Arcticportal News

(Logo: Arctic Frontiers)

The increase in human activity in the Arctic region, which is driven by the ever increasing demand for decreasing stocks of natural resources (mineral as well as hydrocarbons), has led to a rise in the need for improved management, monitoring and surveillance of the region.

The weather conditions may change quickly and dangerously, while the presence of the sea ice poses a risk to ships. For those reasons, the need for frequently updated information has increased.

Arctic Frontiers has been yearly organized as an independent network and leading meeting place for pan Arctic issues. This year's Arctic Frontiers took place 20th – 25th January in Tromso, located in the northern part of Norway.

This year's event collected close to 150 speakers from variety of countries. The audience accounted close to 2 000 people from various Arctic states and different fields of expertise. Both groups were largely supported by 35 journalists from 15 different countries. This number does not include the many local Norwegian media.

(Photo: Arctic Portal) Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health and the Canadian Northern Economic Development presents during the policy sessionFirst two days were occupied by the policy section titled: Geopolitics and Marine Production in a changing Arctic''. This year's policy session gathered speakers from the eight Arctic countries bringing up issues from charring and managing the Arctic Council, fisheries, oil and gas exploitation and the right and responsibility of the Arctic peoples to manage their territories to the role of armed forces in the Arctic.

Non-Arctic states were also well represented. The policy session welcomed speeches from the Ambassadors of China and South-Korea as well as from the EU Commissioner for Marine Affairs and Fisheries , while the science section's geopolitics session expanded the Asian representation to cover diverse range of issues regarding Japans, South-Koreas, Singapore and India's interests in the Arctic.

Non – Arctic states, together with the representatives of the Arctic, came up with new principles of how to manage, explore and develop the Arctic in the light of an on – coming change.

Today the Arctic Region is an emerging energy and mineral province, with the extraction of natural resources projected to increase dramatically in the coming years to decades. New industrial activities, a changing business community and demographic dynamics are to alter the established social and economic structures in several regions of the Arctic.

In short it can be said, that the non-Arctic countries call for an open and inclusive trans-regional dialogue and resource management and inclusive observer policies for the Arctic Council. In their view, the Arctic is not isolated region within the global economic and resource community, but a part of a global system that should be governed by and benefit all countries in the world.

It occurred evident that the interest towards the Arctic is growing and southern countries have started to grow increasing interest on the emerging opportunities in the Arctic.

In addition to the two day policy section, the Frontiers had a comprehensive science section concentrating this year on the above mentioned geopolitics, marine harvest and marine production.

(Photo: Arctic Portal) Speakers during the science sessionThe science section addressed mainly the issues of security, energy and interstate relations in the Arctic. Overall, it identified conditions of continued stability in light of new developments in the northern hemisphere.

A warming Arctic Region with less ice may involve opportunities in terms of economic activity and increased interstate cooperation, but may also present the Arctic stakeholders with new challenges in terms of how best to meet their interests and at the same time interact with the other stakeholders through mutually beneficiary relations.

The Arctic potential to become a new, thriving energy region was strongly highlighted during first days of the policy session.

The circumpolar North holds large quantities of natural gas and oil, both discovered resources and estimated ones. Northern Russia has the largest known reserves of natural gas in the Arctic, but it can also be found in other regions such as Norway, Canada and Alaska.

Last day of the science session welcomed representatives of non – Arctic states, such as Asian and European states that do not border the region. Those countries and organizations have been increasingly opening their eyes into the changing North. The speakers tried to answer the questions of does their interest consist of and what is their policy towards the Arctic Region.

The Arctic region has many faces. Historically it has been veiled by an aura of mystique, a frozen wonderland untouched both by the outside and the effects of industrialization, populated by a mysterious group of people from a different phase in the history of man. As interesting and romantic this notion may seem, it holds little or no truth in the Arctic today.

(Photo: Arctic Portal) Happy participants during the coffee breakThe Arctic is literally on top of the world, the earth rotating around the two poles, in the North and the South. But the Arctic is not just about the North Pole - the Arctic region stretches much further in all directions, even splitting the earth into the East and the West, famous identities in the world history.

This year's Arctic Frontiers highlighted that the Arctic is not only a historical and cultural region but also a potential for commercial and industrial activities. The meeting showed that the Arctic should be looked at as at the mixture of traditional subsistence activities as well as a part of the global market economy.

Leena & HMM

From Ny Alesund in Svalbard (Photo: Hjalti Hreinsson)The European Commission has selected a consortium led by the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland (Rovaniemi, Finland) to carry out an one million euro project* to produce a "Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of development of the Arctic". The project will last eighteen months during 2013–2014.

The consortium known as the EU Arctic Information Centre Initiative comprises an international network of currently 19 leading Arctic research and outreach institutions from the various European Union member states, and the EEA countries.

Arctic Portal is a partner in the project, all parties can be seen here.

The preparatory project is a first step to strengthen communication and outreach within the EU and between the EU and the Arctic community about the contribution the EU is making to address environmental and other issues raised by the rapid development of the Arctic region as a result of economic and climate change.

