Who Owns The Arctic?

A follow-up on Monday's topic. The question of who owns the Arctic, of who should be involved in its stewardship, has come up repeatedly during this conference. And, as one of today's speakers pointed out, there’s no real consensus on a) where the Arctic is geographically, or b) who exactly has a stake in the Arctic. That makes answering questions about stewardship even harder to answer, especially as the Arctic has resources serving people and places that are nowhere near it. 

So, on the most basic level, is the Arctic more global - a public good? Or is it more local - meant for a specified few?

At the big end of the scale, it's a place that helps meet global resource needs, a venue for new shipping lanes and a laboratory for international science. It serves as a point of both international tension and cooperation between multiple nations. It's an indicator of climate change. It's home to local cultures that are part of a bigger human narrative, as to lose the traditions and cultures found here would be to lose something of significance to our history. 

But it's also the homeland for indigenous peoples, whose lives are intertwined with the Arctic's future, and a part of many countries' national identity. It's a specific ecosystem upon which a tremendous number of Arctic species are dependent. And it's a site for national investment and development, an opportunity for economic growth in those nations that border it. 

Our speaker didn't take one side or the other but much of the discussion I've heard at the conference revolves around how the Arctic is perceived - global or local? 

As has been well-documented here, there's a lot of money to be made in economic and natural resource development. Those countries who border the Arctic stand to make big gains and are well into decades-old negotiations and treaties on how to carve up this area. But, further afield, countries like India and China no doubt expect to benefit from the opening of new shipping routes - India is already in the process of building an icebreaker in anticipation.

From a climate change perspective, not only is the Arctic an indicator of what's happening as the planet warms, but what happens in the Arctic could have global implications, from rising seas to changes in weather patterns to permanently altered marine ecosystems. Cities, crop yields, fish stocks - these are just a few of the issues that may be affected. 

There are no answers, but there are a lot of people, nations and multinational corporations jockeying for position. A complex area of the world already, answering the question of who owns the Arctic is only going to get more complicated.

Other Observations

1) Tromsø is super cute and very civilized and I haven't had to start a fire with sticks or fend off wolves with my bare hands. So rereading "White Fang" and "To Build A Fire" wasn't really necessary. There are quaint, colorful wooden buildings alongside modern Scandinavian architecture, lovely old churches, fancy stores, cozy coffeeshops and a 7-11 that sells seafood snacks. 

2) All bathroom floors in America should be heated. There is nothing like stepping onto a marvelously warm tile floor when you go to use the bathroom in the middle of the Arctic night, which is basically any time between 2pm and 10am. 

3) Right now, I'm really stoked about all the awesome seafood I'm eating. Salmon tartar with chilies and lime juice. Roasted salmon. Poached salmon. Itsy bitsy pink shrimp the size of the end of your thumb. Flakey cod. More shrimp. Smoked salmon at breakfast. I might be tired of salmon if this keeps up but right now it's pretty awesome.

4) The Polarmuseet (Polar Museum) has some fantastically graphic dioramas that you probably wouldn't see in the US. A guy killing and skinning a reindeer. Some other dude clubbing a baby seal. Artifacts and bones from old whaling camps. A ton of stuff on national hero Roald Amundsen. Forgive the pun, but it's a cool museum. 

5) There are moments when it's oddly warm here - like today when it was RAINING. Raining. In the Arctic. In late January. Don't get me wrong, it's not tropical (and a thin sheet of water over a layer of ice makes for some seriously treacherous walking), but it's still a lot warmer than I'd imagined.

6) You cannot see the Northern Lights if it's foggy. Even if you really want to, even if you stay up way past your bedtime and go trekking across a frozen lake in the dead of night. 

A Seat at the Table

Aili Keskitalo came out swinging. The President of the Sami Parliament (the Sami are an indigenous people of Scandanavia) had some pretty strong feelings about how not only her people but indigenous peoples all over the Arctic have been treated in the race for resources. Of all the places affected by climate change, the Arctic has experienced some of the fastest and most dramatic shifts. And, as Keskitalo pointed out, no one is more vulnerable than Arctic indigenous communities.

