The History of The Arctic Council

The Arctic Council is the world’s principal international venue. The focus of the Arctic Council is encouraging Arctic states, indigenous peoples, and other Arctic residents to work, coordinate, and communicate on common Arctic issues such as environmental preservation and sustainable development. In 1996, it was formally established. The Ottawa Declaration establishes the membership of the Arctic Council. The eight states that border the Arctic act as environmental guardians. The Arctic Ocean’s lands and rivers are governed by their countries’ laws and international law. The Arctic States’ northern areas have more than four million inhabitants, and the Arctic Council prioritises their health and well-being.

Formation of the Arctic Council 

The governments of Canada, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, the Kingdom of Denmark, Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United States signed the Ottawa Declaration, establishing the Arctic Council, on 19th September 1996.  Before the formation of the Arctic Council, The Arctic Environmental Conservation Strategy (June 1991) was issued. Finland, the United States, Norway, the Russian Federation, Iceland, the Kingdom of Denmark, and Sweden were the first countries to chair the Arctic Council (1996-1998).  The second chairmanship cycle began in 2013.

History of the Arctic Council

The eight members of the Arctic Council, which includes Iceland, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the United States, formed the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy in 1991 as a framework for intergovernmental collaboration on environmental protection measures among the Arctic States. 

To accept Arctic indigenous peoples’ traditional homeland claims, the AEPS endeavoured to consult and engage them. The AEPS welcomed three Indigenous Peoples’ Organisations (IPOs) representing Inuit, Saami, and Russian indigenous peoples as observers. As more people acknowledge indigenous peoples’ specific affinity with the Arctic, the Arctic Circle, the Arctic Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean; the three countries bestowed the status of Permanent Participants (PPs) to the three IPOs, giving them an advantage over the other AEPS Observers. 

The Canadian plan gained traction when, in October 1994, Canada nominated an Ambassador for Circumpolar and Aboriginal Affairs with the mission of negotiating the establishment of an Arctic Council. Many critics thought the world system was unipolar in the early and mid-1990s, with the United States at its centre. The United States was uninterested in the idea of an Arctic Council. On the other hand, European Arctic powers, especially Russia, were uninterested in organising an Arctic Council without the United States.

Mechanism of the Arctic Council

• Six working gatherings are answerable for the Council’s work. The Arctic Contaminants Action Program is intended to upgrade and support public endeavours to diminish contamination and different outflows.
• The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program monitors the climate, biological systems, and human populaces in the Arctic. It gives logical suggestions to legislatures to support the battle against contamination and environmental change’s unfavourable outcomes.
• The Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group is answerable for protecting Arctic biodiversity and keeping up with the area’s experiencing assets’ drawn-out reasonability.
• EPPR’s motivation is to safeguard the Arctic environment from the risks and results of unexpected contamination and radioactive delivery.
• The Sustainable Development Working Group plans to further develop the general prosperity of the Arctic people group through advancing maintainable accomplishments in the Arctic.

The Accomplishment of the Arctic Council 

The Arctic Council has accomplished three successful forays into international law, which provides the structure to negotiate the three treaties among the Arctic States on significant issues: 

• oil pollution preparedness and response
• scientific cooperation
• search and rescue

Conclusion

The Arctic Council had proven to be more effective than most of us present when it was formed. Rather than focusing on the Council’s ability to make formal decisions, much less to play a prominent role in implementing such decisions or moving them from paper to practice, the key to its success has been its role in identifying emerging issues, framing them for policymakers’ consideration, and promoting these issues as matters of priority on a variety of policy agendas. They tend to concentrate on the early stages of the policy cycle rather than the stages of decision-making and implementation. However, the importance of this position should not be overlooked.