ice-covered waters. The coastal
states have particular rights, obligations and responsibilities in their
zones and on their continental shelves, while other States have freedoms
and rights in conformity with the Convention. Effective policies and
accountability depend on clarity of jurisdiction.
Particular responsibilities, as well as a need to promote broad international
cooperation in several fields, were recognised by the five coastal states
of the Arctic Ocean in the Ilulissat Declaration of 28 May 2008. This
declaration by the Foreign Ministers also indicates concrete issues that
need to be addressed in order to secure the responsible and sustainable
management of the Arctic Ocean:
- Delineation of the outer limits of the continental shelf. There is
no “lawless
race for the resources in the Arctic Ocean”. The Convention
leaves no uncertainty. It sets out the rules for the establishment
of the outer
limits of the continental shelf. Clarity of jurisdiction requires
following these rules. This may also require cooperation between
coastal States,
including with regard to drawing of boundaries between their continental
shelves and zones. Such cooperation is under way in the Arctic
Ocean.
- Protection of the marine environment. The melting of the ice can lead
to increased human activity, such as shipping and exploitation of natural
resources. A sustainable balance between human activities and the protection
of the fragile Arctic environment needs to be achieved. Essential in
this regard are comprehensive management plans as well as environmental
impact assessments. Attention is drawn to current work in the Arctic
Council, the IMO and OSPAR, as well as the 1991 Espoo Convention.
- Navigation. No one can afford a new Exxon Valdez accident. Increased
navigation must be met by the development of appropriate international
regulations within the IMO. The Polar Code should be strengthened and
made binding. Consideration of vessel trafficking systems, navigation
routes and sea traffic separation schemes should take place in a timely
manner. Search and Rescue operations are particularly challenging in
the Arctic Ocean, as highlighted by Arctic Council work on this issue.
- Exploitation of the natural resources on the continental shelf. Given
the extreme fragility of the environment in the Arctic Ocean, possible
utilization of oil and gas resources must be carried out under the
strictest environmental standards and with the best technology available.
The Arctic
Council would play an important part in developing further necessary
knowledge base and standards.
- Exploitation of the living marine resources in the Central Arctic
Ocean. Commercial fisheries may in the future expand into the Arctic
Ocean.
Under the UN Fish Stocks Agreement implementing the Convention, particular
responsibilities must be discharged for the conservation and management
of any straddling and highly migratory species in the high seas area
of the Arctic Ocean.
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