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This paper analyzes the importance of the melting of the Arctic ice for Mexico. The research examines the impacts of this process, the Mexican government’s environmental policies, citizen’s perception and the media’s approach to climate change and the melting of the Arctic ice. To obtain the results, an exploratory analysis was carried out, from which it was concluded that, despite the importance of the Arctic melting in the current climate crisis affecting all countries, and specifically Mexico, within the political agendas of the nation, the citizenry and the mass media, both climate change and the Arctic melting are secondary issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geostrategic, political, economic, and scientific relevance of the Arctic is constantly growing due to the complex process of climate change. Accordingly, the European Union—as a global political actor—, is already taking steps to ensure and strengthen its influence in the region while demonstrating readiness to face the many opportunities and challenges ahead in cooperation with the traditional stakeholders. Therefore, in order to reflect the renewed importance of the Arctic transformation, the Union has been designing its Arctic Policy focusing on climate change mitigation and multilateral cooperation as its main strengths. Unfortunately, despite the diligence and impetus that has been invested, this process has been delayed in several occasions as the Union had to deal with internal and external destabilizing factors, such as the later immigration crisis or the lack of uniformity among its member states’ foreign policy interests. These factors will be analyzed along with the process of creation and development of the EU’s Arctic policy. Despite some delays, on 27 April 2016, the long-awaited third communication was issued and progress has been made: even if, in general terms, the new document remains a political statement, there is also a clear commitment to action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education and learning possess powerful potential in affecting future resilience and sustainable states. Here, I focus on unpacking and examining the connections and feedbacks between social-environmental systems (SESs), resilience, and compulsory education. SESs have been problematized as frequently having a poor fit between environmental change and policy solutions. The last few decades have witnessed global recognition of climate change in the Arctic. This has led to discussion and debate over the role of schools in addressing local knowledge, environmental changes, and community priorities. In Alaska, USA, and other Arctic regions, the role of public schools in improving this fit has been largely overlooked. I hypothesize that, as extensions of governments, public schools in the North American Arctic and other locations offer an opportunity to create better linkages between societies and environments through governance. Secondarily, at the individual level, education is a vital component of resilience, but such education must embrace multiple perspectives in its curriculum to honor and access the diversity offered by local and traditional ecological knowledge and Western methods. Lastly, at the societal scale, schools are an untapped resource with which to meet the challenge of bolstering capacity for adaptation in a time of rapid transformation for Arctic societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2nd NJF Seminar on Reindeer Husbandry Research was held at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland from 19 to 21 October 2014. The seminar was organized under the framework of Reindeer Husbandry Research Section of NJF (Nordic Association of Agricultural Scientists), established in 2012. Over 100 Nordic and international delegates including researchers, managers, educators, students and reindeer herders participated in the seminar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arctic energy development has massive potential to help meet world energy needs and promote sustainable Arctic development. At the same time, the Arctic is largely inhabited by Indigenous peoples and has special environmental vulnerabilities that can impact them. Norms of consultation with Indigenous peoples are, thus, particularly important in Arctic contexts. This Article examines this very much under-studied issue. It seeks to make an innovative contribution to understanding best practices on consultation appropriate to Arctic-specific contexts, considering evolving national and international law norms of consultation. Part II of this Article carries out a comparison of existing implementations of international norms of consultation in countries across the Arctic region. Part III distils best practices on consultation from both evolving national and international law in the Arctic states, as well as in other states whose practices can shed light. Part IV examines unique Arctic circumstances and develops a set of categories for Arctic-specific consideration of consultation. Part V ties together the best practices and impact categories of Part IV, and comments on the existing state practices discussed in Part II, signaling directions in which different states might consider shifting so as to best respect consultation norms. The underlying aim of this Article is to offer practical recommendations that facilitate Arctic energy development in responsible ways, thereby furthering its long-term acceptability and potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A report is presented from a May 17, 2012 conference for doctoral candidates in Munich, Germany on the history of technology. Topics of discussion included the use of the Arctic regions and Antarctica by the U.S. and the Soviet Union as technological testing grounds during the Cold War, the history of East German environmental policies, and cultural transmission of technology in 19th-century Württemberg, Germany.

