Mia Bennett is the Arctic Blogger for the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) & PhD student in the Geography
Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
85
Bounding Nature:
Conservation & Sovereignty in the Canadian and
Russian Arctic
Mia Bennett
Today, conservation efforts of Arctic states reflect a state-based approach. This contrasts with international
conservation efforts in the post-Cold War period, which were grounded in perceiving the region as a global commons. In
this article, I examine the ways in which Canada and Russia use natural conservation areas as instruments to express
sovereign rights. I compare Canada‘s proposed Lancaster Sound National Marine Conservation Area at the eastern
mouth of the Northwest Passage and Russia‘s recently expanded Natural System (zapovednik) of Wrangel Island
Reserve at the eastern entrance to the Northern Sea Route. These two case studies allow for an examination of the
domestic politics of zoning, exclusion, and access alongside Arctic geopolitics and foreign policy discourse. Both parks
are complex products of domestic and foreign policy, making them densely layered spaces of contested and contingent
sovereignty. Moreover, Canada and Russia draw on regimes such as UNCLOS and UNESCO‘s World Heritage
Committee to defend their sovereignty in contested waterways. Whereas around the world, states have historically
created national parks in areas without significant economic value, the conservation areas in and around Lancaster
Sound and Wrangel Island lie in waters valuable for their geostrategic position and shipping potential. Yet
importantly, the conservation areas are situated so as not to coincide with hydrocarbon interests. Ultimately, Russia
and Canada‘s establishment of these two conservation areas suggests ulterior motives of sovereignty and economic
interests at work, suggesting that we should be carefully attuned to scrutinizing the intentions behind environmental
measures taken in the Arctic.
Introduction
Climate change and the rising prices of commodities like oil and gas have combined to create new
opportunities for economic development in the Arctic. While Arctic states are developing their
northern hinterlands, they are simultaneously encouraging environmental conservation, recalling the