Oil/Gas + Greed = Disturbing News for Arctic North

February 3, 2012 at 6:21 am Leave a Comment

Industry launches Arctic spill-response effort

Some of the world’s biggest oil companies have launched a four-year, multi-million-dollar collaborative effort aimed at enhancing the industry’s ability to respond to and prevent Arctic oil spills as these new frontiers open up to development.

Luke Johnson  26 January 2012 18:43 GMT

“Prevention of oil spills is a priority for industry, as is the response to any spill that may occur,” programme manager Joseph Mullin said in a statement. “Spill-response research is an aspect of the oil business for which collaboration is imperative.”

Oil companies are increasingly exploring for hard-to-reach resources in Arctic regions in places such as Russia, Greenland and the US. Environmentalists fear a spill in such environmentally sensitive areas would be catastrophic and near-impossible to adequately clean up.

The programme announced on Thursday by members of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) will run tests and experiments and develop spill-response technology that will better prepare industry to deal with possible accidents, Mullin said.

The group of sponsors includes supermajors BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell and ExxonMobil, as well as major producers Eni, Statoil, and Total.

Each company is paying an equal share of about $2.4 million, said OGP spokesman John Campbell.

The programme, known as the Oil Spill Response Technology Joint Industry Programme (JIP), will address the unique challenges posed by punishing Arctic conditions, including prolonged periods of darkness, extreme cold, distant infrastructure, presence of sea ice offshore and a higher cost of doing business, the statement said.

Some of the research will focus on in dispersant use, in-situ burning, mechanical recovery, and remote sensing in Arctic conditions.

Work will involve several controlled-oil releases experiments in the field to verify research results. These field experiments will be contingent on approval from relevant authorities.

The programme was announced at the Arctic Frontiers Conference in Tromso, Norway, on Thursday.

The announcement came on the same day Norway and Russia launched a Nkr16 million ($2.7 million) bilateral project to develop new technology for exploitating of oil and gas resources in the Arctic.

Published: 26 January 2012 18:43 GMT  | Last updated: 26 January 2012 18:52 GMT

Filed Under: Arctic North News, Earth Changes News, Environmental & Specie Changes, Universal Laws and Reflections, World Healing Project, World News

Arctic Climate – our future climate balance in peril?

February 3, 2012 at 6:17 am Leave a Comment

Arctic climate change ‘to spark domino effect’

January 31, 2012

 

The rate of Arctic climate change was now faster than ecosystems and traditional Arctic societies could adapt to.

WA-based scientists have warned of “dire consequences” to the human race after detecting the first signs of dangerous climate change in the Arctic.

The scientists, from the University of WA, claim the region is fast approaching a series of imminent “tipping points” which could trigger a domino effect of large-scale climate change across the entire planet.

In a paper published in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ journal AMBIO and Nature Climate Change, the lead author and director of UWA’s Oceans Institute, Winthrop Professor Carlos Duarte, said the Arctic region contained arguably the greatest concentration of potential tipping elements for global climate change.

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“If set in motion, they can generate profound climate change which places the Arctic not at the periphery but at the core of the Earth system,” Professor Duarte said.  ”There is evidence that these forces are starting to be set in motion.”

“This has major consequences for the future of human kind as climate change progresses.”

Professor Duarte said the loss of Arctic summer sea ice forecast over the next four decades − if not before − was expected to have abrupt knock-on effects in northern mid-latitudes, including Beijing, Tokyo, London, Moscow, Berlin and New York.

Research showed that the Arctic was warming at three times the global average and the loss of sea ice – which had melted faster in summer than predicted − was linked tentatively to recent extreme cold winters in Europe.

Professor Duarte − winner of last year’s prestigious Prix d’Excellence awarded by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea − said the most dangerous aspect of Arctic climate change was the risk of passing critical “tipping points”.

In the next 10 years, Professor Duarte warned summer sea ice could be largely confined to north of coastal Greenland and Ellesmere Island, and was likely to disappear entirely by mid-century.

A drop in Arctic ice had opened new shipping routes, expanded oil, gas and mineral exploitation and led to new harbours, houses, roads, airports, power stations and other support facilities.

It had triggered a new gold rush to access these resources, with recent struggles by China, Brazil and India to join the Arctic Council where the split of these resources was being discussed.

But increased deposits of black carbon (soot) from coal-burning power stations had accelerated warming and ice melt.

Professor Duarte said the rate of Arctic climate change was now faster than ecosystems and traditional Arctic societies could adapt to.

The Arctic was expected to stop being a carbon dioxide sink and become a source of greenhouse gases if seawater temperatures rose by 4-5C.

