Dr. Lawson W. Brigham is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a long-time
contributor to the work of the Arctic Council. During 2004-09 he was chair of the Council‘s Arctic Marine
Shipping Assessment (AMSA) and Vice Chair of the Working Group Protection of the Arctic Marine
Environment (PAME).
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Commentary
Challenges & Opportunities Ahead for the Arctic
Council
Lawson W. Brigham
The Arctic Council, intergovernmental forum of the eight Arctic states, has been a positive force for
good since its 1996 creation by the Ottawa Declaration. Fostering Arctic state cooperation, engaging
with Arctic indigenous residents, and conducting world-class assessments on climate change,
hydrocarbons, shipping, and pollution, the Council has been surprisingly forward looking in its
work. But it also has been a sometimes cautious, tentative body, challenged to reach consensus on
several key issues and lacking in effective, external communications. Heightened global attention on
the top of the world and increasing complexity of Arctic issues demand even more thoughtful
deliberations and proactive action from this body. Canada, who succeeded Sweden as the Council‘s
Chair this past May, faces a broad array of challenges unanticipated at the inception of the Council.
One change is clear. The Arctic Council must strengthen its communication with the rest of the
world. External communication has never been considered one of the Council‘s strengths and many
of its best assessments, decisions and policies have not been well communicated to the world by
timely press releases and robust communiqués. A new, futures statement from Kiruna, ‗Vision for
the Arctic,‘ is a promising start. Hopefully, a new Arctic Council Secretariat established in Tromsø,
Norway will begin to correct this weakness and facilitate moving the forum‘s attention equally
outward from a long-term, inward focus on critical Arctic issues. How Canada employs the