MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



Meeting of the Senior Arctic Officials: The 



senior Arctic officials met in Whitehorse, Yukon 

 Territory, Canada, on 9-11 May 1998 to prepare for 

 the first Arctic Council meeting held in September 

 1998. Reports on recent activities and future plans 

 from each of the four working groups were presented. 

 The United States submitted proposals under the 

 heading of sustainable development on Arctic culture 

 and ecotourism, technology transfer to improve Arctic 

 sanitation and energy systems, and Arctic telemedi- 

 cine. The contractor's report (Huntington 1998b, 

 Appendix B) noted that, although the Arctic Council 

 is still in its formative period, there were differences 

 in perception of the Council's role and in what the 

 Council will be able to deliver. Differences of 

 opinion among the senior Arctic officials as to the role 

 of the Arctic Council were not fially resolved. Points 

 the United States should consider with regard to its 

 involvement in the Arctic Council were outlined in the 

 report, which was forwarded to the U.S. Department 

 of State for consideration. 



Conference on Sustainable Development in the 

 Arctic: Following the meeting of senior Arctic 

 officials discussed above, a conference entitled "Sus- 

 tainable Development in the Arctic: Lessons Learned 

 and the Way Ahead" was sponsored by Canada. A 

 series of workshops was held under three themes: 

 Living in Communities in the Circumpolar North; 

 Making a Living, Training, Trade and Investment in 



the Circumpolar North; and Decision Making and 

 Priority Setting in the Circumpolar North. Although 

 there were extensive discussions on many aspects of 

 the three theme topics, no concrete recommendations 

 resulted. According to the contractor's report (Hun- 

 tington 1998c, Appendix B), it was clear, however, 

 that some participants view the U.S. Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act as a barrier to trade and believe that it 

 should be amended accordingly. 



First Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council: 



The first meeting of the Arctic Council was held in 

 Iqaluit, Canada, on 17-18 September 1998. Senior 

 Arctic officials met on 14-16 September to complete 

 their report to the Council and draft an Arctic Council 

 declaration for consideration by the Council. The 

 declaration was adopted and signed at the ministerial 

 meeting. The term of the then-chair of the Council, 

 Canada, expired after the meeting. The United States 

 has accepted the chair of the Arctic Council and will 

 serve in this role until the next ministerial meeting in 

 2000. The contractor, who represented the Marine 

 Mammal Commission on the U.S. delegation, provid- 

 ed a series of observations and considerations that the 

 United States should be aware of during its tenure as 

 chair to the Arctic Council. The contractor's report 

 (Huntington 1998d, Appendix B) was provided to the 

 Department of State, which oversees U.S. participa- 

 tion in the Arctic Council. 



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