“It represents a test of our capacity as scientists, and as societies to respond to abrupt climate change,” Professor Duarte said.

“We need to stop debating the existence of tipping points in the Arctic and start managing the reality of dangerous climate change.

“We argue that tipping points do not have to be points of no return.

“Several tipping points, such as the loss of summer sea ice, may be reversible in principle − although hard in practice.

“However, should these changes involve extinction of key species − such as polar bears, walruses, ice-dependent seals and more than 1000 species of ice algae − the changes could represent a point of no return.

“Confusion distracts attention from the urgent need to focus on developing early warning indicators of abrupt climate change, address its human causes and rebuild resilience in climate, ecosystems and communities.”

 
Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/arctic-climate-change-to-spark-domino-effect-20120130-1qpgv.html#ixzz1lKAY34zk

 

Filed Under: Arctic North News, Earth Changes News, Environmental & Specie Changes, World Healing Project

Greenpeace Update on Tar Sands

February 1, 2012 at 5:09 pm Leave a Comment

Confidential federal tar sands strategy targets Aboriginal and green groups

Feature story – January 26, 2012

As controversy increases over the Harper government’s attacks on environmental groups, Greenpeace Canada today released internal government documents obtained under Access to Information legislation showing that the Harper government has explicitly identified environmental and aboriginal groups as “adversaries” in its strategy to increase tar sands exports.

 

“This government established a list of enemies nine months ago and has since launched a public attack on environmental and aboriginal groups that are raising concerns about the environmental and social impacts of the tar sands,” said Keith Stewart, coordinator of Greenpeace Canada’s Climate and Energy campaign. “Rather than dealing the devastating impacts of the tar sands, the Harper government is working with the oil industry to silence their critics.”The March 2011 “Pan-European Oil Sands Advocacy Strategy” prepared by the federal government to undermine support in the EU for cleaner fuels legislation lists “National and European level Politicians (especially from the ruling and influential parties)” as a primary target.

The strategy document, obtained by the Climate Action Network under Access to Information legislation, identifies the government’s “adversaries” as Canadian NGOs and environmental organizations, Aboriginal groups, competing industries and media in Europe (although the type of media seen as an adversary is redacted).

The list of “allies” includes European industry associations and companies (with Shell and BP singled out elsewhere as “like-minded allies”), as well as the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, federal government departments, Alberta, business associations and unidentified NGOs. Disturbingly, the list of allies also includes the independent federal regulatory tribunal National Energy Board.

“Canadians should be concerned when a supposedly arms-length agency that is supposed to regulate the oil industry, including conducting hearings on the Enbridge’s proposed new tar sands pipeline across British Columbia, is listed as an ‘ally’ in a political strategy to lower environmental standards in other nations,” said Stewart.

Greenpeace also released a copy of minutes from March 2010, obtained under Access to Information legislation, between high-ranking federal officials, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and former PMO official Bruce Carson. These minutes show that it was the oil industry that initially approached the government about crafting a joint strategy for “upping their game” and to “turn up the volume” in promoting the tar sands.

“The latest attacks on environmental groups are part of an orchestrated campaign by the Harper government and the oil industry targeting anyone who dares to question the wisdom of tripling tar sands production,” said Stewart. “Rather than ‘turning up the volume’ in this pro-industry public relations campaign, the Harper government needs to start listening to the legitimate concerns of Canadians on the costs of dirty energy.”

Filed Under: Earth Changes News, Environmental & Specie Changes, World Healing Project, World News

The Polar Bears are bearing the brunt of climate change

January 16, 2012 at 9:23 am Leave a Comment

Thin ice jeopardizes polar bears in Manitoba

CBC News | Eye on the Arctic | Jan 08, 2012

Hundreds of polar bears in northeastern Manitoba may face an increased risk of starvation due to delayed ice formation along the western coast of Hudson Bay, conservationists say.

Higher-than-normal temperatures have prevented ice from forming in the region, putting it three to four weeks behind schedule, according to the Canadian Ice Service, a division of Environment Canada. As a result, minimum ice cover there is the lowest since 1971, Canadian Ice Service forecaster Luc Desjardins said.

Formation of sea ice is critical for polar bears, which use it as a platform for catching seals and other marine mammals.

While a recent aerial survey of 333 polar bears along the bay’s western coast showed the bears to be in good condition, conservationists worry the animals’ health will deteriorate quickly if ice does not form in the next few weeks.

“The conditions that are occurring are indicative of the ice coverage that we would see probably in the mid-October time frame, rather than the mid-November,” Desjardins told CBC News last month.

Normally by late November, a thin layer of ice up to 15 miles long would have formed, stretching seaward from the bay’s western and southern coastlines, he said.

