News

Exploring the Arctic Ocean: The agreement that protects an unknown ecosystem

A thick layer of multiyear sea ice once completely covered the central Arctic Ocean. But as the ice continues to retreat, waters that were previously only accessible to h...

Report on Heavy Fuel Oil in the Arctic launched

The Arctic Council's Working Group on the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) issued its second Arctic Shipping Status Report – Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) Use by...

Healthy communities need healthy oceans - An Athabaskan perspective on a sustainable Arctic Ocean

Chief Gary Harrison is chairman of the Chickaloon Native Village, located North-East of Anchorage, Alaska, and representative of the Arctic Athabaskan Council. As the Arc...

Suggestions from the coast: An Inuit perspective on a sustainable Arctic Ocean

Jim Stotts, president of the Alaskan chapter of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), was one of five experts joining the panel at the first thematic webinar in a meeting ...

Arctic Council advances its marine stewardship role

Starting on Tuesday, 29 September, policy makers, Indigenous peoples and marine experts from the Arctic States and the Arctic Council’s Observers will gather online for a...

Using data to improve oil spill response in the Arctic

The Arctic is undergoing rapid environmental and social changes. As human activity increases in the region, so does the risk of oil spills.

Together towards a sustainable Arctic: One year into the 2019-2021 Icelandic Chairmanship

Editorial by Einar Gunnarsson, Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials

On track with the regional plastic action plan for the Arctic

In October 2019, the Belfer Center’s Arctic Initiative and the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute co-hosted a workshop on Policy and Action on Plastic in the Arctic Ocean wi...

Arctic Marine Risk Assessment Guideline launched

The Guideline aims to improve safety of Arctic marine operations by incorporating Arctic-specific risk factors not covered by existing guidelines.

From Iceland to Scotland in 207 days

A capsule containing a GPS transmitter travelled several thousand kilometres from Iceland to Scotland –highlighting how marine litter can travel.

First Arctic Shipping Status Report from PAME Working Group highlights increase in Arctic shipping traffic

Ship traffic is increasing in the Arctic. The exploration and extraction of resources and increasing marine tourism combined with changing environmental, societal and eco...

Arctic Council COP25 side event on ocean acidification was a call for action

The Arctic is experiencing some of the fastest rates of ocean acidification, with potentially severe implications for ecosystems and communities dependent on them.

A closer look at sea ice: An interview with AMAP expert Sebastian Gerland

Sebastian Gerland is a geophysicist at the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromsø. As a specialist for sea ice and climate, he has contributed to several projects and report...

PAME releases first ‘plastic in a bottle’

The Arctic Council’s Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) Working Group launched the first bottle equipped with a GPS transmitter into the Atlantic on 12 Se...

A source for Arctic optimism: The Blue Bioeconomy

Editorial by Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson, Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials

Put into reality: EPPR looks into the VIKING SKY incident

At its first Working Group meeting during the Icelandic Chairmanship, the Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Working Group held a workshop on the VIKI...

Interview with Magnús Jóhannesson, the Special Coordinator on Plastics

Magnús Jóhannesson is the Council’s designated special coordinator on plastics, marine litter. In this interview, the former Director of the Arctic Council Secretariat sp...

New Observer: The International Maritime Organization

IMO attaches a particular interest in the Council’s work on search and rescue, pollution response and maritime safety, as well as in the protection of the marine environm...

Towards an international symposium on plastics in the Arctic

The “International Symposium on the Threat of Plastics to the Arctic and Sub-Arctic Marine Environment” will take place in Reykjavik 21-23 April 2020.

First meeting during Iceland's Arctic Council Chairmanship

Iceland hosted its first Senior Arctic Officials’ (SAO) executive meeting since assuming the Arctic Council’s Chairmanship in May.