Arctic Council

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File:Arctic council logo 07.jpg
Current logo
Map of current Arctic Council national members in light blue. Observer nations in dark blue

The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum which addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic.

History of the Arctic Council

The first step towards the formation of the Council occurred in 1991 when eight Arctic countries signed the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS). The Ottawa Declaration of 1996 formally established the Arctic Council as a high level intergovernmental forum to provide a means for promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, with the involvement of the Arctic Indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic. The Ottawa Declaration named eight members of the Arctic Council. Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, The United States, Sweden and Finland.

Arctic Council Membership

Member states

Observer Countries

Chairmanship

As of 2006, Norway is serving as Chair of the Council. Chairmanship of the Council rotates every two years among the eight national members. Canada (1996-1998) served as first Chair of the Arctic Council, followed by the United States (1998-2000), Finland (2000-2002), Iceland (2002-2004), and Russia (2004-2006) before Norway assumed the present Chair (2006-2008). Denmark and Sweden will share the Chair of the Council after 2008. Norway, Denmark and Sweden have agreed on a set of common priorities for the three chairmanships.

Permanent Participants

Six Arctic indigenous communities have the status of Permanent Participants on the Council. These groups are represented by the Aleut International Association, Arctic Athabaskan Council, Gwich'in Council International, Inuit Circumpolar Council, Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, and the Saami Council.

Observers to the Arctic Council

In addition, there are a number of officially sanctioned Observers to the Arctic Council, among them six non-Arctic nations - France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Spain (as of October 2006), the United Kingdom; several international organizations - Arctic Parliamentarians, IUCN, the International Red Cross Federation, the Nordic Council, the Northern Forum, UNEP, UNDP; and a handful of non-governmental organizations such as the Association of World Reindeer Herders [1], the University of the Arctic and the WWF-Arctic Programme.

Meetings of the Arctic Council

The Arctic Council convenes approximately every six months at a site within the host Chair's nation for a Senior Arctic Officials (SAO) meeting. SAO's are high level representatives of each of the eight member nations - sometimes Ambassadors, often just senior foreign ministry officials entrusted with staff-level coordination. Representatives of the six Permanent Participants and the official Observers also are in attendance.

At the end of the two-year cycle, the Chair hosts a Ministerial-level meeting, which is the culmination of the Council's work for that period. Most of the eight member nations are represented by a Minister from their Foreign Affairs, Northern Affairs or Environment Ministry.

A formal, though non-binding, "Declaration," named for the town in which the Ministerial meeting is held, is announced, which generally sums up the past accomplishments and the future work of the Council. These Declarations cover the main topical areas that the Council is concerned with, including climate change, sustainable development, Arctic monitoring and assessment, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other contaminants in the Arctic, and the work of the five Working Groups of the Council. The last Ministerial meeting took place October 26, 2006 in Salekhard, Russia.

Coordinating the Work of the Arctic Council

Each rotating Chair nation accepts responsibility for creating a Secretariat, which handles overall coordination of Council activity, which includes organizing the semi-annual meetings, hosting the Council website, and distribution of the various reports and documents pertinent to the work of the Council. Most of the member nations would like to establish a permanent Secretariat, but this idea has been consistently vetoed by the United States since the inception of the Council.

Working Groups

The real work within the Arctic Council is done in cooperative fashion within five Working Groups and three Programs & Action Plans:

Working Groups

  • Arctic Monitoring & Assessment Programme[2] (AMAP)
  • Conservation of Arctic Flora & Fauna [3] (CAFF)
  • Emergency Prevention, Preparedness & Response [4](EPPR)
  • Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment [5] [6](PAME)
  • Sustainable Development Working Group [7](SDWG)

Programs and Action Plans

See also

References

  1. ^ Association of World Reindeer Herders
  2. ^ Arctic Monitoring & Assessment Programme
  3. ^ Conservation of Arctic Flora & Fauna
  4. ^ Emergency Prevention, Preparedness & Response
  5. ^ Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment
  6. ^ The programme for the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME)
  7. ^ Sustainable Development Working Group
  8. ^ Arctic Council Arctic Contaminants Action Program

External links

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