Arctic Yearbook 2012
New Directions for Governance in the Arctic Region
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bring economic development to the region. Finally, few in the Arctic find much by the way of
similarities with the Antarctic, and many resent the comparison: the Arctic is composed of a
common sea surrounded by land, whereas the Antarctic is land surrounded by sea; the Arctic is a
homeland whereas the Antarctic is uninhabited; and the Arctic Ocean is surrounded by states, with
national boundaries fairly clearly determined, whereas the Antarctic has no government, is politically
neutral, and is governed by the Antarctic Treaty System. Thus it seems highly unlikely that a Treaty
style system which focuses on preservation as opposed to sustainable development will gain much
political support in the Arctic region. The recent report of the UK Environmental Audit Committee,
which calls for a moratorium on oil drilling in the Arctic (UK Environmental Audit Committee,
2012) is likely to be received similarly: with indifference or exasperation.
Table 1:
Potential Approaches to Arctic Governance
Arctic Governance Today
Concurrent with deliberations on what type of governance structure should be adopted in the Arctic,
a normative consensus evolved which accepted that more should be done to regulate and control
activity in the Arctic, in particular the Arctic Ocean. The consensus was outlined in the series of
Arctic strategies and policies which each one of the eight Arctic states, as well as NATO and the
European Commission, put forth between October 2008 and August 2011.
14
While all adopting
national perspectives on Arctic relations, the strategies achieved a startling level of unanimity,
articulating support, in varying degrees, for the following core principles: that disputes should be
peacefully resolved and enhanced regional cooperation sought; the environment should be protected;
Type of
Approach
Unilateral/
Bilateral
Ilulissat
Approach
Piecemeal
Approach
Regional
Seas
Agreement
Arctic Treaty
Main
Features
Arctic
Council
remains a soft
law forum;
Arctic
governance
develops
through
national
legislation and
bilateral
agreements
Reliance on
UNCLOS;
soft law regime
with no Arctic-
dedicated
legally binding
instruments
UNCLOS
provides
framework,
supplemented by
issue-specific
regulatory
regimes, eg SAR,
shipping,
fisheries; focus
on strengthening
existing
arrangements
UNEP-style
regional seas
programme;
hard law
Convention
supplemented
by Protocols
and Annexes;
ecosystem
based
management
Legally
binding treaty;
formal status
for
circumpolar
states and
observers;
emphasis on
conservation;
international
over national
interests