Timo Koivurova

Limits and Possibilities of the Arctic Council in a Rapidly Changing Scene of Arctic Governance

In a very short time, discussions on Arctic governance have moved from being a topic of scholarly attention and NGO advocacy onto the agendas of states and of the European Union (EU). Increasingly, the various alternatives propounded by a diverse set of actors over what Arctic governance should look like appear as pre- negotiation tactics, a type of testing period before a regime change. The article examines whether the still predominant inter governmental forum, the Arctic Council, is facing a threat of being supplanted by other forms of governance. It will study how resistant the Arctic Council, and its predecessor the 1991 Arctic environmental protection strategy, are to change in order to understand whether the council could renew itself to meet future challenges. It will also examine the various proposals for Arctic governance set out by states, the EU and the regions indigenous peoples. All this will permit conclusions to be drawn on where the Arctic Council stands amid all these proposals and whether, and in what way, it should change to support more sustainable governance in the Arctic.

The Participation of Indigenous Peoples in International Norm-Making in the Arctic

Indigenous peoples regularly regard international law as a very important tool for the advancement of their political goals. This is most likely because in many nation-states their opportunities for influencing political development are rather limited. Even though international law seems to be an important means for indigenous peoples to advance their goals, these peoples should be aware of its inherent limitations. One such shortcoming is that international law seriously restricts indigenous peoples’ opportunities to participate in the international law-making process; that is treaty and customary law. The contention in this article is that the recent norm-making method of soft law provides indigenous peoples with a better opportunity for influential participation than is afforded them by traditional methods. If these peoples are to benefit from this opportunity, however, we must appreciate the revolutionary potential of the concept: a potential that is suffocated if the concept is understood only from the perspective of international law. A good example of indigenous peoples gaining a better standing in inter-governmental cooperation is the Arctic Council, which based its work on the soft-law approach from the outset. There would seem to be good prospects for adopting the Arctic Council’s approach in other regions of the world in order to improve indigenous peoples’ international representational status.

A New Era in the Arctic Council's External Relations? Broader Consequences of the Nuuk Observer Rules for Arctic Governance

This article studies the role of observers under both the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy(AEPS) and the Arctic Council (AC) before the Nuuk ministerial meeting that took place in May 2011. In this meeting, the AC actors were able to find consensus on criteria for admitting new observers, an issue that has received much media attention, given that China and the European Union, for example, are queuing to become observers in the AC. It is of importance to examine the content of these recently adopted Nuuk observer rules and their potential to impact decision-making on whether the external actors can be included as observers. Moreover, this article studies how, if at all, the Nuuk observer rules might affect the position of the AC in the broader setting of circumpolar cooperation.

Climate Change and International Security

This chapter explores whether and to what extent climate change has been treated as a security issue, and what the practical consequences of this approach have been. Special emphasis is placed on examining whether climate change could be addressed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the main global security mechanism. It is important to pay special attention to the Security Council because it is the body responsible for collective security problems, such as climate change, that pose threats to humanity. The chapter ascertains whether the Security Council in fact has a mandate to address climate change and its consequences and, if it does, what it can do in practice. It reflects on the problems and possibilities offered by addressing climate change as a security threat. The chapter reviews what the climate regime is and what it has been able to do where mitigating climate change is concerned. Keywords: climate change; climate regime; main global security mechanism; security issue; United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

‘Social license to operate’: a relevant term in Northern European mining?

The concept of social license to operate (SLO) is increasingly being used throughout the world to describe a specific aspect of company–community relations in resource-extractive projects, in particular how different actors interact to resolve, or not, the social and economic impacts on local communities and other stakeholders. This article will tease out the main elements of the SLO concept and examine the degree to which both actors (mining companies and communities), verbally and in action, respond toward one another. Based on previous empirical studies of scholars in the field, we have applied an analytical framework of SLO to empirically test whether or not it can provide greater insight into the motivations both behind a communitys acceptance of or opposition to a companys project, as well as the extent to which a company is willing to appease the public in order to gain their acceptance. The framework combines a set of normative criteria the company must meet as a precondition to gaining SLO, with different levels of community acceptance indicating the degree to which a community bestows SLO on the company. Eight case studies from the European north (two mining projects in each of the countries Norway, Finland, Russia, and Sweden) have been selected to test the SLO analytical framework in order to ultimately determine whether a companys specific SLO practices (i.e. active public engagement, sponsoring community projects, etc.) generate different levels of community acceptance. Although there are other contributing factors that affect company–community relations in the context of mining projects, most notably the legal and regulatory frameworks for resource-extractive projects, the goal of this article is to focus on the social and ethical dimensions of the company–community relationship.

Introduction to International Environmental Law

1. Basic Issues In International Environmental Law 2. History Of International Environmental Law 3. Enacting And Developing International Environmental Law 4. Principles Of International Environmental Protection 5. Branches Of International Environmental Law 6. Legal Responsibility For Environmental Damage 7. The Future Of International Environmental Law

The Present and Future Competence of the European Union in the Arctic

The European Unions (EUs) intention of becoming a permanent observer in the Arctic Council and the reluctance of Arctic actors to grant it that status have made the unions aspirations in the Arctic the subject of a continuing debate. The discussion appears to be dominated by geographical considerations and the EUs gradually emerging Arctic policy. This article puts forward a different view of the EUs presence in the region, one drawing on an analysis of relevant EU competences. As a complex international actor, the EU has acquired a broad array of decision- making powers from its member states, powers that partly extend to Iceland and Norway via the EEA Agreement. Moreover, the EU has in many cases become a relevant actor in international negotiations and treaty making processes the outcomes of which are of crucial importance for the governance of the Arctic. Our argument in the third and concluding section is that only by including the EU in Arctic governance can the international community provide better prospects for the union to sensitise its policies and discourses to the Arctic realities and for other Arctic actors to understand how the union functions. This argument is supported by an analysis of the EUs restrictions on the import of seal products and the ensuing litigation.

The Actions of the Arctic States Respecting the Continental Shelf: A Reflective Essay

The rapidly changing Arctic has received much media attention in recent years. The planting of a Russian flag underneath the North Pole in August 2007 raised concerns about the future of the region, with some even predicting military confrontation. Some scholars suggest that there is a race on to see who can stake the biggest claim to the continental shelf—and exploit the plentiful hydrocarbon resources under the seabed. For most international lawyers, such an explanation seems far-fetched given that the coastal states have behaved in keeping with the international law of the sea. Contrasting descriptions such as these call for a more nuanced understanding of what is unfolding in the region. This reflective article presents three scenarios describing the types of development that may ensue as coastal states proceed to draw the outer limits of their continental shelves in the Arctic Ocean.

The Draft Nordic Saami Convention: Nations Working Together

The article examines the rationale underlying the Draft Nordic Saami Convention submitted by an expert committee to the Nordic governments and the Saami Parliaments in October 2005. The Draft Convention represents an innovative possibility to grow beyond the state-centered paradigm in international relations in a realistic way and thus deserves to be studied even before negotiations on the Convention proper commence. The particular focus of the article is on how the Draft tries to ensure a position that is as equitable as possible for the Saami in relation to the Nordic states.

Transboundary environmental assessment in the Arctic

The main intent of this article is to examine the extent of applicable international treaties and other regulations that oblige the concerned states to perform transboundary environmental assessment (TEA) in the Arctic, and whether these have induced any state practice. Since the co-operation process between the eight Arctic states has adopted an instrument aiming to influence how TEA should be undertaken in the Arctic conditions, a closer examination of the development and content of these Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment is in order. One case in the Finnish Arctic is used to demonstrate what a quality TEA can mean in the Arctic context.