Pan Arctic Forum

The Nation published an article titled, “The golden economic sparrow of future”. The article reads in part as follows:

Arctic region which is surrounded by eight Arctic States (Canada, Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, United States, Russia, Norway, Sweden) and five coastal States comprised of (China, Iceland, Japan, Republic of Korea, and European Union) will become the economic Golden Sparrow of future, because of its minerals and new maritime routes. Hence, Russia, China and America in future will have to face more governance problem as compared to the conflict over Greenland between America and China.

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The Global Times published an article titled, “Ice Silk Road sets new direction for Arctic cooperation”. The article reads in part as follows:

Since the end of the Cold War, and especially since the beginning of the new century, the Arctic has become one of the concerns of international politics and global governance. At present, with the Arctic region facing some new trends, Arctic governance and cooperation have been struggling to move forward.

The Arctic Institute published an article titled, “Can International Law Protect the Arctic from Oil Spills?”. The article reads in part as follows:

Offshore oil development in the Arctic is still in its nascent phase, with production occurring in Russia and Norway, but on hold in Canada, the US, and Greenland. As production rates and new discoveries are expected to increase in the coming years, so will the risks of a large-scale oil spill in Arctic waters. The challenging operating conditions, lack of infrastructure, and effective clean-up techniques in Arctic conditions exacerbate the need to ensure robust regulation of petroleum activities in the region. International law provides a detailed framework regulating spills from shipping, but is not nearly as stringent when it comes to spills from petroleum development activities. While international treaties establish binding obligations to cooperate in response operations, there is a gap in regulating the prevention of such oil spills. The role of non-binding regulation, or soft law, is growing, with the Arctic Council leading the way.

The Third Pole published an article titled, “Arctic may lose all its summer ice by end of 2030s”. The article reads in part as follows:

The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) is Norway’s premier government institution conducting research on the Arctic and Antarctic. It has been the main research institution with which the Indian National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research(NCPOR) has cooperated over the last decade. One of the key areas is the four year (2016-2020) mass balance, dynamics, and climate of the central Dronning Maud Land coast, East Antarctica (MADICE) project, where the two countries have combined their expertise to form a fruitful research partnership.

The Diplomat published an article titled, “China’s Busy Year in the Arctic”. The article reads in part as follows:

January 2018 saw the first formulation of an official Chinese Arctic policy in the release of its Arctic White Paper. Besides laying out the country’s interests and intents in the region, the white paper made official a vocabulary that sought to emphasize Beijing’s growing role as a major stakeholder in the Arctic by announcing China to be a “near-Arctic state” — argued mainly on the grounds of (relative) geographical proximity and the adverse effects that a warming Arctic would have on China’s coastal areas and various industrial and agricultural sectors. The document also sought to fold the “Polar Silk Road” — a predominantly China-Russian partnership established a year prior — into the greater Belt and Road Initiative.

UArctic published an article titled, “Thematic Network on Arctic and Northern Governance”. The article reads in part as follows:

The focus of this thematic network is multilevel and comparative governance in the circumpolar north.  The network will facilitate collaboration between researchers who study the institutional evolution of Arctic and northern governance from the local to global levels. It will also encourage the comparative examination of governance across different political jurisdictions.  The network welcomes research collaboration between academics and stakeholders that responds to regional and local needs.

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The New York Times published an article titled, “Trump Prepares to Unveil a Vast Reworking of Clean Water Protections”. The article reads in part as follows:

The Trump administration is expected on Tuesday to unveil a plan that would weaken federal clean water rules designed to protect millions of acres of wetlands and thousands of miles of streams nationwide from pesticide runoff and other pollutants.

Environmentalists say the proposal represents a historic assault on wetlands regulation at a moment when Mr. Trump has repeatedly voiced a commitment to “crystal-clean water.” The proposed new rule would chip away at safeguards put in place a quarter century ago, during the administration of President George H.W. Bush, who implemented a policy designed to ensure that no wetlands lost federal protection.

The Arctic Institute published an article titled, “Responsibility for the Arctic from Afar”. The article reads in part as follows:

The Expert Workshop “How to Protect the Arctic from Afar” reminded everyone that the Arctic is a large and diverse place, where things are nevertheless very much interconnected. That is true for regions, activities, and ecosystems in the Arctic. It is also true for the Arctic being connected, in manifold ways, to non-Arctic countries and regions, with their patterns of land use, production, and consumption. We find the Arctic to be strongly affected by emissions, resource extraction and use, industrial activities, policies and regulations, and conservation efforts in non-Arctic areas.

Yale Climate Connections published an article titled, “Arctic warming: More shipping, more risks to marine mammals”. The article reads in part as follows:

The high Arctic long has been seen as a vast, impassable span of ice accessed only by intrepid and daring explorers. But as more sea ice melts, the region is becoming more accessible, and travel by ship is now possible under certain conditions.

The Global Times published an article titled, “China’s role in Arctic governance ‘cannot be ignored”. The article reads in part as follows:

China has become a “rule maker” in the global governance of the Arctic, a blue paper said Thursday, calling on the country to “stay calm” and respond with action in the face of the hyped-up “China threat” theory.

Jointly released by Beijing-based Social Sciences Academic Press and Qingdao-based Ocean University of China on Thursday, the blue paper said China’s role in promoting global governance in the region cannot be ignored.