It provides a platform to test the effectiveness, functionality and sustainability of the proposal by the consortium to establish an EU Arctic Information Centre. The proposed EU Arctic Information Centre would aim to facilitate information exchange between the EU institutions, Arctic stakeholders and the general public.

The possibility of the EU Arctic Information Centre has been expressed in various EU Commission, Council and Parliament Arctic papers since 2008. The Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland made a concrete initiative of the network model in 2009.

The project will also enhance the use of impact assessment and its importance as a tool and a channel to put together information for the use of decision- and policy-makers and the related legal processes.

"The key idea of the Preparatory Action project is to create an efficient application of science-based information and its fulfillment with views and perspectives of stakeholders both inside and outside of the Arctic", says Director of the Arctic Centre, Professor Paula Kankaanpää.

To deliver that, the main activities are organized within four work packages:
1) EU Arctic Information Centre feasibility study
2) Impact assessment process
3) Outreach & communication
4) Project management

According to Finnish Arctic Ambassador Hannu Halinen, "The ultimate vision is to contribute to the sustainable development of the Arctic by creating an active pan-European network of institutions that represents a substantial Arctic knowledge base. Rapid development of the Arctic, together with complicated political, socio-economic and environmental processes, will demand an effective use of science-based information and pro-active work by relevant communication and research centers to guide the decision- and policy-makers to swift and coherent actions".

Mr Jaime Reynolds who coordinates Arctic issues for the Directorate-General for the Environment within European Commission notes: "The project does not constitute the launch of an EU Arctic Information Centre itself; however the EU Arctic Information Centre Feasibility Study and Impact Assessment processes included will be fundamental for considering decisions about the establishment of the Centre."

Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland is seeking for a Senior Impact Assessment Expert in Rovaniemi, Finland to work for the Preparatory Action: “Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of development of the Arctic” project funded by the European Commission. All information can be found here. 

The Ocean quahog. The oldest animal alive was found in Icelandic waters in 2007. The research ship Bjarni Sæmundsson pulled up a 507 year old Ocean quahog, on the depth of 83 meters just outside of the island Grímsey.

It was 11cm in diameter and was the oldest animal on earth. It was killed in order to conduct research.
 

Renowned Icelandic scientist Haraldur Sigurðsson covers the topics in his website.

Arctica islandica is quite common around Iceland and is known for reaching high age. It buries itself in sand or clay on the ocean floor and moves very little during its life course.

Ocean quahog breathing, on the left. (Photo: Arnoddur Erlendsson)The second picture shows how the breathing Ocean quahog, breathing sea in the bigger opening, and out the smaller one.

It grows immensely, for its size, over the summertime but very little over the winter. That leaves age markings on its shell, just like on trees.

Ocean quahog is widespread around the world; it is common for aquaculture and is fished in USA for example, around 20 thousand tons per year. The annual catch around the world is thought to be around 150 thousand tons.

The finding gained recognition at the time, amongst scientist around the world, especially from Britain and Germany.

(Pjhoto: APS) Current issue of APS: 2012 Vol.23 No.4-English

This is a call for papers for a special issue of the journal Advances in Polar Science (APS) focused on "AFoPS Meeting 2012".

The AFoPS Meeting 2012 was held in Delhi, India in August of 2012. This issue will provide a forum summarizing recent advances on Asian polar expedition and research during 2012 or earlier years. The non-Asian Arctic or Antarctic achievements from the cooperation programs with Asian countries are welcome too. Research themes may include Geological Sciences, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences.

Publishing in APS is free of charge thanks to generous funding from the Polar Research Institute of China.

The deadline of submission is 30 May 2013.

APS is an international, peer-reviewed journal jointly sponsored by the Polar Research Institute of China and the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration. It is a quarterly journal published in March, June, September and December by Science Press and circulated internationally. Founded in 1990 and formerly known as Chinese Journal of Polar Science (English Edition), the journal was renamed to Advances in Polar Science from Volume 22 (2011) onwards.

All papers are accepted from scientists of any nation, subject to peer review by at least two expert referees. Once accepted, a paper will normally be published in the next issue of the journal.

APS is fully committed to the Open Access Initiative and will provide free access to all articles as soon as they are released.

For more information, please visit APS Website. Click here to submit your paper.

HMM

Icelandic National Security Guard (Photo: Hjalti Hreinsson - Arctic Portal)Organized crime will increase in the Arctic as the ice melts. This is the evaluation of Jevgení Lúkjanov, vice president of the Russian Security Council. He says that Russia and the other seven Arctic states should carefully assess and increase security issues.

"Climate change will increase shipping opportunities significantly and it will continue to increase. These opportunities to sail will most likely follow smuggling, a stream of immigrants, slave trade, drug abuse and other followers of organized crime," he said in a lecture at the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsö last week.

Russia will have to work with other states to increase its security and increase supervision of shipping.

Norwegian admiral Haakon Bruun-Hansen, one of the leading officials in the Norwegian navy, also touched on the subject in his address. He said that all military security in the area was intended to increase security of the traffic in the area, and he also states that shipping will increase significantly and how important it was for all related parties to well-equipped and informed.