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U.S. Arctic Policy Fact sheet released by the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs U.S. Department of State, April 23, 1999

U.S. Arctic policy emphasizes environmental protection, sustainable development, human health, and the role of indigenous people and other Arctic residents as stakeholders in the Arctic, while meeting U.S. national security requirements. The U.S. seeks to promote the viability and socio-economic well-being of Arctic communities. In addition, the U.S. is determined to support scientific research and broaden international cooperation in achieving Arctic objectives.

United States Arctic policy is based upon on six principal objectives:

• Protecting the Arctic environment and conserving its living resources.
• Promoting environmentally sustainable natural resource management and economic development in the region.
• Strengthening institutions for cooperation among the eight Arctic nations.
• Involving the indigenous people of the Arctic in decisions that affect them.
• Enhancing scientific monitoring and research on local, regional, and global environmental issues.
• Meeting post-Cold War national security and defense needs.

Background

The United States has been an Arctic nation, with important interests in the region, since the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. At that time, national security and economic development were key U.S. interests. While this remains true today, significant changes in the international political arena, scientific and technological developments and increasing global interdependence have created new challenges and opportunities for Alaska, the United States and all other Arctic nations.

In 1991, the United States joined seven other Arctic countries (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden) in establishing the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS). The AEPS was a Finnish initiative to address a variety of environmental protection issues in the Arctic. Four working groups to focus on environmental monitoring and assessment, conservation of flora and fauna, emergency preparedness, and marine protection were established at that time and remain active today (see below for further details about the Working Groups).

After several years of working on pan-Arctic environmental issues within the AEPS, member states, at Canada's initiative, decided to expand the focus of the AEPS to deal with issues of "sustainable development" in the Arctic. To this end a new entity was formed with the signing of the "Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council" in Ottawa on September 19, 1996.

The Arctic Council

The Arctic Council provides a high-level intergovernmental forum to address environmental protection and sustainable development issues in the Arctic region. The member states of the Arctic Council are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Arctic indigenous representatives hold permanent participant status, and several nations and international organizations are observers. The Council meets every two years at the ministerial level to coordinate Council activities and oversee the work of the following five Working Groups. Senior Arctic officials from each member state meet more frequently to provide for liaison and coordination.

Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP): AMAP assesses the health and ecological risks associated with contamination from radioactive waste, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other contaminants. It also recommends targeted monitoring of regional environmental developments.

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF): CAFF works for the conservation of biodiversity in the Arctic by supporting an international network of protected areas and through other conservation practices.

Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (EPPR): EPPR provides a framework for responding to environmental emergencies in the Arctic. For example, the Working Group works to prevent, prepare for, and respond to environmental threats posed from accidental discharges of pollution.

Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME): PAME proposes international guidelines for offshore oil and gas development in the Arctic, and collects information on Arctic shipping activities. It has prepared a regional action plan for the control of land-based sources of Arctic marine pollution.

Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG): The Arctic Council addresses issues of sustainable development through this newly-established working group, including health, telemedicine, cultural tourism and rural sanitation.

The United States supports the establishment of the Sustainable Development Working Group within the Council and maintains that its activities should be project specific. The U.S. believes that member states should be encouraged to pursue sustainable development projects that are in line with their respective national interests, and that countries with similar interests should work together on projects which are beneficial to their Arctic stakeholders.

For more information on the Arctic Council, see "Joint Communique of the Governments of the Arctic Countries on the Establishment of the Arctic Council."

U.S. Becomes Chair of the Arctic Council

After an extensive interagency review and full consultations with the State of Alaska, the United States announced on June 26, 1998, that it was offering to host the Arctic Council from September of 1998 through September of 2000. On September 18, 1998, in Iqaluit, Northwest Territories, Canada, the other Arctic Council members accepted the offer of the United States and the U.S. officially became Chair of the Council for a two-year period. During its chairmanship, the United States will pursue the following objectives:

• advance environmental protection activities in the Arctic and support the work of the Council's four "environmentally-focused" Working Groups;
• build a strong and practical "Arctic Council Action Plan" (ACAP) that advocates concrete steps for addressing pollution in the Arctic. (For an example of the type of activity the U.S. intends to support under ACAP, see State Department Press Statement of 2/26/99 entitled "Arctic Council Launches Multinational Initiative To Identify and Phase-out Sources of PCBs in Russia");
• support social and economic development -- using a "project-specific approach"-- through the Council's new Sustainable Development Working Group;
• increase activity in the area of human health in the Arctic;
• ensure that Council initiatives are responsive to the needs of indigenous people of the Arctic, as well as all Arctic residents;
• encourage meaningful participation by non-governmental organizations in the work of the Council;
• work with Russia during its transition period to ensure Russian participation in the Council's environmental protection and sustainable development activities;
• coordinate Council activities with existing international fora in the region (such as the Barents Euro Arctic Council) to avoid duplication of activities.

For further details on U.S. goals as Chair of the Arctic Council, see "Ambassador Wendy Sherman, Closing Remarks at First Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council."

Scientific Research

U.S. Arctic policy recognizes that cooperation among Arctic nations can contribute to the coordination of scientific research in the region. The U.S. Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, with advice from the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, coordinates federal efforts to produce an integrated national program of research, monitoring, assessments, and priority-setting for the Arctic region that most effectively uses available U.S. Government resources.

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