Summary: | At their meeting in Svartsengi in October, 2003 the Senior Arctic Officials continued to discuss the possible establishment of a fund to facilitate the financing of Arctic Council projects. As a basis for the discussion, the Chair, with the assistance of NEFCO, had prepared an informal background paper on various aspects of a fund mechanism. The SAOs raised a number of questions and concerns in respect to the fund concept and requested further clarification on a number of issues. This paper seeks, in a concise form, to address those issues, providing clarification about the nature and role of a project support fund (PSF) and explaining how a fund mechanism could provide benefits and “value added” to the Arctic Council.
|