“The ice is almost non-existent this year, compared to our long-term normal,” Desjardins said.

Where there is ice, “it’s very patchy in terms of formation and it’s not a distinct pattern that affects the entire length of the coast of Hudson Bay.”

Desjardins stressed that the amount of ice has fluctuated in recent years and 2010 levels are not “significantly different” from those of the last five or six years.

What is different, however, is temperature: the region’s air temperature is “consistently warmer” than in recent years, he said.

In Nunavut’s Foxe Basin, the temperature is 14 degrees above normal.

Winter is the polar bear’s feasting season. From November until early summer, they fatten themselves on ringed seals, bearded seals and other mammals. In the summer, during what’s called a “walking hibernation,” the average polar bear loses 1.6 kilograms of weight per day.

Ideally, the slow, heavy predators have enough weight by the end of the summer to make it back onto the ice platforms and hunt anew for fatty mammals.

“The longer that ice is in forming, the longer the polar bears have to survive on the fat reserves they put down in the spring and conserved right through the summer,” said Peter Ewin, an Arctic specialist for the World Wildlife Fund.

“The later it gets, the more weak bears there are who probably aren’t going to make it through,” he said.

On Nov. 17, Manitoba Conservation, along with the WWF, Polar Bears International, and York Factory First Nation Resource Management Board, conducted an aerial survey of 333 polar bears along Hudson Bay’s western coast. The bears had been off the ice since July 15.

The results were “surprisingly pleasant,” said Darryll Hedman, a regional wildlife manager for the provincial agency.

Many of the mostly single, adult males were relatively fat, with “wide rear ends” and a belly “with a dish to it,” Hedman said. Cubs were also considered to be doing well, based on how their fat rippled when they ran.

“As far as I’m concerned, the condition of the bears that we’ve seen in the last couple of days, they’re doing OK,” he said. “The condition of them was good.”

Hedman emphasized the aerial survey was “just a snapshot in time” and warned the bears will become “exponentially skinnier.”

“As time goes on, and the ice doesn’t come in, they’re going to be getting hungrier and hungrier,” he said.

Desjardins, Hedman and Ewin all agree the ice will come, eventually.

“Hudson Bay will freeze over this winter, there’s no doubt in my mind,” said ice expert Desjardins.

This story is posted on Alaska Dispatch as part of Eye on the Arctic, a collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.

Filed Under: Arctic North News, Earth Changes News, Environmental & Specie Changes, World Healing Project

Thank You Pew Environment Group!

January 6, 2012 at 3:13 pm Leave a Comment

Canada’s Boreal Forest: The Year in Review

Boreal Map

Learn more about Pew’s work to conserve Canada’s Boreal

In recognition of the importance of rapidly shrinking forests around the world, the United Nations (U.N.) proclaimed 2011 the International Year of Forests. According to the U.N., forests have completely disappeared in 25 countries, and 29 other nations have lost more than 90 percent of theirs.

The Canadian boreal is the world’s largest intact forest. At 1.2 billion acres, it rivals the Amazon in size and ecological importance; harbors half of the world’s large lakes, a third of its peat lands, and a quarter of its wetlands; and serves as a critical buffer against global climate change. But the natural resources of this great frontier are under increasing pressure from logging, mining, oil and gas, and hydropower interests, with 180 million acres (728,000 square kilometers) already taken by industry. Conservation must outpace development if Canada’s boreal forest is to remain healthy.

Governments, scientists, and conservation groups are taking important steps to protect the boreal and to showcase its importance. Learn about five developments from 2011.

1. Historic Land Conservation Plan for Quebec’s Boreal Announced

Temiscamie River in northern Quebec

On May 9, Quebec Premier Jean Charest released “Plan Nord,” a 25-year policy for Quebec’s boreal region. The plan would protect half of the province’s boreal territory (an area about the size of Texas) from industrial activity and apply sustainable development standards to the remaining land.

2. Boreal Forest Houses World’s Largest Water Source, Report Finds

Lake in the Taku region of northern British Columbia

A first-of-its-kind report by the Pew Environment Group revealed that Canada’s boreal forest holds more unfrozen fresh water than any other ecosystem and contains 25 percent of the world’s wetlands.

3. Boreal Forest Showcased at Google Earth Canada Launch

 

In just three minutes, participants at September’s Google Earth Outreach Canada launch in Vancouver got a nonstop, coast-to-coast, interactive experience with the Earth’s “green halo,” the boreal forest. The Pew Environment Group tour lets anyone with a computer hover over the vast northern forests and waterways to learn about the unique ecosystem.

