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Ann-Kristine Johansson, MP, member of Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR), rapporteur on ”Arctic Governance and the Arctic Council”, 5 september 2012, Akureyri
Dear Arctic friends,
It’s a great pleasure for me to be here today, and I’m very proud to be able to do so in the company of Mr Clifford Lincoln. I did not have the pleasure to work in the Standing Committee during your chairmanship but I understand that your commitment to the Arctic was just as strong then as it is today.
It has been said many times before, and needs to be said again: the Arctic is facing enormous challenges – and opportunities - that have to be addressed! The eyes of the world have turned to the Arctic with both worry and greed. The Arctic is no longer a remote region of little interest to anyone but researchers and residents. It has turned into a region with great potential and many parties want to benefit from this potential.
Together, we have to face the challenges of rapid climate change - this year we have seen that this change has been more rapid than ever before, the challenges of the desire to exploit the rich natural resources of the Arctic, the challenges of promoting growing tourism in the Arcticand protecting the vulnerable environment. The challenges of increased shipping and the need to prevent accidents and take action if one should happen. And the challenge of how we can secure that residents of the region can adapt to, and benefit from the changes.
At the last conference in Brusselsin 2010, we made some recommendations to the Arctic Council and the governments of the Arctic countries that pointed beyond the next two years. This led to a deepened discussion in the Standing Committee, with contributionsfromMr Clifford Lincoln, David Hicks, Karen Kraft Sloan and other experts on the Arctic concerning our view of the future governance in the Arctic and how we want the Arctic Council to develop.
The question we asked ourselves was:
How can the Arctic Council best respond to the rapidly-changing evolution of the Arctic Region and its peoples?
We discussed how the Arctic Council could be strengthened and how we as parliamentarians could contribute to this, not only as supporters but also by pointing out the direction. We have successfully contributed to cooperation earlier, bybringing the human dimension into the cooperation of the Arctic Council and by advocating the University of the Arctic.
The Arctic cooperation is unique and has broken new ground by bringing together national parliamentarians and governments, indigenous peoples andscientists leading to important results. The increasing inclusion of civil society in this work is welcomed and we hope it will be developed further.
Let me present the results of our work in the Standing Committee in recent years and the recommendations we put forward.
Our first recommendation is that the Arctic Council should be a fully fledged international organisation. We believe that in order to be truly effective and autonomous, the Arctic Council needs to be more than a coordinating instrument.
However, we are very clear about the fact that the eight Arctic countries should remain the core members and leaders of Arctic cooperation. We are also very clear about the fact that the indigenous peoples of the Arctic must keep their special status and role as Permanent Participants.
Our second recommendation is that the Arctic Council should establish a permanent Secretariat and we welcome the decision at the Arctic Councils Ministerial meeting in May 2011 to do so. We also recommend that, in the process of getting the Secretariat operational, it is important that the personnel of the Secretariat reflect the membership of the Arctic Council, by including representatives of member states and of indigenous communities.
However, we do not wish that the main focus should be on the nationality of the staff. Our intention is that the Secretariat should reflect the variety of the Arctic, from east to west.
Our third recommendation is that the Arctic Council should have an adequate and stable budget to support the activities of the Council. The Arctic Council has achieved a great deal of valuable progress through its rather short history; the most pioneering example is perhaps the ACIA-report. We believe, that with a stable budget itswork can be even more operational, efficient and long-term.
Our fourth recommendation is that the Arctic Council should establish a panelto provide an assessment of how the Arctic nations can prepare for new opportunities and challengesand on the basis of such a study, create a vision of the Arctic in 2030. We want the panel to have a broad representation, including representatives of indigenous peoples and northern community organisations, the science community, parliamentarians and the business community.
To achieve this vision, we believe that a strategic plan should be adopted by the Arctic Council to cover a term of five chairmanships - ten years and updated on a rolling basis to ensure an overall and ongoing coordinated vision.
The Arctic Council Deputy Minister Meeting in Maydecided to start the negotiation of a visionary and strategic statement at the next Ministerial Meeting in Kiruna.
We appreciate the decision that is very much in line with this proposal. We parliamentarians are more than willing to contribute in a constructive way to the process of drafting the statement, and look forward to the invitation of the Arctic Council chairmanship.
Our fifth recommendation is that the Arctic Council should arrange an Arctic Summit with the participation of the heads of state or government of the Arctic Council member states, and of course, the heads of the Permanent Participants.
We also reiterate our call for yearly Ministerial meetings of the Arctic Council, on the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and also wish to see regular meetings of other key relevant ministers.
Our sixth recommendation is to explore new areas for legally binding instruments. The first binding legal agreement between the ArcticStates on Search and Rescue, signed in Nuuk in May 2011, ispioneering and, in our view the first step towards giving the Arctic Council more decision-making authority. We also welcome the task forces set up by the Council to negotiate agreements on Arctic marine oil pollution, preparedness and response and the task force on short-lived climate forces.
This has led us to consider which other areas could be relevant for similar agreements.
We believe that using the legacy of the International Polar Year to create sustainable societies in the North points out research and education as a possible area for a new agreement. Such an agreement could be open for other interested nations to join, with the objective of securing access to data and sharing information about Arctic research.
The Arctic is a beautiful place with a fragile environment. Arctic tourism is developing and has a huge potential to support strong local communities. We believe that the Arctic countries should consider negotiating an agreement on how to develop and secure sustainable and eco-friendly tourism.
Our seventhrecommendation is on the role of the Permanent Participants. The work in the Arctic Council, and in the parliamentary cooperation, has in many ways broken new ground in forms of cooperation. The Permanent Participants offer valuable contributions to the cooperation as the principal trustees and protectors of the Arctic heritage, and bring the important element of traditional knowledge into the cooperation. This must be safeguarded.Indigenous peoples also have an important role to play in communicating the evolution of the Arctic to the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, funding for the participation of Permanent Participants in meetings, as well as for preparation of them, is limited today. In order to continue along the path that has so successfully been staked out it is essential that the participation of indigenous peoples is not only ensured, but also secured.
Our final recommendation concerns the observers to the Arctic Council. This is a difficult question also for parliamentary cooperation. The members of the Committee understand and accept the political reality of the increasing interest in the Arcticamong the world’s major power blocs. After many discussions we reached the conclusion that observer status should be granted cautiously and after careful consideration, and should always take into account the paramount long-term integrity of the Arctic and its peoples.
Thank you for your attention.