Russian Chairmanship of Arctic Council
The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum established in 1996 to cooperate and coordinate the Arctic states, Arctic indigenous peoples, and other inhabitants of the Arctic for sustainable development and environment protection. The chairmanship of the Arctic Council rotates every two years among all the member states. Russia took the chair in 2021.
History of Arctic Council
In 1989, the Finnish government initiated a meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland, for the Arctic countries’ representatives to discuss issues of environment protection in the Arctic.
The discussion led to signing the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS) which aims at:
- conservation of natural resources and quality of the environment,
- harmonization of environment protection approaches with needs and traditions of the Arctic indigenous peoples,
- environmental monitoring,
- revealing, reduction, and finally liquidation of the pollution in the Arctic.
Later, sustainable development objectives were added to the strategy. In 1996, the Arctic countries’ representatives met in Ottawa, Canada, and agreed upon the establishment of the Arctic Council.
The AC members are:
- eight Arctic states: Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, USA, Finland, and Sweden,
- permanent participants represented by the Northern peoples’ organizations: the Arctic Atabaskan Council, Aleut International Association, Gwich’in Council International, Inuit Circumpolar Council, Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, and Saami Council,
- observers: non-Arctic countries, intergovernmental, interparliamentary, and non-governmental organizations.
The work of the Council is carried by its working groups:
- Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP),
- Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP),
- Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF),
- Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR),
- Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME),
- Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG).
Russian Chairmanship in 2021–2023
On May 20, 2021, at the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, the Chairmanship officially passed to the Russian Federation.
The theme for Russia’s Chairmanship was “Responsible Governance for Sustainable Arctic” with the goal of promoting collective action for the sustainable development of the region, enhancing synergies with other regional platforms, and implementing the Council’s Strategic Plan.
On May 11, 2023, at the 13th session of the Arctic Council in Salekhard, the outcome of the two-year Russian Chairmanship was summed up, and the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council for 2023-2025 pass to Norway.