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Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Seventh Annual Session
Forum:
Arctic Council
Issue:
Determining and protecting the rights of indigenous people in the
Arctic in the face of increasing economic activity and the threat of
climate change
Student Officer: Min Ju Sohn
Position:
Deputy Chair of Arctic Council
Introduction
The Arctic region is warmer than it used to be and it continues to get warmer. Over the past 30
years, it has warmed more than any other region on earth. It is absolutely critical for member states and
Arctic nations to stand with the indigenous peoples of the Arctic region in order to ensure that external
economic forces do not adversely affect the people
Definition of Key Terms
Oil Spill
The release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due
to human activity
Permafrost
A thick subsurface layer of soil that remains below freezing point throughout the year, occurring
chiefly in Polar Regions
History
Arctic Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous peoples, also known generally as circumpolar peoples, have inhabited the Arctic for
thousands of years. They are 10 percent of the total population and there are over 40 different ethnic
groups living in the Arctic.
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Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Seventh Annual Session
Caption #1: Inuit people fishing
Natural Resources Exploitation: Oil and Gas
The Arctic is estimated to hold the worlds largest remaining untapped gas reserves and
undeveloped oil reserves. A significant proportion of these reserves lie offshore, in the Arctic’s shallow
and biologically productive shelf seas. Oil spills, whether from blowouts, pipeline leaks or shipping
accidents, pose a tremendous risk to arctic ecosystem.
Russian Oil Disasters
Russia has been ineffective in preventing and recovering from oil spill crisis. According to
Greenpeace, 5 million tons of crude oil are spilled in Russian oil field each year, leaving
detrimental consequences to Indigenous groups in Siberia. Their traditional lifestyles—hunting,
deer farming and gathering—are disrupted, making such activities no longer viable livelihoods.
Caption #2: Oil on ice in Siberia, Russia
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Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Seventh Annual Session
Key Issues
Economic Activities
Oil and Gas Industries
Extensive oil and gas reserves have been discovered in the Arctic region. Climate
impacts on oil and gas development in the region are likely to result in both financial benefits from
less extensive and thinner sea ice. Although the equipment are designed to reduce the damage
to the environment, the thawing of permafrost is very likely to adversely affect these structures
and increase the cost of maintaining them.
Increased marine transport
Reduced sea ice is enabling the opening of new shipping routes around the margins of
the Arctic Basin and a longer period during which shipping is feasible, allowing increased access
to natural resources and facilitating transportation of them.
Caption #3: Damage caused by storm due to the increased sea level in costal community of Arctic
region
Environmental Impacts
Slow reaction toward oil spills
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Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Seventh Annual Session
The Arctic is characterized by a short productive season, low temperature, and limited
sunlight, which makes it particularly harder for Arctic regions to recover from habitat disruption,
tundra disturbance and oil, spills. Worse, there is no proven effective method for containing and
cleaning up an oil spills in icy water
Acidic Oceans
Due to increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the world’s oceans are 30% more
acidic than before the industrial revolution. Cold oceans, like those in the Arctic, are acidifying
twice as fast as average, which results in the interference of the development of marine life and
decrease in biodiversity.
Major Parties Involved and Their Views
The Arctic Council
A high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the governments with
territories inside the Arctic Circle
Russia
Because of the region’s mineral wealth, the Arctic has been a center of disputes. Russia
has been claiming the Arctic and Denmark has staked a claim to the North Pole. In addition,
Russian oil and gas industry has shown their inability to recover mistakes—oil spills—that
shatters the fragile Arctic environment.
Related Organizations
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
WWF is an international non-governmental organization that works on the field of the
biodiversity conservation and the reduction of humanity’s footprint on the environment. WWF has
identified three areas that should be protected from oil exploitation including the Lofoten and
Vesteraalen islands of Coastal Norway, West Kamchatka and Bristol Bay in Alaska (December
2014, Bristol Bay is protected by WWF and Fish Basket Coalition).
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Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Seventh Annual Session
Caption #4: World Wide Fund for Nature Logo
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA)
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) provides accurate and comprehensively
information of climate changes in the Arctic and its consequences, raising the awareness and the
seriousness of the rising temperature, loss of sea ice and unpredicted impacts on ecosystems.
Timeline of Relevant Resolutions, Treaties and Events
You must include short sentences to explain the timeline. Otherwise you have to follow the format
specified below:
Date
Description of event
Arctic Council was established as a forum for promoting cooperation,
1996
coordination, and interaction among the Arctic States
22 May 2001
13 September 2007
The Stockholm Convention completed to outlaw and limit the use of persistent
organic pollutant (POPs)
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People adopted by the GA
Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF) was signed by all eight Arctic nations to
January 15, 2016
foster safe, secure, and environmentally responsible maritime acidity in the
Arctic.
Evaluation of Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly on
13 September 2007. The Declaration emphasized the right of indigenous peoples to maintain and
strengthen their own institutions, cultures and tradition to pursue development in accordance with their
aspiration and needs; however, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.S. voted against and the
declaration seems ineffective in fighting against the problems—discrimination, racism, marginalize—that
the indigenous people are facing.
Possible Solutions
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Concordia International School Shanghai Model United Nations ◆ Seventh Annual Session
1. Preventative Measures: It is hard to completely clean up major oil spills in the Arctic.
Therefore, the governments and industry should support researches that allow the
invention and the development of risk-lowering technologies, and adopt higher standards
for spill prevention.
2. Transition to renewable energy: To avoid severe climate impacts, it is urgent that we
move towards a perfectly renewable future. Member states should cooperate with each
other to develop a better source of energy.
3. Protect valuable places for indigenous people: It would be crucial to protect and follow the
example of the protection of Bristol Bay in Alaska. Setting the off-limit portion and
protecting the ecosystem of that area would slow down the rapid disruption of Arctic
region and furthermore protect the lifestyle of the indigenous people.
Bibliography
"Arctic Climate Change." Scientific Facts on. GreenFacts. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/arctic-climate-change/index.htm#6
"Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples." Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
http://undesadspd.org/IndigenousPeoples/DeclarationontheRightsofIndigenousPeoples.aspx
Ex, Mar. "Arctic Coast Guard Forum Ready for Action." The Maritime Executive. 30 Oct. 2015. Web. 12
Nov. 2015. http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/arctic-coast-guard-forum-ready-for-action
"National Snow and Ice Data Center." Climate Change in the Arctic. National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Web. 12 Nov. 2015. https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/arctic-meteorology/climate_change.html
"Oil and Gas in the Arctic." WWF. World Wildlife Fund. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/arctic/what_we_do/oil_gas/
Scudellari, Megan. "An Unrecognizable Arctic." Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Web. 12 Nov.
2015. http://climate.nasa.gov/news/958/
Shah, Anup. "Rights of Indigenous People." - Global Issues. 16 Oct. 2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
http://www.globalissues.org/article/693/rights-of-indigenouspeople#Opposingcountriesrethinkingtheirstance
"United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues." United Nations Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues. Web. 12 Nov. 2015. http://undesadspd.org/IndigenousPeoples.aspx
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