A New World Arctic

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure to join one of those meetings that makes you pause and rethink your view of the world.  The Arctic Imperative Summit, held in Girdwood attracted an amazing array of political military, science, financial, indigenous, industrial, academic and community leaders.  Organized by Alice Rogoff from the Alaska Dispatch with support from industry, native corporations and non profit think tanks, the event attracted more than 200 Arctic experts.

The event was a timely opportunity to reconsider the special role of Alaska in the Arctic.  Many speakers described Alaska as the last US emerging market, but also lamented how little known the US Arctic is and how poorly prepared we are as a nation to take advantage of development opportunities in the Arctic.  Much of the conference focused on oil and gas, transportation and infrastructure and related development issues, but there was substantial discussion in every session about common issues such as impacts of development on native subsistence, about climate change impacts (notably ice retreat), about the importance of science and research to development and about increasing opportunities, conflicts and risks associated with the "high arctic" (above the Bering Strait) opening up.

There was also much discussion about the importance of international collaboration, with the Arctic Council emerging as an increasingly significant forum for collaboration – the active engagement of Sec. Clinton in the most recent Council meeting has raised expectations for a stronger US presence.
Perhaps the most surprising piece of information came from Maersk Shipping who stated categorically that there will not be a transit shipping route developing in the Arctic this century – even though the great polar route is about half the distance from Asia to Europe through Panama, it is not commercially viable and thus is not likely to be exploited by the big shippers.

Four high priority needs identified included:
o Ratification of Law of the Sea (which would provide the US with a legal basis to extend its offshore jurisdiction to cover significant OCS resources)
o Establishment of an increased Arctic icebreaker capacity – State Senator Lesil McGuire went as far as to suggest in her summation speech that the State of AK should invest in its own icebreaker ship to support Arctic research and development
o Development of a “proven” arctic oil spill response capacity – many presenters emphasized the challenges of arctic spill response and the importance of being prepared for the many potential scenarios that entails (ship and platform based)
o The importance of promoting a greater understanding of what it means to be an arctic nation both in Alaska and in the US generally – there was a strong undercurrent of sentiment that most Americans are not sufficiently aware of what it means to be an Arctic nation.
Understanding how the Arctic is changing, developing wildlife response protocols and promoting "Arctic literacy" are increasingly imporant roles that the Alaska SeaLife Center can and will play going forward.  I encourage all with an interest in the Arctic to visit the Arctic Imperative Summit website to review the presentations and reports made - http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/live-arctic-imperative-summit.