RIAC Arctic Papers Presented to the Council of Federation

On March 26, Expert Board on the Arctic and Antarctic under the Chairman of the Federation Council was held in Moscow. Chaired by Arthur Chilingarov, Federation Council member and Russian President’s Special Envoy on International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic, the event was attended by representatives of the legislative and executive bodies, scientific community, and key experts on development of the Arctic region.

Russian Services Have a Price

The Russian system for managing the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is angrily criticized by most interested foreign states for its lack of direct access to weather and navigation data, complicated procedures to request escort services etc. But the most sensitive issue is the NSR passage fee.

The Arctic. Proposals for the International Cooperation Roadmap

The Roadmap’s purpose is to outline the sequence and substance of the Russian Federation’s engagement with external partners (governments and international organizations) in vital areas of international cooperation in the Arctic in 2012–2018. These proposals are intended to promote Russia’s interests via effective international cooperation in the region. The Roadmap covers legal, institutional, environmental, natural resource, transportation, security and scientific aspects of these activities.

Developing the Arctic Territories Efficiently

Due to its vast hydrocarbon reserves and the greater role played by fundamental factors determining political and energy security, many industrialized states regard the Arctic as a key strategic region. Its industrial development would see intensive oil and gas production, extraction of biological resources, massive cargo transshipment and, that would in turn require better transportation and the relevant infrastructure. International cooperation in this field is vital for the region’s efficient and safe advancement, since organizing transport services is technologically complicated and legislation in the different Arctic states varies greatly.

A Glimpse into the Arctic Future

On December 5-6, St. Petersburg played host to 2nd International Forum "The Arctic: the Present and the Future" with RIAC participation in the person of Program Director Timur Makhmutov and expert Andrey Zagorsky, department head at RAS Institute of World Economy and International Relations.

The event was carried out by Association of Russian Polar Explorers headed by Arthur Chilingarov, member of the Federation Council and Special Representative of Russian President on International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic, with support of the Government of St. Petersburg.

The Arctic states – cooperation or competition?

Interview

Today, when we are witnessing the rise of interest towards the Arctic, the issue of successful cooperation between the Arctic states is becoming increasingly important. RIAC has asked Scott Highleyman and David Balton to comment on the ecological challenges and the future of international cooperation in the region.

International environmental cooperation in the Arctic Region

Many states consider the Arctic a strategic region today due to its immense hydrocarbon reserves and an increasing role of the factors and conditions underpinning the political and energy security of the leading industrially-developed countries. Industrial development of the Arctic region entails an intensive exploitation of its mineral resources, transport development and biological resources production. Given a special vulnerability of the harsh Arctic nature, there is a need for international cooperation, analysis of and actions to conserve, to the greatest extent possible, the natural habitat. This also necessitates development and implementation of a rational multi-product environmentally-balanced model of sustainable environmental management.

Finland in the Arctic

Finland is keenly interested in the energy potential of the Arctic region. Finns expect to gain a lot from working with Russia in the Arctic. Finnish businesses are eager to harness the opportunities to be opened by Russia-led development of the Arctic and increased traffic along the Arctic Sea Route. Overall, Russia and Finland stand to benefit from new opportunities for a wide-ranging economic, scientific and technological cooperation.

Russia and Iceland: Arctic Gravitation

The smallest among the Arctic countries, Iceland until recently was using the “little by little” principle in structuring its policies in the Arctic. That was the case up until 2009 when the country took the chair in the Nordic Council of Ministers. Iceland’s priorities then went to regional international cooperation, environmental protection of northern territories and seas, and support of scientific research in the Arctic.

Canada’s Arctic strategy

The issue of potential partners and allies both in the world and in the strategically important Arctic region stands crucial in Russia’s contemporary foreign policy. Is there any chance of finding such partners considering the increased attention to the Arctic and competition in this region? Despite differences between Moscow and Ottawa, Canada is likely to be more ready than all other “official” Arctic powers to collaborate with Russia.