Arctic Council

Many of the Arctic Council issues cut across the mandates of the six Arctic Council Working Groups. This page presents issues related to oceans, with links to relevant work across the Working Groups.

The Arctic Council is engaged in numerous projects; directly or indirectly concerning the Arctic Ocean:

Arctic Ocean Review Project (AOR) by PAME
The AOR is a two-phased project that will analyze the status and trends in the Arctic marine environment (AME). Phase II (2011-2013) will focus on areas where the Arctic Council can effectively add value to the existing mechanisms of governance for the Arctic marine environment

Arctic Ocean Acidification (AOA) by AMAP
The Arctic Ocean Acidification Expert Group has begun work on an assessment report of Arctic Ocean Acidification covering the carbon dioxide system in the ocean, biogeochemical processes, responses of organisms and ecosystems, and the economic costs of acidification in the Arctic Ocean. AMAP will conduct a full scientific assessment of AOA for delivery in 2013. 

Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) by PAME
A key element of AMSA is the creation of a set of scenarios, or plausible futures, for Arctic marine navigation.

Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA) by AMAP
The SWIPA assessment key finding 7: The Arctic Ocean is projected to become nearly ice-free in summer within this century, likely within the next thirty to forty years.

Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme (CBMP) by CAFF
The CBMP deals with biodiversity in the Arctic's marine, coastal, freshwater and terrestrial systems, such as monitoring of Polar Bears, Arctic Birds etc.

Shipping activity in the Arctic is on the rise, including tourism and exploration activities, necessitating the need for reliable communication and monitoring.

Agreement on Cooperation in Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic was signed at the Ministerial Meeting in Nuuk, 12 May 2011

At the 2009 Ministerial Meeting in Tromsø, the Arctic Council decided to establish a Task Force with a mandate to develop an international instrument on cooperation on Search and Rescue operations in the Arctic. The Task Force, co-chaired by Ambassador Anton Vasiliev of the Russian Federation and Ambassador David Balton of the United States, met five times: in Washington (December 2009), in Moscow (February 2010), in Oslo (June 2010), in Helsinki (October 2010), and in Reykjavik (December 2010).

Photo: U.S. Coast Guard / Flickr / Creative Commons

With a warming climate, marine biodiversity faces a number of challenges:

• shipping and resource development are likely to increase, with a potential for increased pollution and disturbance to Arctic biodiversity,
• more development may lead to different human settlement patterns and changes in marine resource use,