Actions at different scales:
● International agreements/treaties
○ They are able to influence what happens to cold environments /ecosystems
■ eg/ the Antarctic Treaty
■ eg/ number of bowhead whales in Arctic waters has been growing at 3% per year since 1970s
● Used to be heavily exploited by whaling
● Population has been recovered since a global ban on commercial whaling was made
○ By the International Whale Convention in 1986
○ Countries in Arctic Circle have created a similar organisation called Arctic Council
■ Represents 8 countries and indigenous people of the Arctic
■ Established in 1996 to promote cooperation
■ Wants to deliver sustainable development throughout entire Arctic region
● Important that protection measures do not harm indigenous people
● Could become an organisation with legal powers
○ International laws are not always followed through
■ eg/ Norway still continues to hunt whales
● National governments
○ Often struggle to manage their own regions → are expected to support many conflicting interests of
many different groups
■ eg/ Alaska
● State is running out of money due to low global oil prices
● Politicians want to increase oil production to increase Alaska’s income
● Barack Obama wanted to maintain integrity of Alaskan wilderness
○ He banned oil exploitation from taking place in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
○ Some governments have given areas protection as National Parks
■ Over 10% of all Arctic land is protected
○ Each country has its own laws controlling pollution from mining/oil industries
● Non-governmental organisations
○ Support the interests of groups who may not be heard
■ eg/ the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) → NGO that represents indigenous people
● Have frequently taken action to save the environment
○ eg/ campaigns against Pebble Mine
■ eg/ 2014 → UK’s Greenpeace sent campaigners to Russia’s Arctic Ocean to protect against
oil exploration
● Russian government responded by arresting them
● NGO has called for a “global sanctuary” → best way to make resources off limits
● Are putting a ban on oil drilling and industrial fishing
○ May impact indigenous people’s freedom to use Arctic resources
The Arctic’s future:
● Climate change may already be causing permanent harm → global warming is felt most in polar regions
○ Estimate shows that tundra ecosystem has shrunk in size by 20% since 1980
○ NASA says that temperatures in Newtok and Alaska have risen by 10°C since 1960
● Permafrost in Alaskan village of Newtok is melting → causing buildings to tilt and sink
● Ice pack on Bering Sea has thinned by 50%
○ Is no longer possible to fish there because sledges cannot move safely across the surface
● Temperature in Arctic is predicted to rise by 4 – 7°C
○ Local wildlife will change as a result → may lead to extinction of some threatened species