4. Royal Canadian Mint Releases Coin Featuring Boreal Forest

Boreal Coin

In November, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a $2 coin honoring the boreal, and it’s clear that this forest’s worth stacks up. Canada’s boreal contributes an estimated $700 billion to the economy annually and is home to some of the world’s largest populations of migratory birds and important mammals.

5. Scientists Call for Woodland Caribou Protections

Woodland caribou

The population of woodland caribou, once abundant throughout much of mainland Canada and the northern United States, has declined significantly in recent decades. In response, the International Boreal Conservation Science Panel published a document, “Keeping Woodland Caribou in the Boreal Forest: Big Challenge, Immense Opportunity,” as a guide for conserving woodland caribou over the long term.

Contact:
Elyssa Rosen, 775.224.7497
Campaigns:
International Boreal Conservation Campaign
Topics:
Forests Protection
Region:
Canada

Filed Under: Arctic North News, Earth Changes News, Environmental & Specie Changes, World Healing Project, World News

Deadly Greenhouse Gas in Arctic?

December 17, 2011 at 8:04 pm Leave a Comment

Shock as retreat of Arctic sea ice releases deadly greenhouse gas

Russian research team astonished after finding ‘fountains’ of methane bubbling to surface

Suggested Topics

Dramatic and unprecedented plumes of methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide – have been seen bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive survey of the region.

The scale and volume of the methane release has astonished the head of the Russian research team who has been surveying the seabed of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf off northern Russia for nearly 20 years.

In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Igor Semiletov, of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that he has never before witnessed the scale and force of the methane being released from beneath the Arctic seabed.

“Earlier we found torch-like structures like this but they were only tens of metres in diameter. This is the first time that we’ve found continuous, powerful and impressive seeping structures, more than 1,000 metres in diameter. It’s amazing,” Dr Semiletov said. “I was most impressed by the sheer scale and high density of the plumes. Over a relatively small area we found more than 100, but over a wider area there should be thousands of them.”

Scientists estimate that there are hundreds of millions of tonnes of methane gas locked away beneath the Arctic permafrost, which extends from the mainland into the seabed of the relatively shallow sea of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. One of the greatest fears is that with the disappearance of the Arctic sea-ice in summer, and rapidly rising temperatures across the entire region, which are already melting the Siberian permafrost, the trapped methane could be suddenly released into the atmosphere leading to rapid and severe climate change.

Dr Semiletov’s team published a study in 2010 estimating that the methane emissions from this region were about eight million tonnes a year, but the latest expedition suggests this is a significant underestimate of the phenomenon.

In late summer, the Russian research vessel Academician Lavrentiev conducted an extensive survey of about 10,000 square miles of sea off the East Siberian coast. Scientists deployed four highly sensitive instruments, both seismic and acoustic, to monitor the “fountains” or plumes of methane bubbles rising to the sea surface from beneath the seabed.

“In a very small area, less than 10,000 square miles, we have counted more than 100 fountains, or torch-like structures, bubbling through the water column and injected directly into the atmosphere from the seabed,” Dr Semiletov said. “We carried out checks at about 115 stationary points and discovered methane fields of a fantastic scale – I think on a scale not seen before. Some plumes were a kilometre or more wide and the emissions went directly into the atmosphere – the concentration was a hundred times higher than normal.”

Dr Semiletov released his findings for the first time last week at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.

 

Filed Under: Arctic North News, Earth Changes News, Environmental & Specie Changes, World Healing Project, World News

Durban Climate Talks on Now !

November 27, 2011 at 1:56 pm Leave a Comment

Durban Climate Talks: Last chance for the US

Feature story – November 27, 2011

On the eve of the latest round of climate talks in Durban, Greenpeace declares that it is time for our governments to listen to the people, and not the polluters.

 

Greenpeace volunteers raise a wind turbine at dawn in Durban, South Africa, to send governments a message of hope for the latest round of UN climate change talks opening in Durban on Monday.

As communities around the world are facing real climate impacts on a daily basis, governments must now stop listening to the carbon-intensive polluting corporations who are holding us backfrom decisive action.Instead they should be listening to the calls of people who want an end to our dependence on fossil fuels, and immediate action on climate change.

This round of the UN climate talks, the 17th Conference of the Parties, must be the point where our governments respond to the international climate crisis by adopting a clear roadmap towards a science-based, global agreement.

The deal must ensure that all countries take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically, and that financial and technical support is delivered to the poor countries.

South Africa, as the continent’s highest CO2 emitter and the host country must show climate leadership to help reach a meaningful outcome over the next two weeks in Durban.

“Africa is already bearing the brunt of the climate gone awry, but that does not seem to be enough to spur some countries to action, like the US. The US needs to step up now and help the world beat climate chaos. The talks in Durban need to be a new dawn for global climate change negations. One in which the interests of people everywhere are put before those of the polluters” said Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International Executive Director from Durban.

