News Articles

A new report from Working Group PAME provides guidance on options to promote improved safety culture and robust safety management systems in the Arctic offshore oil and gas industry. As interest in Arctic offshore petroleum resources continues to grow, there has been growing concern about the potential effects that an increase in such activities could have on the Arctic marine environment and

The Arctic Marine Tourism Project (AMTP) is part of a renewed effort by the Arctic Council to analyze and promote sustainable tourism across the circumpolar Arctic. The AMTP is organized by the Arctic Council’s Working Group on the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) and co-led by Canada and the United States.

The Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) working group has released its Arctic Ocean Acidification Overview Report. The Report introduces the issue of ocean acidification and presents the results of AMAP’s Arctic Ocean Acidification assessment for a general audience and high school level educational use.

At the second meeting of the Arctic Council’s Task Force for Enhancing Scientific Cooperation in the Arctic, Mr. Evan Bloom, co-chair of the Task Force shared some thoughts on why scientific cooperation is important and why now is a good time to work towards an arrangement on improved scientific research cooperation among the eight Arctic States.

The Arctic Council’s Task Force for Enhancing Scientific Cooperation in the Arctic (SCTF) held its second meeting in Helsinki on April 8-9, 2014 at the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.  During the meeting, delegations exchanged views on proposals related to advancing scientific cooperation in the Arctic, and decided that the task force would begin work on negotiating an MOU or other instrument at its next meeting in Reykjavik,

In March 2014, Gustaf Lind, Senior Arctic Official for Sweden, spoke in London at a Conference on Sustainable Arctic Shipping and Marine Operations organized and supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, the Embassy of Sweden in London and the Nordic Council of Ministers. In a brief interview, Mr. Lind spoke about Sweden's specific experience, knowledge and skills in this area.

In March 2014, Patrick Borbey, Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials, spoke in London at a Conference on Sustainable Arctic Shipping and Marine Operations.  In a brief interview, Mr. Borbey spoke about the collaborative work of the Arctic states and associated issues of marine safety, infrastructure and tourism, including the work of PAME’s ...

Mr. Koji Sekimizu, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), attended the most recent meeting of Senior Arctic Officials in Yellowknife, Canada. He gave a presentation on the IMO’s work towards completion of a mandatory Polar Code and welcomed strengthened collaboration with the Arctic Council in the future.

Mr. Børge Brende, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, visited the Arctic Council Secretariat on Friday, 4th April 2014. Magnús Jóhannesson, Director of the Arctic Council Secretariat, spoke with the Minister about the work of the Arctic Council Secretariat, the ongoing work in the Arctic Council and the outcomes of the meeting of Senior Arctic Officials in Yellowknife.

March 27, 2014 – The Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials held their second meeting under Canada’s Chairmanship in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories on March 26-27, 2014. The theme for Canada’s Chairmanship is “Development for the People of the North.”

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Canada’s Minister for the Arctic Council and Chair of the Arctic Council welcomes agreement on the Arctic Economic Council

At the Arctic Council’s upcoming meeting of Senior Arctic Officials (SAOs) in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, delegations from the Arctic Council’s states and Permanent Participant organizations (which represent indigenous peoples of the Arctic) will take a comprehensive look at the ongoing work of the Arctic

At a recent meeting of the Arctic Council’s Task Force on Arctic Marine Oil Pollution Prevention, several of the representatives from the Arctic states and from Permanent Participants offered some thoughts on why oil pollution prevention in the Arctic is important, and why the Arctic Council Task Force is a good way to tackle the challenge.

The Arctic Council Project Support Instrument (PSI), a funding mechanism managed by the Nordic Environmental Finance Corporation (NEFCO), became operational on March 12, 2014.  Almost 16 million Euro have been pledged or contributed to the fund to date, which will be used to support various action-oriented Arctic Council projects focusing on pollution prevention in the Arctic.

At a recent meeting of the Arctic Council’s Task Force on Arctic Marine Oil Pollution Prevention, several of the representatives from the Arctic states and from Permanent Participants offered some thoughts on why oil pollution prevention in the Arctic is important, and why the Arctic Council Task Force is a good way to tackle the challenge.

Situated on the Northern shore of Great Slave Lake, Yellowknife is the capital of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Founded in 1934, the city is located in the traditional territory of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation who founded the nearby community of Dettah in the early 1930s. Contrary to popular belief, Yellowknife’s name does not come from its gold mining origins...

The Arctic Council has been recognized for its “continuous commitment [to] the development and environmental protection of the Arctic” by the Sea Surveillance Co-operation Baltic Sea (SUCBAS), the cooperation of the Baltic Sea navies including Finland, Sweden, The Kingdom of Denmark, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

On February 12, the Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group (CAFF) hosted “Our Arctic Birds”, a community event at the Kattitavik Town Hall in Kuujjuaq, Canada. Representatives of CAFF met with Kuujjuaq residents to talk about the Arctic Council and how it is

The Task Force on Arctic Marine Oil Pollution Prevention (TFOPP) was established at the Kiruna Ministerial Meeting in May, 2013 to explore how the Arctic Council can help to advance oil pollution prevention in the Arctic. Although much work has been done in identifying best practices, there is important and challenging work to be done in identifying how, in practical terms, Arctic States can work towards this goal.

At the May 2013 Ministerial meeting in Kiruna, Sweden, the Arctic Council released the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) – a wide-ranging and detailed scientific report summarizing the present status and possible future trends for Arctic flora and fauna. This is the first time such an analysis has been made for the Arctic. The three books arising from the ABA are now available for public