1998 Year of the Ocean A Survey of International Agreements 



The original signatories to the Convention were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, 

 France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, Japan, New 

 Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the 

 U.S.S.R. It entered into force on April 7, 1982. 



Declaration on the Arctic Council, 1996 



The eight Arctic governments' met in Ottawa on September 19, 1996, and signed the 

 Declaration on the Arctic Council, which established the Arctic Council as a high-level forum to 

 promote cooperation among the Arctic states on issues of mutual concern that require 

 circumpolar cooperation. The Council incorporates the structure of the Arctic Environmental 

 Protection Strategy, which was created in 1991 to foster cooperation in solving Arctic 

 environmental problems. In establishing the Council, the Arctic governments took particular note 

 of the important role Arctic science and research play in adding to the collective understanding of 

 the circumpolar Arctic. The Arctic Council currently comprises four subsidiary groups: Arctic 

 Monitoring and Assessment Program, Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Protection of the 

 Arctic Marine Environment, and Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response. Two of the 

 most notable results of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy and the Arctic Council in 

 the area of protecting northern waters have been the publication of Arctic Offshore Oil and Gas 

 Guidelines in English and Russian, as well as ongoing activities within the Protection of the 

 Arctic Marine Environment working group to develop a "Regional Program of Action for the 

 Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities." The Arctic Council is 

 a forum for consultation but does not have an independent organizational structure with a 

 secretariat. 



Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears 



In 1973, the United States, Norway, Denmark, Canada, and the former Soviet Union 

 signed the international Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears. The United States 

 ratified the Agreement in 1976. Under the terms of the Agreement, it became the responsibility 

 of each nation to develop conservation programs to promote compliance with the Agreement. 

 The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended, served that purpose, vesting authority 

 in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the management and conservation of polar bears. Both 

 the Agreement and the Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibit the take of polar bears in United 

 States territory except in specified circumstances (by Alaskan Natives for subsistence purposes). 



1 The United States, Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. 



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