The argument that the US is a major emitter and must be part of a global agreement is increasingly looking like an excuse for inaction on the part of other governments, such as the EU, and emerging economies including India and China.

If the US still fails to engage in a global fight to stabilise the climate, its time for governments like the EU, and emerging economies including India and China to move on without the US. This is the last chance for the US. The entire global effort to reach agreement on tackling climate change must not be allowed to be held hostage by the US.

Non-negotiables

Greenpeace is calling on governments in Durban to listen to the people, not the polluting corporations, and:

  • Ensure a peak in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2015
  • Ensure that the Kyoto Protocol continues and provide a mandate for a comprehensive legally binding deal
  • Deliver the necessary finance to tackle climate change
  • Set up a framework for protecting forests in developing countries
  • Ensure global cooperation on technology and energy finance
  • Ensure international transparency in assessing and monitoring country commitments and actions

 

Filed Under: Earth Changes News, Environmental & Specie Changes, Events, World Healing Project, World News

Preserve the Earth – Do not break Universal Laws

November 3, 2011 at 8:25 am Leave a Comment

Big chunk of Arctic terrain up for oil, gas leases

Alex DeMarban | Oct 26, 2011

The state will offer oil and gas investors an additional 200,000 acres at an oil and gas lease sale of Arctic land.

Set for early December in Anchorage’s Dena’ina Center, the state is offering investors some 14.7 million acres in the near-shore Beaufort Sea, the North Slope and the North Slope Foothills.

Bids will be taken on Dec. 5 and opened two days later, the state Department of Natural Resources announced. Extra land will be available near Point Thomson and in the Beaufort Sea, thanks to lease expirations and other administrative actions.

Point Thomsom has been the focus of a six-year fight with Exxon Mobil, the unit operator at Point Thomson. It is thought to contain roughly a quarter of the North Slope’s 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Some in industry believe Point Thomson’s gas reserves are what make a North Slope gasline feasible.

During the administration of Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2005, the Department of Natural Resources began taking steps to break up the Point Thomson unit, frustrated by the lack of production, despite Point Thomson’s discovery in the late 1970s.

“The lease sale will make available eight tracts formerly part of the Point Thomson unit and 22 tracts that were previously deferred due to their proximity to the unit. These 30 tracts increase the available acreage by 72,000 acres,” the statement said.

Forty-five tracts totaling 106,000 acres that were previously included in the proposed Greater Bullen Unit west of Point Thomson also will be available.

Also, “Five leases from the previously proposed Donkel Oil and Gas Unit in the Beaufort Sea, north of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, have expired, making an additional 14,403 acres available for the sale,” the release said.

For more information on the December lease sale, including the sale notice, sale announcements, instructions to bidders and tract maps, visit http://dog.dnr.alaska.gov/.

Filed Under: Arctic North News, Earth Changes News, Environmental & Specie Changes, Universal Laws and Reflections, World Healing Project, World News

Northern Italy – Montana Mountains – Antigua

October 19, 2011 at 6:35 pm Leave a Comment

From time to time we are going to post regions of the earth that are being “shown” to the World Healing Project as being especially in need of our attention and care.  Currently, the intuitive guidance has been for all who share of like mind, to extend our thoughts and prayers for balance to prevail in the regions of Northern Italy; especially around Milan as well as Antigua and the Montana Mountains which, in the case of the mountains, requires protection against human activity of extensive mining.  The mountains have some abundant riches of gold in them and it is best kept that way…in the mountains.  The earth is tired of us boring holes into her for the purpose of resource extraction. It is being said that movements will be created that are artificially caused by gigantic spores being made in precise areas of the earth by humans.

Northern Italy is cited as the region to watch for due to unnatural waves being created by man that are quite a distance away from these sites.  Offshoots occur that in fact collide with the earth’s natural rhythm.  These areas are particularly “tender” for the next 3 to 4 months.

We are to consider the entire girth of the earth which is being exposed to a variety of underwater sea explorations of gas and oil both north and south of the equator.  We are asked to close and seal these holes forever.

If you have a moment in your prayers and meditation; it would be good to include the above regions.

Filed Under: Earth Changes News, Environmental & Specie Changes, Healing sites, World Healing Project

Russia Hosts Arctic Forum – Is there protection for the Earth?

