VISITING COLUMNIST
The State of the Arctic The Arctic countries face a growing number of common challenges. They would do well to explore for common solutions, and this can only be done when peace, stability and constructive cooperation are the goals that they are committed to pursue.
F
inland has passed the half-way post of our
peoples, in the development of their communities
Arctic Council chairmanship 2017–19, and it
and the region. Together with the University of the
is time to take a look at the state of the Arctic
Arctic we are working to build the capacities of Arc-
from our point of view.
tic inhabitants, including indigenous peoples, to
We defined four priorities for our Chairmanship:
fully participate in the development of the region.
environmental protection, connectivity, meteoro-
The UArctic Congress held in Oulu and Helsinki
logical cooperation and education, using climate
promoted education and other priorities of the
change and sustainable development as two broad
Finnish chairmanship.
frameworks for all activities. Environmental protection was the reason to launch Arctic cooperation in the 1990’s. Together
When the Arctic is changing, we should always look at emerging challenges to tackle in Arctic cooperation. I would like to give two examples.
with climate activities, it remains the most urgent
As navigation in Arctic waters increases, there
task of the Arctic Council. Finland invited other
will be a growing need to improve maritime safety
Arctic States to join in curbing the emissions of
and security. We should fully implement the exist-
black carbon, which accelerates climate change and
ing agreements, use new and emerging technol-
is a serious health hazard. Efforts should be made to
ogies, and work with the International Maritime
modernize power and heat production facilities, to
Organization to develop appropriate regulation.
end residual flaring in oil and gas production, and to switch from heavy fuel oil to LNG in ship engines.
Last summer, wildfires occurred in surprisingly many Arctic areas, serving as a wake-up call. As
Finland also organized an Arctic Biodiversity
a consequence of the warming climate, wildfires
Congress and an Arctic Environment Ministers’
will be more regular and a growing threat to Arc-
meeting, focusing on climate change, biodiversity
tic communities. It is important that we make an
and prevention of pollution.
urgent effort to improve our capacities to predict
In the area of connectivity, we are entering a new era, based on increased mobility. New space
and prevent wildfires in the future, both nationally and through international cooperation.
technology will complement existing networks and
The Arctic countries face a growing number of
ensure functional connectivity everywhere, also in
common challenges. They would do well to explore
the North, provided that the necessary investments
for common solutions, and this can only be done
are forthcoming. Here the Arctic Council cooper-
when peace, stability and constructive cooperation
ates closely with the Arctic Economic Council.
are the goals that they are committed to pursue.
We have already made a breakthrough in meteo-
I wish to thank Fulbright Finland for promot-
rological cooperation. The need for better research,
ing academic endeavours that focus on the Arctic.
observation and services in the Artic has been
The students and researchers that participate in
recognized. The national meteorological institutes
Fulbright activities will play an important role in
– together with the World Meteorological Organi-
the academic, administrative and business life of
zation – are making a strong commitment to work
their countries, and they will benefit from the Arc-
in the Northern latitudes together with the Arctic
tic-related insights and networks provided by the
Council and other relevant organizations.
Fulbright Program.
Improved connectivity together with reliable
We all look forward to meeting them at the next
meteorological services will have an enormous
Fulbright Arctic Initiative week to be held in Hel-
impact for the use of sea routes and improve eco-
sinki and Oulu in February 2019.
nomic activities in the Arctic region. Equal access to education is a key to ensure the participation of all people, including indigenous
Aleksi Härkönen Ambassador for Arctic Affairs
www.fulbright.fi | 3