The Greenlandic newspaper AG reports of a summer of records in terms of warmth and dryness. Scientists from all over the world are busy monitoring one of the planets most magnificent and spectacular climate change barometers, the Kangia glacier in Western Greenland. Majestic and awe-inspiring as the glacier remains, with a front that stretches 5 kilometres across the fjord, it is on a hasty retreat ever farther into the fjord, leaving its mark of barren, formerly ice-covered rock. Especially since 2001, the retreat of the glacier has accelerated so that its front is now positioned deeper into the fjord than ever before. At the same time, the speed of the ice being transported in the opposite direction out into the fjord is also increasing  - reaching a speed of 40 metres per day – so that, while no longer producing quite as impressive icebergs as it used to, the glacier is nonetheless sending out a record-breaking more than 40 cubic kilometres of ice into the sea per year. In the same World Heritage environment of the Kangia Ice-fjord, earlier this summer a wildfire raged through the  landscape around the listed, prehistoric ruins Sermermiut. Meteorological measurements from various parts of Greenland unequivocally tell of an exceptionally hot and dry summer, a fact that gets corroborated by many dried out lakes and waterways. Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, has experienced an bone-dry month of July receiving only 1,4 millimetres of rain as opposed to an average of 86 millimetres. In Northern Greenland, in Qaanaaq, the mean temperature of July rose to 8,3 degrees Celsius as compared with the mere 4,5 degrees of a normal year. Hunter Uusaqqak Qujaukitsoq tells about conspicuous changes to the fauna: ”-Never before in my life have I seen so many flies. If food is left outside the house, it gets completely covered by flies in no time. It is not the ordinary kind of flies that everyone knows. It is a species entirely new to this place. They are very big and have red legs,” he says to AG, and continues, ”- A lot of very large jellyfish get caught in my salmon nets. I do not know if they sting, so I remove them only with gloves on my hands.” At the same time, in the opposite, Southern part of the country, sheep herder Jørgen Lund of Inneruulalik near Narsarsuaq reports of failing crops as well as lambs much smaller than usual due to dwindling pastures. Jørgen Lund estimates his lambs to weigh somewhere between a half and one kilogram less than they normally would.

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The Sakha (Yakutia) Republic Ministry of Education is organizing an international conference on “Threatened Native Languages in Russian Education System”. The conference is organized within the framework of the Second Decade of Indigenous Peoples of the World and is scheduled to take place in Yakutsk city, September 8-11, 2009. Testifying to the apparent increase in focus on indigenous languages, the conference aims at summarizing Russian experiences, learning about international practices, and adopting recommendations for preservation and restoration of disappearing native languages of the Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East. Within the Arctic Council, too, the latter years have seen a growing interest in Arctic indigenous languages. In 2006, the importance of indigenous languages was highlighted by the Salekhard Ministerial Declaration’s recognition of “the cultural diversity in the Arctic represented by more than 40 distinct peoples, cultures and languages. “ An Arctic Council symposium focusing on the importance of indigenous languages and their role in maintaining indigenous cultures and supporting the aspirations of indigenous peoples took place on October 21, 2008 in Tromsoe. The symposium, organized and led by Permanent Participants, was commended as “an excellent example of cooperation between Permanent Participants and Member States of the Arctic Council. The symposium was successful in meeting its objectives, which included: sharing best practices; engaging with policy makers and indigenous experts on the state of indigenous languages; exploring the role of language supporting Arctic-specific knowledge; examining the ways language is transmitted through cultural expression; and developing recommendations on the next steps needed to promote and maintain indigenous languages.”(Symposium Chair Duane Smith in “Proceedings of the Arctic Indigenous Language Symposium”, 2008) The next steps involve maintaining support from the Member States of the Arctic Council. Responses to the report of the Language Symposium have already indicated steady support for the work on indigenous languages. The report was a major SDWG deliverable for the 2009 Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting that, in the ensuing Declaration, signed for it by recognizing “the urgent need for action to support Arctic cultures and reduce loss of Arctic indigenous languages and take into consideration recommendations developed at the Arctic Indigenous Language Symposium.”

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James Stotts has been selected Chair of Inuit Circumpolar Council. In a press release of 18 June ICC announced the immediately effective appointment of Mr. Stotts as its Chair. Mr. Stotts is an Alaskan Iñupiaq from Barrow with extensive experience in circumpolar and international matters. He replaces Ms. Patricia Cochran, who resigned as Chair after having lead ICC since 2006. In a recently circulated message the Danish Chairmanship of the Arctic Council announced the appointment of Ms. Sheila Riordon as Canada's new Senior Arctic Official effective 4 August. Ms. Riordon is Director General, Environment, Energy and Sustainable Development Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. She replaces Ms. Adèle Dion, Canada's SAO for the previous three years.

At a meeting on July 27, the Council of the European Union approved a ban on selling of sealskin products within its member states. The ban will come into force in 2010. Canada and Norway find that the ban violates the World Trade Organization's guidelines, and intends to challenge it at the WTO. Greenland's Premier Kuupik Kleist and other Inuit leaders like ICC vice-president Violet Ford have criticised the ban for being incompatible with international agreements and human rights, whereas Mary Simon, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, spoke of a cynical and unjustified decision:

The seal ban is an abomination because it directly attacks cultures, communities, and livelihoods that represent a basic means of living for many here in Canada, using groundless accusations influenced by animal rights propaganda campaigns. And today we are witnessing the EU’s willingness to ignore its own trade rules and relations to please certain myopic self-interests while trying to claim some moral high ground—it doesn’t add up.

The disagreement between sealskin producing countries, subsistence hunting peoples and an EU influenced by animal rights opinions has been building up for a while. Earlier this year, at the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in late April, the EU was denied status as Permanent Observer as the Arctic Council decided to continue discussing the role of its observers. EU reacted to this by sending only officials and no commissioners to the meeting in Tromsø, Norway. The Arctic Council decision also affected other applicants for permanent observer status - China, Italy and South Korea - and prevented them from becoming permanent observers.

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