September 22, 2011 at 7:41 pm Leave a Comment

Second International Arctic Forum in Arkhangelsk “The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue”

On September 21-24 Arkhangelsk will play host to the Second International Arctic Forum in Arkhangelsk “The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue” organized by the Russian Geographical Society (RGS). We are inviting scientists, experts, prominent public and political figures, and representatives of Arctic Council member and observer countries to join us in a dialogue on Arctic issues for the second time.
The first forum, held last year, was a great success. It was attended by Prime Minister and Chairman of the RGS Board of Trustees Vladimir Putin, Emergencies Minister and RGS President Sergei Shoigu, President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Prince Albert II of Monaco, and more than 300 researchers and experts from different countries.
“The forum last year confirmed the need to establish in Russia, the largest Arctic nation, a prestigious international venue for discussing Arctic problems,” Shoigu said. “Now that it is done we’ll thoroughly evaluate the prospects for international cooperation in the region.”
The forum’s focus this year is on creating Arctic transportation infrastructure as a foundation for the development of the Arctic. This primarily involves the development of commercial and research navigation, transportation terminals (sea ports and airports) and corridors (the Northern Sea Route), polar aviation, cargo and passenger trans-polar and cross-polar transportation. Steady development of this infrastructure is vital for the very existence of the Arctic region.
Special attention will be devoted to the full spectrum of safety issue in this difficult-to-develop region. From a technological perspective, it is necessary to ensure the safety of sea and air traffic using satellite, radio-navigation and hydro-meteorological monitoring. In terms of international law, it is necessary to create multilateral mechanisms for emergency warning and response, including search and rescue missions.
The forum will also focus on cooperative efforts to protect the Arctic environment, environmental safety, the rational use of natural resources in the Arctic and improving the living standards of its indigenous people.
Up to 400 leading scientists and experts, politicians, heads of subarctic countries and representatives of major Russian, American, Canadian and Scandinavian private companies are expected to attend the forum. High-ranking figures from different countries interested in the region’s peaceful and sustainable development have also been invited to participate.

On September 21-24 Arkhangelsk will play host to the Second International Arctic Forum in Arkhangelsk “The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue” organized by the Russian Geographical Society (RGS). We are inviting scientists, experts, prominent public and political figures, and representatives of Arctic Council member and observer countries to join us in a dialogue on Arctic issues for the second time.

The first forum, held last year, was a great success. It was attended by Prime Minister and Chairman of the RGS Board of Trustees Vladimir Putin, Emergencies Minister and RGS President Sergei Shoigu, President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Prince Albert II of Monaco, and more than 300 researchers and experts from different countries.

“The forum last year confirmed the need to establish in Russia, the largest Arctic nation, a prestigious international venue for discussing Arctic problems,” Shoigu said. “Now that it is done we’ll thoroughly evaluate the prospects for international cooperation in the region.”

The forum’s focus this year is on creating Arctic transportation infrastructure as a foundation for the development of the Arctic. This primarily involves the development of commercial and research navigation, transportation terminals (sea ports and airports) and corridors (the Northern Sea Route), polar aviation, cargo and passenger trans-polar and cross-polar transportation. Steady development of this infrastructure is vital for the very existence of the Arctic region.

Special attention will be devoted to the full spectrum of safety issue in this difficult-to-develop region. From a technological perspective, it is necessary to ensure the safety of sea and air traffic using satellite, radio-navigation and hydro-meteorological monitoring. In terms of international law, it is necessary to create multilateral mechanisms for emergency warning and response, including search and rescue missions.

The forum will also focus on cooperative efforts to protect the Arctic environment, environmental safety, the rational use of natural resources in the Arctic and improving the living standards of its indigenous people.

Up to 400 leading scientists and experts, politicians, heads of subarctic countries and representatives of major Russian, American, Canadian and Scandinavian private companies are expected to attend the forum. High-ranking figures from different countries interested in the region’s peaceful and sustainable development have also been invited to participate.

On September 22-23, 2010, Moscow played host to the First International Arctic Forum “The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue”, attended by more than 300 people. Russia has created a prestigious international venue for discussing the peaceful and sustainable development of the Arctic, the first of its kind in Russia. The list of guests included Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Prince Albert II of Monaco and President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.

The forum’s program dealt with environmental protection in the Arctic, safe implementation of economic and infrastructure projects, and sustainable development in the region. It afforded participants an opportunity to elaborate rational approaches for exploring Arctic resources and mapping out the region’s prospects for the near and distant future.

The forum was organized by the Russian Geographical Society (RGS), Russia’s oldest public organization, established in 1845.

Arctic exploration has always been central to the RGS. Past and current members include many famous polar explorers, such as Otto Schmidt, Yury Shokalsky, Sergei Obruchev, and Artur Chilingarov.

Now the RGS is working to preserve and disseminate reliable geographical information about Russia, to support environmental protection, to develop and popularize Russian science, research and ecotourism and to contribute to the sustainable development of the Russian regions.

