A joint statement from Ministers of the Arctic States on the occasion of the Arctic Council's 20th anniversary

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On September 19, 1996 in Ottawa, the Arctic Council was established as a high level intergovernmental forum to enhance cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States with the active involvement of Arctic indigenous peoples and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues. Today, we celebrate twenty years of Arctic cooperation and look forward to a long term future of peace and stability in the region.

“We covered so much ground here, and it was great to sense so much progress being made in these important areas." - EPPR Chair Amy Merten

After three years of work, the Arctic Council’s Task Force for Enhancing Scientific Cooperation in the Arctic (SCTF) reached ad referendum agreement on a new “Agreement on Enhancing Arctic Scientific Cooperation."

The Arctic Council’s biodiversity Working Group, the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), has released Pacific Arctic Marine Fishes, an atlas and guide to 101 species in the Pacific Arctic Region.

In May, multiple meetings addressing human health issues in the Arctic took place in Tromsø. These included a workshop on reducing the incidence of suicide in indigenous groups, and a meeting of the Arctic Human Health Expert Group, or AHHEG.

The Expert Group on Black Carbon and Methane meets for the second time in Helsinki, Finland on 8-9 June. Reduction of black carbon and methane emitted within and beyond the borders of Arctic States will have a substantial impact on the Arctic, leading to near-term climate, health, and economic benefits in the Arctic and globally.

Although workshops and exercises have been conducted under the “Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic” since 2014, the formal ratification process was completed in late March 2016.

Local observers can detect subtle changes in weather, landscapes and seascapes, and plant and animal communities. The Arctic Council is working to build a circumpolar network of local environmental observers.

The Arctic marine environment is changing rapidly, and these changes mean new challenges and opportunities in the realm of marine cooperation. The third meeting of the Arctic Council’s Task Force on Arctic Marine Cooperation (TFAMC) will take place in Reykjavik, Iceland on 1-2 June.

The Arctic Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) met for the second time during the U.S. Chairmanship on 11-12 March 2016 in Barrow, Alaska.

At a meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska, March 15-17, the Arctic Council gathered Senior Arctic Officials (SAOs) from the eight Arctic States, and the six Permanent Participant organizations representing indigenous peoples of the Arctic, to address ongoing efforts on a range of topics of high importance for the Arctic.

The Arctic Council’s Senior Arctic Officials (SAOs) and indigenous Permanent Participant organizations will meet in Fairbanks, Alaska on 16-17 March 2016 to discuss the Council’s projects, structure and functioning, as well as its future work. The United States currently holds the rotating Chairmanship of the Council, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

The Arctic Council’s Task Force on Arctic Marine Cooperation (TFAMC) met for a second time on 4-5 February 2016 in Stockholm.
The Task Force continued its assessment of future needs for enhancing Arctic marine cooperation.

The Arctic Council’s Task Force for Enhancing Scientific Cooperation in the Arctic (SCTF) met on 1-2 December 2015 in Reykjavik, Iceland. During the meeting the group continued to work on drafting the legally-binding agreement on scientific cooperation in the Arctic.

At the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21), in Paris, France, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iceland generously hosted and prepared a side event focused on the Arctic Council’s work on short-lived climate pollutants – in particular, black carbon and methane. This event, which followed discussions that took place at the Senior Arctic Officials’ meeting in Anchorage in October 2015, took place on Saturday 5 December. It ran adjacent to the venue where UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took part in a high-level side event on the Arctic entitled "Seeing is Believing", organized and hosted by the Government of Norway, and including youth participants from “Mission Nansen,” a Norwegian children's television program.

The Arctic Council’s Working Group on Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) met on 1-3 December 2015 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Following their last meeting in Svalbard, EPPR met to discuss the group’s work on issues critical in the Arctic such as search-and-rescue (SAR) and preparedness and response to marine oil spills. EPPR is the Arctic Council’s point-of-contact for implementation of the 2013 Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic (MOSPA).

The Arctic Council's Task Force on Telecommunications Infrastructure in the Arctic (TFTIA) was established at the Iqaluit 2015 Ministerial Meeting and held its first meeting in September 2015. We spoke with the co-chairs, Bo Andersen (Norway) and Niels Andersen (Kingdom of Denmark) about their backgrounds and expectations for the work of the Task Force.

The Task Force on Arctic Marine Cooperation (TFAMC) was established at the 2015 Arctic Council ministerial meeting to assess the future needs for a mechanism for increased cooperation in Arctic marine areas.

Representatives from the eight Arctic States and the Permanent Participants (six organizations representing Arctic Indigenous peoples) met in Anchorage, Alaska on October 20-22, 2015 to advance the work of the Arctic Council.

The Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) met recently in Chena Hot Springs, Alaska. The group discussed project ideas including solid waste handling in the Arctic, renewable energy microgrids and a remote energy training program, among others.