Arctic ownership and sustainability issues
The Arctic is the northernmost region of the Earth, centered at the North Pole. It is a vast polar region at the top of the world. Unlike many individual geographical regions, it is not a country or a continent but an extensive area of the Arctic Ocean and the northernmost part of several continents, such as North America, Europe, and Asia (specifically Russia).
The Arctic is divided among countries like Canada, Denmark through Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the USA through Alaska. All these countries have coastlines in the Arctic Ocean.
They can claim an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending up to 200 nautical miles from their shores according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). The ongoing conflict goes beyond these 200 nautical miles and is entangled in aspects of the seabed and resources beneath the Arctic Ocean.
The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, which is surrounded by land and is approximately 14.5 million square kilometers. The region has a vast tundra, permafrost, glaciers, sea ice, and a unique ecosystem.
The Arctic region holds both reserves of promise and peril. It is estimated that 13% of undiscovered oil, 30% of the earth's undiscovered gas, and minerals like zinc and nickel offer an opportunity for resource exploitation despite the Paris Agreement of the 1.5 °C goal.
The ownership struggle for the Arctic is multi-layered and complicated, with national security issues, resource rights, and geopolitical influence. Russia has invested heavily in Arctic militarisation. Meanwhile, Norway has approved the development of 19 new oil and gas fields, investing over $18.5 billion to extend fossil fuel production despite its public climate commitments.
The Arctic region is shared and contested, with no single owner, but a deep tapestry of national jurisdiction and unresolved international claims. This escalating claim and dispute among nations for the ownership of the Arctic is critical because unprecedented climate change, geopolitical competition, and unregulated commercialisation pose an alarming threat to global ecosystem stability and cast a shadow of uncertainty on the existence of indigenous communities. The Arctic is warming up two to four times faster than the worldwide average. This is causing an unprecedented ice melt.
The Arctic region acts as the Earth's refrigerator. It helps by cooling the planet and reflecting sunlight with ice and snow. Rapid warming of the Arctic region could disrupt the polar vortex, the key atmospheric system, creating extreme weather changes worldwide.
Permafrost thawing can release more carbon, damage infrastructure, and destabilise the landscape. Most of these environmental changes are irreversible within the human time scale, making it urgent. Increasing shipping, oil and gas extraction, and mining could exacerbate the situation.
Suppose the commercialisation of the Arctic is not stopped. It could result in environmental degradation, which will lead to an ecological debacle with catastrophic ramifications, such as the risk of irreversible oil spills, noise pollution, release of toxins, an increase in sea level, extreme weather, and destabilisation of global weather patterns.
This could disrupt the livelihood of local indigenous communities. It could also lead to food insecurity and fear of encroachment in their habitat.
The Arctic region remains fluid and fragile, with unresolved political and legal issues further exacerbated by climate change. More awareness must be created about protecting the Arctic, as it plays a key role in global climate stability—the Arctic's fragile ecosystem demands urgent collective action to prevent its commercialisation and militarisation.
We should not allow short-term profits to take precedence over immediate health and ecological safety as a society. It is our responsibility to preserve this region for the sustainability of future generations.
Dr Mythili Kolluru
The writer is an assistant professor at the marketing and management department of the College of Banking and Financial Studies in Muscat.
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6 days ago
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Arctic ownership and sustainability issues
The Arctic is the northernmost region of the Earth, centered at the North Pole. It is a vast polar region at the top of the world. Unlike many individual geographical regions, it is not a country or a continent but an extensive area of the Arctic Ocean and the northernmost part of several continents, such as North America, Europe, and Asia (specifically Russia). The Arctic is divided among countries like Canada, Denmark through Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the USA through Alaska. All these countries have coastlines in the Arctic Ocean. They can claim an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extending up to 200 nautical miles from their shores according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). The ongoing conflict goes beyond these 200 nautical miles and is entangled in aspects of the seabed and resources beneath the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, which is surrounded by land and is approximately 14.5 million square kilometers. The region has a vast tundra, permafrost, glaciers, sea ice, and a unique ecosystem. The Arctic region holds both reserves of promise and peril. It is estimated that 13% of undiscovered oil, 30% of the earth's undiscovered gas, and minerals like zinc and nickel offer an opportunity for resource exploitation despite the Paris Agreement of the 1.5 °C goal. The ownership struggle for the Arctic is multi-layered and complicated, with national security issues, resource rights, and geopolitical influence. Russia has invested heavily in Arctic militarisation. Meanwhile, Norway has approved the development of 19 new oil and gas fields, investing over $18.5 billion to extend fossil fuel production despite its public climate commitments. The Arctic region is shared and contested, with no single owner, but a deep tapestry of national jurisdiction and unresolved international claims. This escalating claim and dispute among nations for the ownership of the Arctic is critical because unprecedented climate change, geopolitical competition, and unregulated commercialisation pose an alarming threat to global ecosystem stability and cast a shadow of uncertainty on the existence of indigenous communities. The Arctic is warming up two to four times faster than the worldwide average. This is causing an unprecedented ice melt. The Arctic region acts as the Earth's refrigerator. It helps by cooling the planet and reflecting sunlight with ice and snow. Rapid warming of the Arctic region could disrupt the polar vortex, the key atmospheric system, creating extreme weather changes worldwide. Permafrost thawing can release more carbon, damage infrastructure, and destabilise the landscape. Most of these environmental changes are irreversible within the human time scale, making it urgent. Increasing shipping, oil and gas extraction, and mining could exacerbate the situation. Suppose the commercialisation of the Arctic is not stopped. It could result in environmental degradation, which will lead to an ecological debacle with catastrophic ramifications, such as the risk of irreversible oil spills, noise pollution, release of toxins, an increase in sea level, extreme weather, and destabilisation of global weather patterns. This could disrupt the livelihood of local indigenous communities. It could also lead to food insecurity and fear of encroachment in their habitat. The Arctic region remains fluid and fragile, with unresolved political and legal issues further exacerbated by climate change. More awareness must be created about protecting the Arctic, as it plays a key role in global climate stability—the Arctic's fragile ecosystem demands urgent collective action to prevent its commercialisation and militarisation. We should not allow short-term profits to take precedence over immediate health and ecological safety as a society. It is our responsibility to preserve this region for the sustainability of future generations. Dr Mythili Kolluru The writer is an assistant professor at the marketing and management department of the College of Banking and Financial Studies in Muscat.
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