Chapter VIII — Research and Studies 



summarize what is known about these species within 

 Russia; (4) produce a report on studies of Steller sea 

 lions by Russian researchers from 1991 through 1997; 

 (5) create a database of all information and research 

 results collected by the Soviet research organization 

 TINRO from 1930 through 1990 on Steller sea lions; 

 and (6) purchase books, reprints, journals, etc., for 

 use by members of the Russian marine mammal 

 scientific community. The funding provided will help 

 assure that relevant data are appropriately archived, 

 analyzed, and made available to the world scientific 

 community. 



GENERAL 



Survey of Federally Funded Marine Mammal 

 Research (George H. Waring, Ph.D., Southern 

 Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois) 



The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires that 

 the Marine Mammal Commission conduct a continu- 

 ing review of marine mammal research conducted or 

 supported by federal agencies. As noted above, 

 information concerning marine mammal research 

 conducted or supported by other federal agencies in 

 fiscal year 1998 has been requested and will be 

 forwarded to the contractor, who will prepare a draft 

 report synthesizing the information provided. The 

 draft will be sent to the responding agencies to verify 

 the accuracy of the information. The final report is 

 expected to be completed by mid- 1999. It will be 

 reviewed by the Commission, in consultation with its 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors, to identify possible 

 duplicative research and how research might be 

 planned and carried out cooperatively to avoid dupli- 

 cation. The report will be provided to the responding 

 agencies and will be available through the National 

 Technical Information Service. 



Assessment of Activities by the Arctic Council and 



Its Subsidiary Working Groups 



(Henry P. Huntington, Ph.D., 



Huntington Consulting, Eagle River, Alaska) 



As described in Chapter IV, in 1991 the eight 

 Arctic nations (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, 

 Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States) 



adopted the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy 

 to address pollution and conservation issues on a 

 circumarctic basis. In 1996 the Arctic Council was 

 established by the eight Arctic nations as a high-level 

 forum to supersede the Arctic Environmental Protec- 

 tion Strategy and to address issues of common con- 

 cern in the Arctic, particularly those concerning 

 environmental protection and sustainable development. 

 When the Council was created, four working groups 

 established to help implement the Arctic Environmen- 

 tal Protection Strategy were placed under the Coun- 

 cil's leadership. The four working groups are identi- 

 fied by their areas of responsibility, as follows: the 

 Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP); 

 Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF); 

 Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response 

 (EPPR); and Protection of the Arctic Marine Envi- 

 ronment (PAME). The Council also is to establish a 

 sustainable development program. Persons designated 

 by each nation as senior Arctic officials provide 

 liaison and coordination between the biennial meetings 

 of the Council. The contractor represented the 

 Commission at the first meeting of the Arctic Council 

 and meetings of several of its subsidiary groups as 

 discussed below. 



Eleventh Meeting of the Arctic Monitoring and 

 Assessment Program Working Group: This work- 

 ing group assesses the levels of anthropogenic pollut- 

 ants in the Arctic and their effects on the Arctic 

 environment. Climate change, ozone depletion, 

 petroleum hydrocarbons, and acidification are includ- 

 ed in the topics covered by the group. The work 

 undertaken during phase one of the program is dis- 

 cussed in Chapter IV. At its II th meeting, held in 

 Girdwood, Alaska, in April 1998, the group consid- 

 ered specific topics it would propose to the Arctic 

 Council for attention during phase two. In his report 

 on the meeting, the contractor noted the low level of 

 U.S. involvement in most areas during phase one of 

 the program, and emphasized the need for strong U.S. 

 leadership during phase two. Copies of the contrac- 

 tor's report (see Huntington 1998a, Appendix B) were 

 sent to the Department of State, which oversees U.S. 

 involvement in the Arctic Council, and to the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department 

 of Commerce, which is the lead U.S. agency in the 

 working group. 



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