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Arctic Yearbook 2013
Dubois, Shestakov & Tesar
delivered at the Kiruna Ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in May 2013 outlined options and
opportunities for strengthening global and regional efforts for the conservation and sustainable use
of the Arctic marine environment.
This article will focus on the AOR recommendations and discuss options and actions to support
their implementation. It will pay special attention to recommendations pertaining to Arctic shipping
in order to investigate the regime interplay in Arctic shipping governance as a case study. In order to
successfully implement the recommendations of the Arctic Council, Arctic states must take into
account that where implementation is proposed at the global level and that would bind non-Arctic
states, appropriate existing international bodies would be responsible. Hence, we rely on the
example of the AOR recommendations pertaining to shipping to illustrate the need for Arctic states
to influence other institutions.
Welcome
the Arctic Ocean Review report, undertaken to provide guidance to Arctic States on
strengthening governance in the Arctic through a cooperative, coordinated and integrated approach
to the management of the Arctic marine environment,
approve
its recommendations and
request
appropriate follow-up actions, and report on progress at subsequent ministerial meetings, (Kiruna
Declaration, 2013)
In numerous statements and declarations, Arctic states and/or Arctic coastal states recalled that an
extensive legal framework applies to the Arctic Ocean including, notably, the law of the sea, and that
this framework provides a solid foundation for responsible management of this ocean (Tromsø
Declaration, 2009). A plethora of global and regional instruments are listed in the Arctic Ocean
Review Phase 1 Report all dealing with a specific sectoral issue such as Arctic marine operations and
shipping, Arctic offshore oil and gas and Arctic marine science. The World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF) believes that their very multiplicity is a potential weakness. We believe there is a need to
bring all existing legal instruments specifically targeting sectoral issues under a comprehensive
umbrella implementation plan to enhance and strengthen coordination for the conservation and
sustainable use of the Arctic marine environment in a place-based perspective. Since the Kiruna
Ministerial meeting where Arctic states adopted a blizzard of policy recommendations and
welcomed new Observer States, the Arctic Council is now further fueled by a newfound sense of
political purpose. The acceptance of new observers will allow for a stronger influence in global
affairs by including significant world powers. The adoption of the statement entitled
Vision for the
Arctic
is another new development which should lead the Arctic States to create a coordinated
approach to the management of the Arctic Ocean, including use of the Council‘s work to influence
and shape action in other regional and international fora. This new vision requires actions, as a
vision without actions is just a hallucination.
The Arctic Voice and Managing Institutional Complexity
There are many different institutions and organizations relevant to the integrated governance of the
Arctic Ocean like the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Conventions and Protocols, the