The Arctic Council and the Search and Rescue Agreement: the case of Norway

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Rottem, Svein Vigeland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2013
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Arctic; Norway; Arctic Council; Polar Record
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247413000363; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247413000363

ABSTRACT On 12 May 2011 at the seventh ministerial meeting, the member states of the Arctic Council (AC) signed the Arctic SAR agreement, the first legally binding agreement negotiated under the auspices of the AC. Its objective is to strengthen search and rescue cooperation and coordination in the Arctic. The purpose of this article is to explore why an agreement on search and rescue under the auspices of the AC has been negotiated; what its key features are; and lastly, how it is and will be implemented. It is argued that the SAR agreement is more important for the AC than for Norway. It has had limited practical consequences in that country. The agreement may be politically and symbolically significant but it has neither financially nor organisationally changed Norwegian search and rescue policy.