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NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
  • Reading Radar

    Beyond Arctic Conflict: Prospects for Peace and International Cooperation

    June 7, 2013 By Jacob Glass

    Temperatures in the Arctic have increased at twice the global rate over the past 40 years, vaulting the region to international prominence as an emerging theater for maritime transportation and competition over newly uncovered resources.

    The international community should start strategizing now to manage the ambitions of circumpolar states and minimize the potential for conflict, write authors Rob Huebert, Heather Exner-Pirot, Adam Lajeunesse, and Jay Gulledge in a report. Published by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Climate Change and International Security: The Arctic as a Bellwether explores the geopolitical implications of climate change in the Arctic and puts forth several recommendations for policymakers to consider. Huebert et al. write that “maintaining security and peace in the Arctic will require adapting policies and institutions to the emerging environment there.” They recommend that Arctic states strengthen existing multilateral agreements by, for example, advocating the accession of the United States into the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Further, they propose that the Arctic Council lifts its ban on discussing security issues in order to become a forum for meaningful discussion.

    Predictions of shadowy geopolitical maneuvering and future conflict have overshadowed the potential for Arctic cooperation, writes ETH Zurich’s Jonas Grätz in The Arctic: Thaw With Conflict Potential. “This is particularly apparent when considering ‘soft’ security concerns such as environmental pollution resulting from the extraction of raw materials,” he says. Grätz explores possible avenues for cooperation between the circumpolar states themselves and the broader international community. Much like Huebert et al., he recommends an expanded role for the Arctic Council, through which the eight Arctic states can coordinate their activities, and an emphasis on structuring international law to more effectively facilitate multilateral cooperation.

    Topics: Arctic, climate change, conflict, cooperation, environment, environmental peacemaking, environmental security, foreign policy, natural resources, oceans, oil, Reading Radar, security, U.S.
    • ge7a

      Sound recommendations. The Arctic Council (or a committee under its aegis) is the obvious forum for discussion of security issues. Especially Gratz’s recommendation that the Council place an emphasis “on structuring international law to more effectively facilitate multilateral cooperation.” This emphasis also has to go beyond the fragmented approach the Council has been adopting, to a more comprehensive legal regime eg. an Arctic Treaty that addresses environmental, resource extraction, maritime traffic, and security issues with preservation of the environment and the livelihoods of northern peoples as being the critical drivers.

    • Silt Klingyoll

      Agreed, the role of the Arctic Council is very important. Security and environmental issues should be solved multilaterally. It is nice to observe that members of the Council show readiness to cooperate and facilitate cooperation with non-Arctic states too. If we are to benefit from the riches of the High North, all governments involved in this process must develop common policies, international legal regulations etc in order to harmonize relations and reduce tensions.

    • Molly McGraw

      By using marine spatial planning, the Arctic Council could incorporate components of the indigenous peoples of the region, environmental protection, and collaboration between Arctic Nations. I believe an important collaboration need be addressed between the U.S. and Russia. The more involved that China becomes, the stronger Russia will grow in this changing resource climate.

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