Websites related to the Arctic "We in the Nordic countries are proud to share this common heritage with Canada. And we share more than historic ties (Norwegian Polar Tradition, L'Anse aux Meadows..). We have similarities of geography, common values, and parallel social and political developments. We share a likeminded perception of international challenges and of the role of the countries in international politics. Although divided by High Seas, Canada and the Nordic countries are all countries of the North. And the North, as the Canadian poet and scholar Henry Beissel has put it, is where all parallels meet." So opened former State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Knut Vollebæk an Oslo 1990 conference on The Arctic: Canada and the Nordic Countries and today these same words ring true.
The Arctic and polar regions can be defined in varying ways. One way is north of the Arctic Circle (66 33N) or another, more strictly the region to the north of the ice drift in winter, the sea and land around the North Pole, some 26 million square kilometres, 8 million square kilometres of land, the rest is formed by the sea. The Arctic is a deep (2,000 to 5,000 m) ice-covered sea encircled by shallower seas (300 to 400 m) and almost entirely enclosed by land. Norway extends farther north and its first polar environment exists on Svalbard while the polar environment on North America extends farther south. From 1888 to 1925, three Norwegians - Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen and Otto Sverdrup - on polar ship FRAM established Norway's reputation as a leading polar nation. "The expeditions they carried out, and the manner in which they did so, gave a great boost to Norwegian self-confidence and Norway's sense of national identity at a time when union with Sweden was nearing a breaking point," wrote Rasmus Hansson in Norway as a Polar Nation. "So polar research played its part in the re-establishment, after several hundred years, of Norway as an independent nation." In 1888, Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) launched Norway's polar era when he and Sverdrup and four companions first skied across the ice cap covering Greenland. Later, Nansen made the first voyage of FRAM sailing north in the summer of 1893, planning to drift with ice from Siberia to the Greenland across the Arctic Ocean. Nansen drifted for a year then he and Hjalmar Johansen attempted to ski and dogsled to the North Pole, he reached 86 4N the furthest north in history. They spent four months in the ice, reached Franz Josef Land and met a British expedition who transported them back to Norway, arriving back as FRAM emerged off the ice off Svalbard after a three-year voyage.
Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) was the first man to navigate the Northwest Passage from end to end, rounding Canada and Alaska, 1903-1906, in his ship Gjøa. Otto Sverdrup (1854-1930) commanded the second FRAM expedition (1898 to 1902) to the islands of Arctic North America, surveying large areas of Greenland and conducting valuable scientific research. Discoveries of Axel Heiberg and the Ringnes Islands, declared part of Canada in 1926, were made. In recent years (1999, 2002), new expeditions retracing Sverdrup's have been launched by Canadians and Norwegians. FRAM museum on Oslo's Bygdøy houses their legendary polar ship displaying still intact cabins and special exhibitions of artefacts from the expeditions of Nansen, Amundsen and Sverdrup.
"The names of Sverdrup and Norway will be forever linked with that of Canada through the islands in Canada's Arctic carrying his name and the names of those who assisted him in his work there," Henry Asbjørn Larsen once said. Native Norwegian Larsen, a RCMP officer on Arctic patrol service, himself completed one of the principal sea borne expeditions of polar exploration. Aboard the ship St. Roch during 1940-1942, he made the first eastward crossing of the Northwest Passage from Vancouver, British Columbia to Sydney, Nova Scotia. His legendary ship became a Canadian national historic monument, unveiled near the Maritime Museum in Vancouver and "Larsen Sound" bears his name in the Canadian Arctic. He has been honoured with a bronze bust at Skjærhalden, Norway on the island of Kirkoy and a Henry Larsen's Road on Herfol, the island of his birthplace. In May 2002, Canada's Life Channel broadcasted the program "Going Home" featuring his children Doreen Riedel, Gordon and Beverly Larsen on their 2000 visit to his homeland.
Modern Norwegian polar adventurers have been inspired and furthered Norway's polar tradition. Erling Kagge became the first person to ski unsupported to the South Pole (1992-93). Børge Ousland has skied to the North Pole from Canada with Kagge and Geir Randby (1990); skied unsupported to the North Pole (1994) and South Poles (1995); crossed the whole Antarctic continent (1996-97) and most recently skied unsupported over the North Pole from Siberia to Canada. Liv Arnesen, was the first woman who travelled solo to the South Pole (1994).
In Murmansk in 1987, former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev ended the Cold War in the Arctic by calling for "a pronounced lowering of the level of confrontation in the Arctic….so that the northern region can become…a region of peace and the North Pole a pole of peace.." What followed was environmental cooperation among the circumpolar nations and "The Rovaniemi Process". In 1989, in Rovaniemi, Finland, the first conference on protection of the Arctic environment was planned beginning the process with Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States. At the first conference in 1991, "The Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy" was adopted setting out the following principles: - To protect Arctic ecosystems and the people who live there;
- To provide suitable conditions for the protection and where necessary the improvement and restoration of the quality of the environment, and for the sustainable use of natural resources, including the use of resources by local and indigenous Arctic populations;
- To recognize and as far as possible make provision for the traditional and cultural needs, values, and way of life of the indigenous peoples in connection with environmental protection in the Arctic;
- To assess the status of the Arctic environment regularly;
- To identify, reduce and in long term eliminate pollution.