The Russian News & Information Agency RIA Novosti is the forum’s media partner. It is Russia’s leading media company with a rich 70-year history. Today the RIA Novosti media holding includes the multimedia Russian News & Information Agency of the same name, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI), the Sports News Agency (RSport), the Moscow News Publishing House publishing newspapers in Russian, English and Arabic, a press center and over 70 Internet resources. The aggregate audience of RIA Novosti sites exceeds 17 million unique visitors per month.

 

Agenda

September 22
9 a.m. – 10 a.m. Registration
10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Plenary session. Development of the Arctic dialogue: Progress and new challenges.
Chair: Sergei Shoigu, President of the Russian Geographical Society
Speakers:
•    Opening remarks by Sergei Shoigu, President of the Russian Geographical Society
•    Nikolai Laverov, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences
•    Lawson W. Brigham, Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks, U.S. Arctic Research Commission
•    Ilya Mikhalchuk, Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region
•    Viktor Sadovnichy, Rector of Moscow State University
11 a.m.-12 p.m. Session 1. The Arctic transport system as a fundamental factor in Arctic regional development.
Moderators:
Viktor OLERSKY, Deputy Transport Minister of the Russian Federation
Lawson W. BRIGHAM, Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks, U.S. Arctic Research Commission
1.1.    Development of the Arctic maritime shipping.
The main challenges with and the prospects for maritime shipping along the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage, as major transport lines of the 21st century; development of freight base for shipping.
Speakers:
•    Sergei FRANK, General Director of Sovkomflot
•    Michael BYERS, University of British Columbia, “The Arctic straits: the Northwest Passage and the Norhern Sea Route: compatibility of Russian and Canadian legal and national interests”
•    Vsevolod PERESYPKIN, General Director of the Central Marine Research, Design and Technology Institute – “Development of the Northern Sea Route” (or Alexander Davydenko – “The Northern Sea Route: A comprehensive infrastructure project”)
•    Henrik FALCK, TSCHUDI Shipping Company, project manager for Eastern Europe (Norway)
Discussion (up to 5 minutes per speaker)
12 p.m.-12.30 p.m. Coffee break
12.30 p.m.-2 p.m. Session 1 continued
1.2. Transport corridors and transport hubs in the Arctic
The Belkomur Project as a component of the Northern Transportation Corridor; the Skovorodino-Yakutsk-Tiksi corridor; similar projects outside Russia. Development prospects for the Arctic transport hubs (Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Port Pevek).
Speakers:
•    Oleg CHIRKUNOV, Governor of the Perm Territory, “The Belkomur Project”
•    Olav HAUGE, project manager for the Northern Maritime Corridor, Norway. “Logistic transport hubs in the Far North”
•    Alexander VIKTOROV, Deputy Minister of Regional Development. “Modernization of the Arctic Transport System”
Discussion (up to 5 minutes per speaker)
2.30 p.m.-3 p.m. Lunch
3 p.m.-4.30 p.m. Plenary session. Chair: Sergei SHOIGU, President of the Russian Geographical Society
Speakers:

•  Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

•  Prince Albert II of Monaco

•  Olafur Ragnar GRIMSSON, President of Iceland

•  Gustav Lind, Chairman of the Arctic Council



4.30 p.m.-5 p.m. Coffee break
5 p.m.-6.30 p.m. Session 2
Overall safety and security, prevention of emergencies, and environment protection in the context of the Arctic transport system development.
Moderators:
Alexander CHUPRIYAN, Deputy Minister of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief of the Russian Federation
Mead TREADWELL, Lieutenant Governor of Alaska
2.1. Aerospace equipment for safe navigation in the Arctic seas.
Speakers:
•    Denis PASHKOV, Minister of Industry and Energy of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, “Northern Air Bridge”
•    Jacki RICHARDS, Iridium Communications Inc, Director Global Distributions
•    Vladimir POPOVKIN, Head of the Federal Space Agency
•    Nikolai SEVASTYANOV, General Designer of Gazprom Space Systems. “An analysis of the possibility of using radar space surveying data to assess the ice situation in the Arctic region”
Discussion (up to 5 minutes per speaker)
7 p.m.-9 p.m. Gala dinner given by the Russian Geographical Society to celebrate the opening of the Forum. The Arkhangelsk State Drama Theater named after M.V. Lomonosov
September 23
9 a.m.-11 a.m. Session 2 continued
Moderators:
Alexander CHUPRIYAN, Deputy Minister of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief of the Russian Federation
Mead TREADWELL, Lieutenant Governor of Alaska