The article discusses the environmental soundness of the Canadian government's policy toward the Arctic as of 2012. The article examines the aspects of sovereignty and security of the Canadian Arctic policy and attempts to show that the Canadian government based its policy positions on traditional and conservationist understandings. The article states that policies that address environmental security are usually initiated by Canadian bureaucracies and are difficult to separate from the discourse of traditional security. The article discusses the public perception of climate change and government policy as well as the stances of several Canadian political parties on the subject.

Information on the State of the Arctic (SoA) Conference held in spring of 2010 is presented. Topics include the invasions by non-indigenous species introduced, importance of identifying important ecological areas, and rapid declines in arctic sea ice cover. Moreover, the conference explored the role of anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing and natural variability in driving changes that affect Arctic marine and terrestrial environments.

The article explores the strategies carried out by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) and Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) in the development of protected areas in the Arctic. It examines the significant role played by CAFF's Circumpolar Protected Area Network (CPAN) project in the establishment of policies which focuses on environmental protection to be adopted by states in the region. It also discusses the challenges encountered by the Arctic Council in protecting terrestrial and marine areas.

The article reflects on the industry perspectives on barriers, hurdles, and irritants preventing development of frontier energy in Canada's Arctic Islands. The Canadian Arctic Islands and intervening channels are rich in hydrocarbon resources. Interviews with exploration and development managers representing six medium-to-large domestic and multinational energy companies operating on the Arctic frontiers of North America show that the principal barriers to development of proven gas reserves are social and environmental issues and a hostile regulatory regime.

Unprecedented global changes caused by human actions challenge society's ability to sustain the desirable features of our planet. This requires proactive management of change to foster both resilience (sustaining those attributes that are important to society in the face of change) and adaptation (developing new socioecological configurations that function effectively under new conditions). The Arctic may be one of the last remaining opportunities to plan for change in a spatially extensive region where many of the ancestral ecological and social processes and feedbacks are still intact. If the feasibility of this strategy can be demonstrated in the Arctic, our improved understanding of the dynamics of change can be applied to regions with greater human modification. Conditions may now be ideal to implement policies to manage Arctic change because recent studies provide the essential scientific understanding, appropriate international institutions are in place, and Arctic nations have the wealth to institute necessary changes, if they choose to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the logical framework analysis (LFA) to improve health communication for natural resource development in Canada's Northern Territories. Topics discussed includes work of Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) for the accomodation of northern aboriginal communities and use of LFA in designing and evaluating international development and global health interventions throughout the world.

Marine spatial planning is increasingly used to manage the demands on marine areas, both spatially and temporally, where several different users may compete for resources or space, to ensure that development is as sustainable as possible. Diminishing sea-ice coverage in the Arctic will allow for potential increases in economic exploitation, and failure to plan for cross-sectoral management could have negative economic and environmental results. During the ACCESS programme, a marine spatial planning tool was developed for the Arctic, enabling the integrated study of human activities related to hydrocarbon exploitation, shipping and fisheries, and the possible environmental impacts, within the context of the next 30 years of climate change. In addition to areas under national jurisdiction, the Arctic Ocean contains a large area of high seas. Resources and ecosystems extend across political boundaries. We use three examples to highlight the need for transboundary planning and governance to be developed at a regional level.

The article examines environmental policies that are being sought to bolster international cooperation that will mitigate ways in which global environmental change affects the Arctic Ocean. The prospect of such change has promoted interest in energy production, fishing, and tourism. While the Arctic coastal states are asserting their sovereignty and jurisdiction in the region, non-Arctic states are also seeking an enhanced role in the Arctic Council. Challenges that may face the governance of the Arctic Ocean are discussed, including aspects of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Canadian Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act.

Summary: The status of the iconic Arctic predator is being used in the US as a means of testing wider environmental policies. Nigel Williams reports. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the regional treaty for the Arctic Ocean region that was proposed by the European Environmental Agency (EEA) in Trømso, Norway. Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of EEA, addressed the international community to approve a Polar Ocean protocol under the Law of the Sea Convention that aimed to protect the Arctic from an inevitable surge to utilize its available resources. McGlade added that it would also ensure environmental regulations to be in place before ice would retreat due to global warming.