"The most important thing for people to know about the governance of the Arctic is that we have a chance now to act to maintain the integrity of the system or to lose it. To lose it means that we will dismember the vital systems that make the Arctic work. It's not just a cost to the people who live there. It's a cost to all people everywhere."
Sylvia Earle

Arctic

The territory of Arctic is currently divided among 5 Arctic states, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russian Federation and USA according to so called orbicular triangles. Unlike the Antarctic, Arctic is not an international area and its international legal regime is not defined. Today, especially due to the global climate change, the geopolitical and economic importance of Arctic is growing. Melting of the glacier in the Arctic reveals the possibility of using new waterways in the Arctic Ocean and offers the opportunity of easier extraction of abundant mineral resources in this area.

The Economic Section of the Forum of the 21st Century has been mandated with the matters of the Arctic and its future use and division. Therefore the Forum invited the representatives of China, Canada, Norway, Russian Federation, USA, and European Union to discuss the issue.

In order to provide the international community with a satisfying solution suitable for all parties involved, Forum for the 21st Century will discuss the following questions:

  • Research, Climate and Environmental Change,
  • Population and indigenous people,
  • Geopolitical division and resource management,
  • Law of the Sea and Arctic waterways.
All the parties invited will create draft proposals on the regular basis for the final negotiation. The goal of the negotiations of the Forum for the 21st century is to develop a new Arctic international legal regime that will meet the requirements of the stakeholders.

Section Menu:

Section Chairman:
Bianka Bittmannová
bianka.bittmannova@gmail.com

Section Vice-Chairman:
Natália Hlavová
natalia.hlavova@gmail.com

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