2.2. Development of early warning and management systems for emergency situations in the Arctic; prospects for bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
Creation and development of comprehensive systems of safety and security, including the security of large transport and industrial facilities. Monitoring system for major accident risks. Notification of the population. Interdepartmental information cooperation. Development of a system for comprehensive emergency rescue centers in the Arctic. Multilateral and unilateral cooperation: planning, drills and training, exchange of experience and education.
Speakers:
•    Igor VESELOV, Deputy Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief of the Russian Federation
•    Ole BJERKEMO, Norwegian Coastal Administration, Deputy Chairman of the Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response Working Group, the Arctic Council
•    Peter COLTERMANN, “Assessing natural risks on the Arctic coast”
Discussion (up to 5 minutes per speaker)
2.3. Cooperation agreement on sea and air search and rescue operations in the Arctic, as the basis for the international safety and security system.
Speakers:
•    Anton VASILYEV, Ambassador at Large, Russian representative to the Arctic Council
•    Timo VIITANEN, Director of International Affairs, Finnish Ministry of the Interior
Discussion (up to 5 minutes per speaker)


11 a.m.-11.30 a.m. Coffee break
11.30 a.m.-1 p.m. Session 2 continued
2.4. Hydrometeorological and navigational support for the Arctic transport system
Speakers:
•    Ivan FROLOV, Director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. “The hydrological safety of marine activity in the Arctic”
•    Oystein HOV, research director at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute
•    Jarle AARBAKKE, Rector at the University of Tromso, Professor. “Distance methods, safe navigation and security in the high-latitude Arctic. From research to business”
Discussion (up to 5 minutes per speaker)
1 p.m.-2 p.m. Lunch

2 p.m.-3.40 p.m. Session 3. Environmental protection in the context of the Arctic transport system development.
Moderators:
Yelena KUDRYASHOVA, Rector of Northern (Arctic) Federal University
Olav ORHEIM, Chair of the IPY Oslo Science Conference Steering Committee

3.1. International cooperation on sustainable environment management in the Arctic
Partnership between the Russian Federation, international organizations and financial institutions (GEF, UNEP, IBRD, EBRD, NEFCO etc.) to support sustainable environment management in the Arctic in the rapidly changing climate. Discussion of priority environmental projects, and financial arrangements for their implementation (presentation by a representative of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation)
Speakers:
•    Boris MORGUNOV, aide to the Minister of Economic Development
•    Achim STEINER, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
•    Viktoria VLASOVA, aide to the Minister of Regional Development, “International and national financial arrangements to ensure comprehensive safety and security in the Arctic”
•    Magnus RYSTEDT, Managing Director of the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO). “A tool to support the Arctic Council’s projects: New financial arrangement to increase efficiency of environmental cooperation in the Arctic”
Discussion (up to 5 minutes per speaker)

3.2. Environmental safety in extraction and transportation of hydrocarbons at the Arctic shelf
International experience in environmental management of off-shore extraction and transportation of hydrocarbons. Managing oil spills in ice-covered seas.
Speakers:
•    Nikolai TARANTIN, head of emergency rescue operations at the State Marine Rescue Service (Gosmorspasssluzhba) of Russia. “Problems of managing oil spills in ice-covered seas”
•    Jeremy HUCK, BP Russia President
•    Yevgeny SHVARTS, WWF – Russia Director for nature protection policy
•    Eduard KHUDAINATOV, CEO of Rosneft
Discussion (up to 5 minutes per speaker)

3.40 p.m.-4 p.m. Coffee break
4 p.m.-5 p.m. Session 3 continued
3.3. Environmental protection and preservation of northern indigenous peoples’ traditional lifestyle
Speakers:
•    Roman KOPIN, Governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Area
•    Lars KULLERUD, President of the University of the Arctic, Norway
•    Pavel SULYANDZIGA, Chairman of the Working Group on the Development of Remote Areas in the North, Siberia and the Far East, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. “Possibilities for socio-economic development of indigenous ethnic minorities in the context of climate change and industrial development of the Arctic”
Discussion (up to 5 minutes per speaker)

5 p.m.-6.30 p.m. Closing session
Chair: Nikolai Kasimov, First Vice-President of the Russian Geographical Society (Russia)
•    Presentations by previous sessions’ chairs (3 speakers)
•    Artur Chilingarov, First Vice-President of the Russian Geographical Society “The international polar decade: A new aspect of Arctic cooperation”
•    Vladimir Kotlyakov, Honorary President of the Russian Geographical Society, “Results of the International Polar Year 2007-2008”
Closing remarks by Artur Chilingarov, First Vice-President of the Russian Geographical Society

For additional information about the forum, please contact us

e-mail: arctic@rian.ru

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