Arctic Peoples

The AMAP meetings that took place in San Francisco from 8–12 February 2010 comprised an AMAP strategy workshop and an AMAP Working Group meeting. One of presently six Arctic Council Working Groups, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) was originally established in 1991 to implement parts of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS).

The primary function of AMAP is to advise the governments of the eight Arctic countries (Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States) on matters relating to threats to the Arctic region from pollution, and associated issues.

After 20 years of work, resulting in a series of high quality scientifically based assessments of the pollution status of the Arctic, AMAP now enters a phase of strategic renovation. AMAP has been requested by the Arctic Council to address, in its assessment activities, impacts of environmental and climate changes on the socio-economic conditions and cultures of northern and indigenous communities. Furthermore, AMAP is planning to develop a strong scientific and policy outreach to provide Arctic information at both the national and international levels to better inform environmental, climate, and human health policy and decision-making. Read the rest of this entry »

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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