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Take a journey across the Arctic

21 July 2020

Around the circumpolar North, Arctic Council projects are monitoring and assessing the human, natural and physical aspects of Arctic change.

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Key documents

Agreement on Enhancing International Arctic Scientific Cooperation (2017)

Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic (2013)

Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic (2011)

Ottawa Declaration (1996)

Arctic States

The eight Arctic states are permanent members of the Arctic Council.

Permanent Participants

Out of a total of 4 million inhabitants of the Arctic, approximately 500,000 belong to Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Peoples’ organizations have been granted Permanent Participants status in the Arctic Council.

Working Groups

The Council's activities are conducted in six Working Groups.

Task forces and expert groups

Observers

Arctic Council Secretariat

The Arctic Council Secretariat (ACS) supports the Chair of the Arctic Council.

Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat

The Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat (IPS) provides support for the Permanent Participants, the groups representing Arctic Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic Council.

Norway's Chairship, 2023-2025

Stability and constructive cooperation in the Arctic

All Chairmanships

All Arctic Council Chairmanships, meetings and documents.

History

The Arctic Council turned 25 in 2021! Learn more with this timeline of our history.

Jobs

Agreements and cooperation

The establishment of the Arctic Council was considered an important milestone enhancing cooperation in the circumpolar North. In the Ottawa Declaration, the eight Arctic States established the Council as a high-level forum to provide means for promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States – including the full consultation and full involvement of Arctic Indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants.

Data and knowledge

At any given time the Council’s subsidiary bodies – the Working and Expert Groups – are engaged in close to 100 projects and initiatives.

Monitoring

As the Arctic continues to experience a period of intense and accelerating change it has become increasingly important to have better information on the status and trends of the Arctic environment.

Assessments

Through the ever-growing body of assessments produced by its six Working Groups, the Arctic Council serves as knowledge broker and global advocate for Arctic topics. The Working Groups’ assessments have been instrumental in bringing Arctic issues to a global arena through policy recommendations and international cooperation.

Recommendations

The strong knowledge base produced by the Arctic Council’s Working Groups and other subsidiary bodies feeds into recommendations for informed decision-making.

Arctic Peoples

The Arctic is home to almost four million people today – Indigenous people, more recent arrivals, hunters and herders living on the land, and city dwellers.

Biodiversity

The Arctic is home to more than 21,000 known species of highly cold-adapted mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates, plants and fungi and microbes.

Climate

The temperatures in the Arctic continue to rise at three times the global annual average.

Ocean

The Arctic States hold a responsibility to safeguard the future development of the region and to develop models for stewardship of the marine environment.

Pollutants

The Arctic environment carries the traces of human-induced pollution – from soot to plastics, from methane to pesticides.

Emergencies

Harsh conditions and limited infrastructure in much of the Arctic increase risks and impacts and hinder response activities.

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