Pacific Spirit Marine Institute
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Merriam Webster’s definition of a flash point is 1: the lowest temperature at which vapors above a volatile combustible substance ignite in air when exposed to flame. 2: a point at which someone or something bursts suddenly into action or being.
If there is a second tinderbox on the planet outside of the Middle East that place has to be the Arctic. Never before has the Arctic held such a high potential for becoming potentially explosive.
A report from Javier Solana and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, two of the EU’s top foreign policy officials warns the Arctic is ripe for “significant potential conflicts’.
In their 7 page report, the two warn, the rapid melting of the polar ice caps is changing the geostrategic dynamics of the region.
In what is being called the ‘Solana Report’ the authors call on the EU to draw up an Arctic Policy “based on the evolving geostrategy of the region, taking into account access to resources and the opening of new trade routes.”
The call for EU policy action isn’t a new one. Nearly 4 years ago to the date, the United Nations Environment Programme stated, the “Arctic’s unique environment and indigenous peoples are under increasing threat from industrial activities and the region is likely to change drastically unless decision-makers in the European Union and ‘elsewhere’ address the challenges seriously.”
Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, EEA,European Environment Agency, Executive Director, pointed out in 2004 that, “Indigenous peoples have managed the Arctic’s resources in a sustainable manner for thousands of years…” “Industrialised countries, including the EU nations are both the main users and the main sources of pollution affecting the region.” Indigenous peoples suffer most of the adverse effects of this exploitation while receiving a relatively small share of the benefits.”
“With the high levels of toxic chemicals in local Inuit peoples, the melting of permafrost and the retreat of glaciers across the region, the Arctic is like an environmental early warning system for the world,” UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said in 2004.
Nestled in the heart of this tinderbox are the Inuit. While nestled in the warm halls of the U.N. and in the ‘meet and greets’, officials gather in places like Brussels to discuss the topics of volatility, energy and pollutants. But, no one on earth is touched by the cold, harsh facts of what the future holds for the icy, northern most part of the planet like the Inuit.
Labels: Arctic, Climate Change, EEA, EU, Inuit, Solana Report, U.N.
© 2009, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
Flash Point; Arctic
