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Environmental Governance in the Marine Arctic

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Arctic Marine Governance

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of the existing institutional and legal framework at the international and regional levels relevant to environmental governance in the marine Arctic. Examples of both formal and informal environmental governance in the Arctic marine area are presented to demonstrate how different approaches can be used to address particular issues. The chapter highlights the complex interplay of approaches applicable at local, regional, and international scales rather than identifying gaps at the sectoral level. It describes the landscape of governance approaches in place in the Arctic to stimulate discussion regarding the future of environmental governance in the marine Arctic. Many existing institutions and governance mechanisms were developed under political and environmental circumstances that were vastly different from today’s reality. As the Arctic is undergoing drastic changes that will spark unprecedented activity in the region, a rethinking of existing structures is required to appropriately address emerging issues.

Based on De Roo C, Cavalieri S, Wasserman M, Knoblauch D, Baush C, Best A (2008) Background Paper: Environmental Governance in the Marine Arctic. Arctic TRANSFORM

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For example, co-management schemes have been cited in particular as being innovative governance mechanisms.

  2. 2.

    See Annex for a comprehensive overview of global treaties, conventions, and agreements relevant to Arctic marine ecosystems.

  3. 3.

    Russia has been cited in particular as utilising the Arctic for dumping radioactive waste (see Chap. 2).

  4. 4.

    Outcome of the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol at its sixteenth session, UNFCCC Decision 1/CMP.7, 11 Dec 2011, UN Doc. FCCC/KP/CMP/2011/10/Add.1.

  5. 5.

    Establishment of an Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, UNFCCC Decision 1/CP.17, 11 Dec 2011, UN Doc. FCCC/CP/2011/9/Add.1.

  6. 6.

    See <http://www.gpa.unep.org./>

  7. 7.

    See <http://www.pame.is/index.php/regional-program-of-action>

  8. 8.

    Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

  9. 9.

    ‘Taking’ is defined by the Agreement as hunting, killing, and capturing [art. 1(2)].

  10. 10.

    See Polar Bear Management Agreement for the Southern Beaufort Sea; Memorandum of Understanding between Environment Canada and the United States Department of the Interior for the Conservation and Management of Shared Polar Bear Populations (2008); Agreement on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population; Memorandum of Understanding for the conservation of the Baffin Bay and Kane Basin sub-populations (Meeting of the parties to the 1973 Agreement 2011).

  11. 11.

    Meeting of the parties to the 1973 Agreement 2011.

  12. 12.

    The OSPAR Maritime Area covers the northeast Atlantic and therefore includes but is not limited to part of the marine Arctic area referred to in this paper; OSPAR Region 1 covers part of the marine Arctic.

  13. 13.

    Fisheries management lies within the mandate of the relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and EU and domestic authorities. For initiatives related to shipping, OSPAR relies primarily on the IMO, an observer to the Convention with which it has an Agreement of Cooperation.

  14. 14.

    The four marine protected areas in the Arctic were nominated by Norway.

  15. 15.

    This list of principles was developed by the Arctic TRANSFORM Project’s Environmental Governance Working Group, co-chaired by Dr. Stuart Chapin and Dr. Neil Hamilton.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecologic Institute, Berlin, Germany

    Susanah Stoessel, Sandra Cavalieri & Arne Riedel

  2. Ecologic Institute, 1630 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC, 20009, USA

    Elizabeth Tedsen

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  1. Susanah Stoessel
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  2. Elizabeth Tedsen
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  3. Sandra Cavalieri
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  4. Arne Riedel
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Tedsen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ecologic Institute EIUS, Washington D.C., Washington D.C., USA

    Elizabeth Tedsen

  2. Ecologic Institute, Berlin, Germany

    Sandra Cavalieri

  3. Ecologic Institute, Berlin, Germany

    R. Andreas Kraemer

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Stoessel, S., Tedsen, E., Cavalieri, S., Riedel, A. (2014). Environmental Governance in the Marine Arctic. In: Tedsen, E., Cavalieri, S., Kraemer, R. (eds) Arctic Marine Governance. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38595-7_3

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