The Arctic Council: Twenty Years in the Making and Moving Forward

• Main Author: Richwalder, Matthew
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: University of Maine School of Law Digital Commons 2017
• Subjects: Admiralty; Environmental Law; International Law; Law of the Sea; Natural Resources Law; Arctic; Canada; Handle The; Norway; Arctic Council; Iceland; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/oclj/vol22/iss1/4; https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1339&context=oclj

This comment is about the Arctic Council. The Arctic Council (the Council) is an inter-governmental forum promoting cooperation and interaction among the Arctic states, indigenous peoples, and other inhabitants of the Arctic region on issues of sustainability and environmental protection. The Council has eight member States: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, United States, Russia, and Iceland. There are also observer States, who are non-Arctic countries and permanent participants, six indigenous peoples groups living in the Arctic. This comment delves into the history of the Council, discusses its starting goals, and how it has evolved over the last twenty years. This comment also explores the current state of the Council and the increasing amount of tension between Arctic States and non-Arctic States as the Arctic sea ice disappears, more travel routes open, new territory emerges, and the prospect of natural resources that have yet to be tapped into. Lastly, this comment will present some recommendations for how the Council should handle the changing conditions and relationships amongst the Arctic countries, non-Arctic countries, and indigenous people.