2nd Arctic Futures Symposium

This Symposium took place from October 12-14 in Brussels (Belgium) where events included:
- Several high-profile speakers sharing their views on a developing Arctic, including International Polar Foundation (IPF) President, Alain Hubert; Danish Senior Arctic Official, Nauja Bianco;  European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki;  Executive Director of the European Environment Agency (EEA), Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, and HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco who addressed the symposium on the importance of polar research and developing marine protected areas as well as the need to look for sustainable solutions in developing the Arctic on a case-by-case basis.
- Representatives of the various Arctic Council nations delivering speeches, including Ambassador Gustav Lind of Sweden and Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, who discussed the various challenges and opportunities presented to Iceland in the context of widespread climate change in the Arctic.
- Executive secretaries of a number of Arctic Council working groups and a representative from the shipping industry  discussing the latest developments in maritime transport, monitoring and managing Arctic biodiversity, and Arctic pollution in a roundtable discussion
- Discussions on scientific research and natural resource exploitation in the Arctic, including a presentation on the new Arctic Climate Change Economy and Soceity (ACCESS) project, the melting Greenland Ice Sheet, predicting how the Arctic will respond to warming, changes in sea ice and permafrost, the various satellite and buoy observation networks used to look at the Arctic, and balancing natural resource exploitation with ecosystem management and other stakeholder interests in the Arctic.
- Testimony of representatives from various Arctic indigenous peoples, who advocated better communication and reinforced collaboration between politicians and industry representatives with the indigenous peoples of the the Arctic.
- A closing speech by SE Michel Rocard, French Ambassador to the Arctic and former French Prime Minister on the need for international cooperation in the Arctic.

Mulling-over the Spitsbergen Treaty

A new research publication was recently released titled: 'The Spitsbergen Treaty: Multilateral Governance in the Arctic'. According to the introduction by Diana Wallis MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament, the research presented "is not intended as a criticism of the Norwegian position but rather a search for more modern international structures and solutions based on what we might learn from an old but nonetheless innovative Treaty." However, during a presentation of the publication on 18 October, it was mentioned that the Svalbard Treaty needed extensive updating in order to fit the current political environment where more actors are becoming active in the region. On the other hand, Mr. Niels Engelschiøn, Norwegian Ambassador to Belgium, highlighted that, from a Norwegian perspective, there is no need to revise or update the existing treaty.

Why Should US Join UNCLOS?

An editorial focussing on US interests in the Arctic and the need to join UNCLOS to secure the benefits of being an Arctic nation appeared in Bloomberg Business Week on October 5.