The Maritime Executive posted an article titled, “Arctic Indigenous Groups Ask for a Voice at IMO.” The article reads in part as follows;
“Leaders of Arctic indigenous tribes from Canada, Russia and Alaska will address the IMO next week during the meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 70) in order to highlight their concerns and to call for a formal role at the UN regulatory body.
“Ultimately all of us would want permanent status . . . for Arctic Indigenous communities at the IMO, so they can be party to decisions that are affecting their livelihoods and their food security,” said WWF Canada shipping specialist Andrew Dumbrille, speaking to Radio Canada.
The IMO’s decisionmaking is based on input from its member states; while non-state bodies like the International Association of Class Societies play an important role in IMO’s work, advocacy organizations from outside of shipping or government have not usually had a formal part in its deliberations.
Dumbrille argues that Arctic indigenous communities, many of which are highly dependent on the marine environment for existence, are disproportionately affected by the decisions IMO makes on the far north. He estimates that Canadian Arctic indigenous communities get roughly half their food from the sea, and asserts that underwater noise from ships can drive off the populations of marine mammals these communities use for subsistence.
Six groups representing indigenous peoples already have full “Permanent Participant” status on the Arctic Council, the international consultative body of Arctic nations. The council offers its members a way to coordinate on policy, but unlike the IMO it does not have the ability to create enforceable regulations.”
