Arctic Policy

A map of the circumpolar Arctic. The Arctic boundary is identified with the green line and the area enclosed within signifies the Arctic region as defined by the Arctic Research and Policy Act.

ARCTIC COUNCIL, CONSERVATION OF ARCTIC FLORA AND FAUNA

The Arctic is a global interest. Countries with land in the Arctic include the United States (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland. These countries work together for common interests and set policy related to the environment, climate change, and national security and trade. For more information, see: Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress.

In Alaska, natural resource managers face challenges and opportunities related to the vastness and remoteness of protected areas. The large size and inaccessibility of most Alaskan parks makes it difficult to inventory and monitor natural resource status and trend. Providing a large-landscape context for interpreting data that do exist is another challenge. Ecosystems in the Arctic are generally understudied in comparison to temperate and tropical ecosystems. We share many commonalities with other Arctic Nations: ecological systems--including wildlife species, culture, and economic ties. Therefore, international collaboration, and access to data and information about resource trends from other Arctic nations, is essential for interpreting the status and trend of resources within Alaska’s national parks, and for anticipating, adapting to, and managing for change into the future.

There are many facets to Arctic Policy; the main areas of overlap for the National Park Service include U.S. policy established by the State Department and the Department of the Interior, the Arctic Council (just one of several groups that establishes policy in the Arctic), and the Arctic Research Commission that promotes science and research.

U.S. Arctic Policy

The Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs (OPA) develops and coordinates foreign affairs aspects of U.S. oceans, Arctic, and Antarctic policy, including U.S participation in international ocean and polar agreements and conventions. OPA conducts bilateral and multilateral negotiations involving the law of the sea, freedom of navigation and overflight, marine science, extended continental shelf, marine mammals, protection of the marine environment, and maritime claims and boundaries. OPA also develops and coordinates U.S. policy affecting the Arctic and Antarctic regions, including by leading U.S. participation in the Arctic Council, the only intergovernmental forum dedicated solely to Arctic issues.

Arctic Council

Established by the Ottawa Declaration in 1996, the Arctic Council is the premiere multilateral forum for the Arctic States to discuss matters of regional governance. The Council is an intergovernmental forum that promotes cooperation, coordination, and interaction among Arctic nations, Arctic indigenous peoples, and other interested parties.

The National Park Service participates in Arctic Council working groups, as do other agencies in the Department of the Interior, in order to better anticipate, understand, and manage changes that impact our Arctic parks. The work of the Council is primarily carried out in six working groups:

• Arctic Contaminants Action Program;
• Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program;
• Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna;
• Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response;
• Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment; and
• Sustainable Development Working Group.

The pace of change in the Arctic is rapid and the challenges associated with managing the land, water, and other resources are many. Parks and other protected areas in this region play a critical role in understanding these changes. The parks’ relatively intact ecosystems are not only valuable within their own right, they contribute many societal benefits, including subsistence use for Alaska Natives, unsurpassed opportunities for recreation and solitude, conservation of biodiversity, resilience to natural hazards, carbon storage, clean water, and a host of other ecosystem services. Further, large, intact protected areas such as Alaska’s parks, provide vital habitat for migratory species experiencing stressors in other parts of their ranges.

The Arctic Council and its working groups provide a forum through which NPS scientists and managers can share information and learn from a wide array of colleagues and Arctic residents that are coping with similar challenges. The NPS and other U.S. participants in Arctic Council activities have much to offer and much to gain from engagement with this international community. Ultimately, involvement with the Arctic Council and its working groups will support informed, defensible decision making at multiple scales through enhanced integration of global science with local management needs. Such an approach is essential for meeting emerging management challenges in the Arctic and beyond.

Arctic Research Commission

By law, the U.S. Congress created the United States Arctic Research Commission through the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 (as amended, Public Law 101-609) and in January 1985, President Reagan established the agency through Executive Order 12501. The Commission’s principal duties are (1) to establish the national policy, priorities, and goals necessary to construct a federal program plan for basic and applied scientific research with respect to the Arctic, including natural resources and materials, physical, biological and health sciences, and social and behavioral sciences; (2) to promote Arctic research, to recommend Arctic research policy, and to communicate our research and policy recommendations to the President and the Congress; (3) to work with the National Science and Technology Council (as per Presidential Memorandum and White House guidance) and the National Science Foundation as the lead agency responsible for implementing the Arctic research policy and to support cooperation and collaboration throughout the Federal Government; (4) to give guidance to the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) to develop national Arctic research projects and a five-year plan to implement those projects; and (5) to interact with Arctic residents, international Arctic research programs and organizations, and local institutions including regional governments in order to obtain the broadest possible view of Arctic research needs.

USARC’s seven Commissioners, appointed by the President, include four members from academic or research institutions; two members from private industry undertaking commercial activities in the Arctic; and one member from among the indigenous residents of the Arctic. The Director of the National Science Foundation serves as an ex officio eighth member.

The daily email newsletter, Arctic Update, is a great source of news relating to the Arctic.

Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee

The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee collaborations bring together and connects researchers from federal agencies and non-federal institutions. They have identified a five-year (2017-2021) research plan organized under nine research goals. In addition to the research goals, they also identify a researcher code of conduct or ethics based in sensitivity to Arctic communities, culturally appropriate behavior, and respect for traditional, indigenous knowledge.