Arctic Council Foreign Ministers to meet in Salekhard to discuss sustainable development and environment protection in the Arctic region
Press release 421/2006
18 October, 2006
The Arctic Council will hold its fifth Ministerial meeting on 25-26 October in Salekhard, Russia. In Salekhard, chairmanship of the Arctic Council will pass from Russia to Norway for the coming two years. The Finnish delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.
The topics on the Ministerial meeting’s agenda are sustainable development and environment protection in the Arctic region. The report entitled AMAP Assessment 2006: Acidifying Pollutants, Arctic Haze and Acidification in the Arctic, compiled under Finnish leadership, will be released at the meeting. The assessment shows that the UN ECE Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution has been effective, as emissions of acidifying pollution have decreased and, for instance, some recovery has been observed in waterways.
The Ministerial meeting in Salekhard is also the 10th anniversary meeting of the Arctic Council. This year marks the 15th year of Arctic cooperation, which began at Finland’s initiative with the so-called Rovaniemi Process in 1991. During this period the Arctic region and its operational environments have changed. The Arctic region is recognized as a global indicator of climate change, the region has extensive natural resources and energy reserves, and their utilisation is affected both by the opening of Northern sea routes and the attitudes of the region’s states to the possible increase in traffic.
The Arctic Council, founded in Ottawa in 1996 with the Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council, works to ensure sustainable development of the Arctic region and to protect the Arctic environment. The members of the Arctic Council are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the United States. In addition, the indigenous peoples of the Arctic are represented on the Arctic Council via six international organisations, and they take part in the Arctic Council’s activities as Permanent Participants.
Additional information: Senior Adviser to the Minister Folke Sundman, tel. +358 9 1605 5016, and First Secretary Jukka Nikulainen, tel. +358 9 1605 5772. With regard to the report on air quality and acidifying pollutants, Research Manager Martin Forsius, Finnish Environment Institute, mobile tel. +358 40 740 2364