Pan Arctic Forum

NUNATSIAQ NEWS

Officials from the eight Arctic Council member states will sit down in New London, Connecticut Oct. 30 to launch a new circumpolar organization called the Arctic Coast Guard Forum.

At the same time, they’ll sign a non-binding memorandum of co-operation for coast guard organizations operated by Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States.

The signing ceremony, set for 11 a.m., Oct. 30, will lead to an agreement for “leveraging collective resources to foster safe, secure and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic,” a U.S. Coast Guard news release said.

By Adam Stępień & Andreas Raspotnik, The Arctic Institute

Last week, the 3rd Arctic Circle conference took place in Reykjavik, and for the first time the European Union (EU) officials decided to take part in the event. The EU’s presence came out as fairly low-key, considering the rising profile of the Arctic Circle, highlights of which this year included a passionate climate speech by the French president Francois Hollande and an encouraging letter from the Pope Francis’s Secretary of State, as it seems that even the Vatican is now interested in the Arctic.

By Mark Trahant, Indian Country

A changing Arctic? It’s a region that presents incredible challenges and opportunities for Indigenous People.

One of those unique opportunities involves governance. The Arctic Council is eight nations who work together on complex issues ranging from climate change to a sustainable future.The Arctic Council met last weekas the U.S. began a two-year chairmanship of the body.

What makes this international body unique is that it includes indigenous representation as “permanent participants.”

The six permanent participants are:

Aleut International Association (AIA)

Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC)

Gwich’in Council International (GCI)

Press release from the Arctic Council

October 23, 2015 – 6:55pm – By The Arctic Journal

Anchorage, Alaska | 23 October 2015

Representatives from the eight Arctic States and the Permanent Participants (six organizations representing Arctic Indigenous peoples) met in Anchorage, Alaska on October 20-22, 2015 to advance the work of the Arctic Council.

This first plenary meeting of the Council during the U.S. Chairmanship (2015-2017) addressed:

• The Council’s work on black carbon and methane;
• Adaptation to Arctic change, including the large-scale project “Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic”;

NEW LONDON, Conn. — The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is hosting a gathering of nations with a stake in the Arctic next week to work on improving maritime cooperation in the region.

The summit at the academy in New London is intended to help set up the new Arctic Coast Guard Forum.

Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the U.S. are members of the forum, which is charged with strengthening cooperation and coordination in the Arctic.

The forum was created because of concern among Arctic Council member countries over a growing need to ensure safety and stewardship of waters in the Arctic.

By Jeannette Lee Falsey, Arctic Newswire

The only international forum devoted exclusively to the Arctic met in Anchorage this week to discuss everything from research drones to ocean acidification.

The meeting was the council’s first under the current U.S. chairmanship and brought together representatives from eight Arctic nations as well as indigenous communities and observers with interests in the region.

“We’re still in the early stages,” U.S. Ambassador David Balton said. “Very little concrete was done.”  More meetings are scheduled for Alaska and Maine in the next two years.

Read full article here. 

By Monica Gokey, KSKA – Anchorage

During the three-day meeting of the international Arctic Council that wrapped last week in Anchorage, officials made the most headway on an effort to mitigate the impacts of black carbon and methane in the Arctic. State Department deputy secretary David Balton chairs the Council’s most senior officials.

“These short-lived pollutants — black carbon and methane — cause particular climate-related problems in the Arctic,” he said.

Black carbon is particulate waste from fossil fuel combustion. Unsurprisingly, it’s black. So when it lands on snow and ice, it has a warming effect.

You can say a lot about China, but you can no longer ignore its role as an Arctic stakeholder and partner.

October 22, 2015 – 12:01pm – By Marc Lanteigne

It has become commonplace at the annual Arctic Circle conference in Reykjavík for non-Arctic states and governments to present their Far North regional policies and detail their developing Arctic interests.

At the 2014 Arctic Circle, the United Kingdom gave a multimedia presentation and hosted a parliamentary delegation, while this year included plenaries sponsored by the governments of Germany and Japan, as well as a panel featuring business and government representatives from newcomer, (and possible applicant for Arctic Council observer in 2017?), Brazil.

By Asaf Shalev, Arctic Newswire

Arctic Council officials from around the world are convening in Anchorage this week to discuss diplomatic initiatives and policy proposals. But Tuesday evening, dozens of delegates and experts took a break from international politics for an event focused on Alaska’s youth.

In the first half of the evening at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, following hors d’oeuvres and opening remarks, the Arctic delegates and experts sat back in their chairs to watch the University of Alaska Anchorage’s celebrated Seawolf Debate team.

The team, which ranks sixth in the nation, sparred over an issue especially relevant to the delegates in the audience: the Arctic Council’s commitment to making decisions by consensus.