Vedlegg
- Ninth Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic
Region, European Parliament, Brussels 13–15 September 2010
- Conference statement
- Regarding the sustainable management of living resources in the Arctic, to
- Regarding cooperation in education and research, and the follow-up of the International Polar Year, to
- Regarding consequences of the melting ice in the Arctic, to
- Ask the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, to
- Furthermore the Conference
- Conference statement
We, the elected representatives of Canada, Denmark/Greenland, the European Parliament, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden;
In collaboration with the indigenous peoples of the Arctic;
Meeting to discuss the sustainable use of living resources in the Arctic, cooperation in education and research – the legacy of IPY, and the consequences of the melting ice;
Considering the transformative change now occurring in the Arctic driven by the forces of climate change and globalization resulting in tighter economic and geopolitical links;
Ask the governments in the Arctic Region, the Arctic Council and the institutions of the European Union:
1. Create mechanisms that emphasize ecosystem-based management and extended environmental impact assessment procedures, as well as social impacts, on an Arctic-wide basis.
2. Establish Arctic cooperation on the management of living resources in the Arctic, and formulate a common set of goals and interests.
3. Examine what sort of practical hunting and fisheries education exists in the Arctic, and facilitate a closer cooperation between research institutions and hunting organizations in the Arctic region.
4. Commission the University of the Arctic to strengthen education, including traditional knowledge, related to the sustainable hunting of marine mammals and establish a network between educational institutions in this field, as well as increase the number of grants to PhD fellowships and research into marine mammals.
5. Collect and share data on new and emerging fisheries within their exclusive economic zones toward ensuring sustainable development of those fisheries and to work towards consistency of approaches and standards for managing transborder stocks.
6. Strengthen the cooperation of the circumpolar reindeer herders' network, including the IPY legacy, the University of the Arctic Institute for Circumpolar Reindeer Husbandry, as reindeer as a species and their grazing lands have a special significance for human life and the economy in the Arctic.
7. Enhance Arctic research and education programs for circumpolar projects with the possibility for non-Arctic countries to participate.
8. Implement agreements and share information between the Arctic countries and other interested nations that secure access to research data and information about the Arctic.
9. Secure long-term monitoring of development in the Arctic and support the Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON) process.
10. Arrange a meeting between the ministers responsible for research in Arctic countries and the ministers from countries participating in the International Polar Year, if possible in conjunction with the IPY Conference in Montreal 22–27 April 2012, in order to promote mutually beneficial interaction between the science and policy communities.
11. Assess the IPY results and, together with scientific organizations, develop a document for decision-makers of emerging key research findings, and promote consultations on the proposal for an International Polar Decade.
12. Provide easy access to the results of IPY for researchers, decision-makers and the general public.
13. Move forward on the plans by the European Commission to set up an EU Arctic Information Centre, taking note of the idea to set up such a centre as a network with a hub at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, Finland, and cooperating with relevant research institutions.
14. Strengthen existing mobility and exchange programs to increase circumpolar mobility as well as «Go North» mobility for students from southern locations as a focused means to secure international cooperation, integration, and the development of future polar scientists.
15. Connect the science community and the business sector in order to use the results from polar research to create new jobs in the Arctic region, particularly for those already living there.
16. Further develop and continue partnerships and general dialogue with local and indigenous communities in business development, knowledge development, IPY legacies and democracy building in the Arctic.
17. Continue to provide programs to encourage interdisciplinary research cooperation in the Arctic.
18. Conclude the agreement on search and rescue and increase capacity in the Arctic Region in order to ensure the appropriate response to possible accidents as the Arctic opens up to marine shipping.
19. Strengthen existing measures and develop new measures to improve the safety of maritime navigation, in particular through the International Maritime Organization and its ongoing work, notably in the development of a compulsory Polar Code.
20. Implement the recommendations of the Arctic Council's Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment.
21. Raise a strong Arctic message to combat climate change at the COP 16 negotiations in Mexico 2010.
22. Enhance efforts to prevent and mitigate climate change and its consequences for Arctic populations and wildlife habitats.
23. Continue to improve the assessment of the environmental, societal and economic consequences of natural resources´ exploration and extraction.
24. Support the Icelandic initiative toward a second Arctic Human Development Report in 2014, bringing together state-of-the-art knowledge from the IPY that covers Arctic societies and their welfare in a global context.
25. Engage in the preparation of the next Conference of the International Polar Year in Canada in April 2012 and actively participate in the Conference.
26. In cooperation with University of the Arctic strengthen the open dialogue between the science community and political leadership in the circumpolar north.
27. Ask the University of the Arctic in cooperation with organisations like IASSA and IASC increasingly to publish Arctic relevant knowledge in reviewed academic journals, with a focus on marine mammals.
28. Promote the Statement from the Ninth Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region in the development of an Arctic policy in the European Union and the Arctic states, and involve all the member parliaments in this process.
29. Encourage member parliaments to organize conferences and public consultation exercises on the sustainable management of living resources in the Arctic that involve the participation and contributions of fishermen, hunters, reindeer herders, scientists, politicians and other interested parties.
30. Asks the Arctic Council and Arctic governments to establish a panel to provide an assessment on how the Arctic nations can prepare for new opportunities and challenges as a result of a changing Arctic, and on the basis of such a study, create a vision for the Arctic in 2030. The panel should include representatives of the science community, parliamentarians, business community and indigenous peoples’ organizations.
31. Asks the Arctic states to arrange an Arctic Summit at the level of heads of state and government to show leadership and promote the Arctic region as an area of peaceful development and cooperation.
32. Supports the Arctic Council as the primary forum for Arctic cooperation, and encourages the Arctic Council to arrange annual ministerial meetings and to strengthen its legal and economic base, and to establish a permanent secretariat for the Council.
33. Calls on the partners of the Northern Dimension Policy and the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, as well as the other structures of cooperation in the Northern Dimension region, to actively implement the policy in the Arctic, and especially to include the Arctic in the new efforts to develop logistics and transportation, environmental policies, as well as to promote cultural exchange.
34. Takes note of the EU´s efforts to develop an Arctic Policy and encourages the Arctic Council to consider granting the EU Commission permanent observer status in the Council in order to strengthen cooperation between the Council and the European Union.
35. Supports an active dialogue between Arctic and non-Arctic states in order to increase awareness among the general public as well as governments of the Arctic and its importance, not only regionally but globally.
36. Encourage the European Commission and Arctic governments to have effective dialogue with Arctic indigenous peoples on matters concerning them.
37. Acknowledges the interest and presence of parliamentary observers and representatives from governments and non-government agencies at this Conference, and recognizes their important role in relaying the messages and supporting the actions herein discussed.
38. Welcomes the forthcoming Swedish Chairmanship of the Arctic Council and looks forward to continued cooperation with the Arctic Council.
39. Welcomes and accepts the kind invitation of the Parliament of Iceland to host the tenth Conference in 2012.