Five AEPS programmes were launched to meet these objectives: The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) which monitors the levels and assesses the effects of pollution in the Arctic environment. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) coordinates information exchanges and research on Arctic flora and fauna and their habitats. Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) undertakes the prevention and preparedness for environmental disasters in the Arctic. Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) focuses on preparedness against all kinds of marine pollution, through international organizations and conventions. Sustainable Development and Utilization (SDU) proposes measures to follow-up on national obligations relating to sustainable development in the Arctic, including sustainable use of natural resources by indigenous peoples. A new forum, the Arctic Council, which incorporates the AEPS and five programmes, was established in September 1996, extending cooperation to other fields. Canada, Norway, the other Nordic countries, Russia and the United States, and representatives of the indigenous peoples participate on the council. The Council's main objectives have been to promote cooperation between the Arctic countries on common interests, particularly sustainable development and environmental protection and increase awareness of the Arctic.
Norway and Canada are key players in several circumpolar - governmental, research, academic, non-governmental and other organizations outside The Arctic Council: The Polar Environmental Centre, Tromsø - houses the most important Norwegian specialist research institutes: Norwegian Polar Institute, Akvaplan-Niva, the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, the Norwegian Mapping Authority, the Geological Survey of Norway, the Sami Cultural Heritage Council and the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority. The centre's staff of 200 researchers cover the disciplines of biology, geology, geophysics, surveying, environmental management and environmental information. Opened in 1998, the centre's aim is to become the leading European centre for environmental expertise on the polar areas and Barents region. The International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), was founded in 1990 by national science organizations in all the Arctic countries. Shortly afterwards similar organizations in other countries undertaking substantial research in the Arctic became members, now totalling 18 countries. The IASC's aim is to encourage and facilitate cooperation in all aspects of Arctic research. The University of the Arctic - Sometimes referred to as "a university without walls", the University of the Arctic is a co-operating network of universities, colleges and organizations concerned with higher education and research. UArctic, as it is commonly called, focuses on three core activities the Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies (BCS), the online Arctic Learning Environment (ALE) portal, and the Circumpolar Mobility Program (CMP). Canadian Polar Commission - Established in 1991, the Commission is Canada's lead agency in the area of polar research. The Commission's responsibilities are:
- Monitoring, promoting and disseminating knowledge of the polar regions
- Contributing to public awareness of the importance of polar science to Canada
- Enhancing Canada's international profile as a circumpolar nation
- Recommending polar science policy direction to government
The Commission hosts conferences and workshops, publishes information on subjects of relevance to polar research, and works closely with other governmental and non-governmental agencies to promote and support Canadian study of the polar region. Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC) is an independent, non-governmental organization lobbying on Arctic-issues from global pollutants to local mining issues. The group supports sustainable development, research and policy developments. "The great Norwegian explorers of the past have left lasting imprints on the Canadian map. These ties of yesteryears were followed by northern co-operation within the framework of NATO. The new challenges need more informed responses, hence more research and co-operation. At the moment, greater awareness as to northern research is emerging in Norway and Canada: the Northern research component of the Research Council of Norway and the recent review of northern research in Canada. The many potential co-operation projects discussed and identified in the course of the seminar proved that there is an abundance of issues and research that both countries can direct attention to."
- Foreword, Fridtjof Nansen Institute Report 5/2001 Jan Tore Holvik, Special Advisor for The Arctic and The Antarctic, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Marie-Lucie Morin, former Ambassador, Canadian Embassy to Iceland and Norway.
In April 2001, the Canadian-Norwegian Arctic Cooperation Seminar was hosted by the Canadian Embassy in Norway, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and the Research Council of Norway. The seminar gathered together 30 scholars and practitioners from Norway and Canada involved in Arctic cooperation activity to identify issues of mutual interest and stimulate scholarly engagement. Specific issues presented and discussed included: re-organization and funding of the Arctic Council, Northern science initiatives, global climate change, indigenous peoples, Arctic fisheries, nuclear dumping, health, children, youth and education. The proceedings of the conference are available as a PDF-download here.
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oslo
www.dep.no/ud Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
www.inac-ainc.gc.ca
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada -
Circumpolar World
www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/circumpolar
The Norwegian Ministry of the Environment
www.dep.no/md
The Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries
www.dep.no/fid
The Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsø
www.npolar.no
The Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management, Trondheim
www.naturforvaltning.no
The Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Oslo
www.fni.no
Norwegian Directory of Polar and Cold Regions Organisations (compiled by the Scott Polar Research Institute)
www.spri.cam.ac.uk
Canadian Directory of Polar and Cold Regions Organisations (compiled by the Scott Polar Research Institute)
www.spri.cam.ac.uk
The University of the Arctic
www.uarctic.org
The FRAM Museum, Oslo
www.fram.museum.no
World Wildlife Fund Arctic Programme, Oslo
www.wwf.no
International Arctic Science Committee, Oslo
www.iasc.no
Canadian Polar Commission, Ottawa
www.polarcom.gc.ca
Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, Ottawa
www.carc.org
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