Chapter IV — International 



Some species of marine mammals that occur in the 

 Arctic, such as polar bears, walruses, harp seals, and 

 bowhead whales, have been hunted commercially as 

 well as for subsistence. Commercial hunting was 

 poorly regulated and resulted in overexploitation and 

 depletion of many stocks. 



Other human activities, such as coastal and off- 

 shore oil and gas development, also may have adverse 

 effects on marine mammals and their habitats. In 

 addition, marine mammals and other components of 

 Arctic food webs, including people who rely on fish 

 and wildlife for subsistence purposes, may be affected 

 by human activities outside the Arctic. For example, 

 recent studies indicate that persistent organic com- 

 pounds and other pollutants originating from human 

 activities in the middle latitudes are being transported 

 by air and water currents to the Arctic. These may be 

 adversely affecting humans, marine mammals, and 

 other components of Arctic ecosystems. 



This section provides background information and 

 describes the Commission's efforts in 1998 to facili- 

 tate the work of the Arctic Council, established by the 

 Arctic countries in 1996 as a successor to the Arctic 

 Environmental Protection Strategy adopted by those 

 countries in 1991. 



The Arctic Council 



In September 1989 representatives of the eight 

 Arctic countries — Canada, Denmark (for Greenland), 

 Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Soviet Union, Sweden, 

 and the United States — met in Rovaniemi, Finland, 

 to discuss cooperative measures to protect the Arctic 

 environment. The principal impetus for this meeting 

 was the Chernobyl nuclear accident and pollution 

 from Russian mining activities near the Finnish 

 border, both of which created a desire to help the 

 Soviet Union (later the Russian Federation) address a 

 number of environmental problems that had become 

 evident in the glasnost era. 



In June 1991 ministers from the eight Arctic 

 countries signed the Declaration on the Protection of 

 the Arctic Environment. At the same time, they 

 adopted the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy. 

 The goals of the strategy were to preserve environ- 

 mental quality and natural resources of the Arctic, 



monitor and reduce pollution affecting the Arctic 

 environment, and accommodate traditional and cultur- 

 al needs and practices of indigenous people insofar as 

 these relate to the enviromnent and natural resources 

 of the Arctic. 



The strategy called for cooperation in four program 

 areas: assessment and monitoring of envirormiental 

 pollutants; conservation of Arctic flora and fauna; 

 emergency prevention, preparedness, and response; 

 and protection of the Arctic marine environment. 

 Working groups were established to plan and oversee 

 cooperative activities in these four program areas. In 

 1994 a task force was established to address issues of 

 sustainable development and utilization of Arctic 

 natural resources. 



Senior government officials from the eight Arctic 

 countries have met periodically to review the work 

 being done by the working groups and to identify 

 additional cooperative efforts necessary to effectively 

 implement the Arctic Environmental Protection 

 Strategy. Ministerial-level meetings were held in 

 1993, 1996, and 1997 to receive reports from the 

 working groups and the senior Arctic officials and to 

 provide direction to these groups. 



As noted in previous Commission reports, some of 

 the Arctic countries believed that a more formal 

 intergovernmental organization was needed to effec- 

 tively implement the Arctic Environmental Protection 

 Strategy and to provide a forum for addressing other 

 issues of regional concern, such as health, education, 

 and economic development. In March 1995 Canada 

 proposed establishing an intergovernmental Arctic 

 Council. The other Arctic countries agreed that a 

 high-level intergovernmental forum would help to 

 implement the Arctic Environmental Protection 

 Strategy and to address other issues of mutual interest, 

 but there was not consensus that a formal intergovern- 

 mental organization was necessary. 



Representatives of the Arctic countries met in 1995 

 and 1996 to draft a declaration establishing the 

 council, as has been described in previous Commis- 

 sion reports. The Declaration on the Establishment of 

 the Arctic Council was concluded and signed in 

 September 1996. The declaration states that the 

 Arctic Council is established as a high-level forum to 



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