Race for the Arctic
29 August 2008
Satellite pictures revealed in July that nearly 20 square metres of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf have broken away from the Arctic Ellesmere Island. Estimated by scientists to be the biggest piece of ice to become loose in the region for three years, the breakaway once again raised the issue of the resources that are believed to lie beneath the seabed and to whom they rightfully belong.
In 2004, a key scientific report claimed climate change could cause the entire summer ice cap could melt before the end of the century. While for environmentalists this was worrying news, for oil firms and nations which believe they have a legal right to the Arctic's resources it opened up new opportunities. As the ice caps melt new shipping routes emerge providing access to areas of undiscovered energy resources.
The potential for great rewards has pitted Russia, Denmark, Canada, Norway and the US against one another in a battle to establish which of these nations has a legitimate right to claim Arctic territory. Director of research at the International Boundaries Research Unit Mart Pratt says: "All of the states are frantically scrambling to acquire good quality data at the moment. It has only been since the Arctic Ocean ice started to melt that they have been able to start taking proper surveys of the seabed so it's a bit dangerous to speculate as to who is going to end up with what."
Russia clearly feels differently. Last year, veteran explorer Artur Chilingarov descended 14-feet into the Arctic sea in a submersible on a fact-finding mission for the Kremlin. Chilingarov's primary task was to find evidence to support Russia’s claim to Arctic territory. However, this part of the mission was over shadowed when the explorer planted a Russian flag on the Arctic seabed, much to the indignation of watching nations.
Pratt disregards the incident as nothing more than a publicity stunt: "Legally, it had no significance what so ever. It provoked Russia's neighbors and there was a degree of geopolitical maneuvering but in legal terms it has absolutely no significance. It's not like land territory 100 years ago where the first nation to that point could claim sovereignty."
Pratt explains that the final decision on who owns this region and its resources will be made by following the procedures set out in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which Russia signed. Under the terms the convention, all countries have a right to maritime territory up to 200 nautical miles from their border. When laying a claim over land that is outside of this range, the nation must be able to ascertain scientifically that the region is an extension of its continental shelf.
Pratt says the Arctic could ultimately belong to none of the five nations vying for it. "Any areas that end up being beyond the continental shelf fall under the jurisdiction of the International Seabed Authority."
This agency, which was set up under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, will then have jurisdiction over the region which will be known as The Area.
He explains; "The Area is described as a common heritage for mankind. All states get a share of any revenue. I'm not sure they've worked out all the mechanisms for distributing it but that's the principle."
Pratt's comments highlight the gamble which countries, such as Russia, are taking in dedicating huge sums of money to their quest for the Arctic. However, when weighed against the economic benefits of laying a claim to vast oil reserves, they have obviously decided this is a risk worth taking. We can doubtless expect further political maneuvering and more expeditions to ascertain territorial boundaries. The amount of resources allocated to the race will also increase fast as access to the Arctic becomes easier.
Last updated on 29 Aug 2008
