Global warming will in the near future have far-reaching repercussions
for the Arctic Ocean and its resources. The faster rate of ice
melting will make the Arctic Ocean easier to reach and exploit.
Arctic research and environment protection face huge challenges.
The major Arctic shipping routes will become ice-free, at least
during the summer months. The national con-tinental shelf of the
five countries bordering the Arctic Ocean is to be extended and
will in all probability include areas today seen as part of the
seabed.
Many of these aspects were included
in the May 2008 Ilulissat Declaration, in which the five Arctic
coastal states reiterated
not only the significance of the international legal framework
but also their willingness to work together with all other parties
interested
in the Arctic Ocean. The question of how and to what extent this
cooperation can take place and how open the Arctic Ocean will remain
for justified third-party interests will be the focus of an international
conference, jointly organized by Germany, Denmark and Norway, entitled "New
chances and new responsibilities in the Arctic Region", to
be held from March 11 to 13, 2009 in Berlin. Around 150 international
participants from the fields of politics, diplomacy, business,
science
and civil society will be invited to attend.
The aim of the event, is above
all to work out what form cooperation between Arctic and non-Arctic
states can take, to discuss
the involvement of multilateral organizations such as the UN
or the EU, and to identify possible ways of balancing the opposing
interests of Arctic littoral and other states.