I'm at the 2016 Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, Norway, a university town of about 70 thousand people on Norway's northwestern coast. Keskitalo was one of the opening speakers for this week's conference and her speech made me think there'd be something beyond the overly cautious (and often tedious) diplo-speak that's so common at conferences like these.

She said things like, "Colonization and pillaging and the oppression of indigenous people takes place all over the world in the continuous hunt for resources. But we have stories to tell of historical blunders carried out in name of development." 

She asked that governments and businesses stop romanticizing all the industrial possibilities and pay more attention to the environment, "to what the land, sea and sky are telling us." She pointed out that, at the UN Climate Change talks in Paris, researchers from the University of Tromsø concluded that we can not take advantage of all economic resources in the Arctic, as it would be irresponsible in terms of both the environment and human rights.

She called for businesses and politicians to behave responsibly. And while she acknowledged that development of resources in the Arctic will continue, she demanded the Sami people have a role in any decisions made about that development. "We've heard repeatedly that we must adjust to changing times and we’ve done that. Now the government and business sectors need to do the same. We expect an equal participation in industrial and economic development." 

That seems fair. Development is most certainly going to move ahead and, as long as there's money to made, I'm not sure it's going to slow down. Indigenous peoples like the Sami have a right to be at the table, given that their livelihoods, their economic future, their homes are at stake. But based on what I heard during the rest of the morning, I'm not sure it will happen. I was particularly underwhelmed by statements from Admiral Robert J. Papp, the U.S. Special Representative for the Arctic. He took a very paternalistic standpoint, talking about the need to help with suicide and health issues in these communities, and take advantage of local knowledge of the environment, but didn't make it seem like indigenous people were even minority partners (so to speak).

Other speakers barely acknowledged them, mentioning them as a bullet point on a list of many things to think about when it comes to Arctic strategy. At least they're not being overlooked entirely? But I don't see them getting a fair shake, either. Nevertheless, Aili Keskitalo shouldn't pull her punches.

37

High:

108 degrees

Mode of transportation:

Very first ever helicopter ride(!)

Birthday cake:

Chocolate with pudding and cream, with palm fronds sticking out of the top

Animals:

• Waterbuck
• Reedbuck
• Water buffalo
• Sable
• Samanga monkeys
• Warthogs
• Bats
• Zebra (!!)
• Elephant (!!!)

History Sketch

A quick (and oversimplified) history, as sketched out by an older Mozambican gentleman who’s a descendent of Portuguese settlers. I realize this is definitely not the complete picture, but it helped me get a sense of how the country developed and why it is where it is today.

Mozambique was a Portuguese colony when, in 1964, a guerilla movement for independence began. The country finally gained its freedom 1975, after a government coup in Portugal led the way for democratic elections, which in turn led to independence for the country’s overseas territories, including Mozambique, in 1975. But keep in mind, by this point, Mozambique had already been in conflict for over a decade.

Now, if you’ll remember, the 1960s and ‘70s were smack dab in the middle of the Cold War. The Mozambican guerillas – known as Frelimo – were backed by the Soviets and were fighting colonialism, which was viewed as an extension of western capitalism. Portugal, on the other hand, was trying to keep its colonies, and was supported by other western nations, especially other colonial governments in Africa.

When Portugal pulled out in 1975, it meant that the government in Mozambique was indigenous – black African. Mozambique’s delightful neighbors, Rhodesia and South Africa, were both dominated by a white minority that saw Mozambique’s new status as a threat. Guerilla movements in those two countries found a refuge in Mozambique, a place where they could stage their own revolutions. So Rhodesia and South Africa sponsored the foundation of an opposing party – Renamo – aimed at undermining the Mozambican government.

Not surprisingly, a civil war begins. The fighting took place throughout the country – landmines everywhere, destruction of railways, factories, bridges. Renamo was particularly brutal – at one point, the US had considered backing them but the human rights abuses were too great. By 1992, when the war ended, more than a million had died, five million displaced, and the economy was in complete shambles.

To this day, Mozambique remains one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries. And while its economy is improving, it’s heavily dependent on the extraction of natural resources – gemstones, gold, forestry, oil, gas and coal.

Wildlife seen:

• Warthogs
• Baboons
• Hartebeest
• Nyala
• Waterbuck
• Hornbills