Governance Of Arctic Shipping Research Articles

Arctic marine shipping development and governance in Canada: A historical overview

Shipping in the Canadian Arctic has a long history, encompassing diverse maritime pursuits, ranging from traditional Inuit subsistence practices to European exploratory expeditions, whaling, and fur trading. The escalating impacts of climate change in the Canadian Arctic have created ample opportunities for Arctic shipping activities related to fishing, cruise tourism, resource (mineral) transportation, research, and government services. Nowadays, the necessity of developing a sustainable economy, the need for environmental protection, and the imperative of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples present considerable challenges for the Canadian government in regulating Arctic shipping. To comprehend the contemporary issues of Arctic shipping governance, this paper conducts an overview of the history of Arctic shipping activities in Canada and reviews Canada’s diverse policies and laws that have been instituted to govern Arctic shipping. Drawing upon the analysis of these policies, the article advocates for a collaborative governance framework to cope with the multifaceted challenges confronting the governance of Arctic shipping in Canada. Such a framework ought to prioritize enhancing cooperation, integrating unilateral and multilateral policies and laws, respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and involving Inuit in Arctic shipping governance.

UNDRIP rights to guide the governance of the Northern Low-impact Shipping Corridors initiative

Canada's governance of Arctic shipping activities is characterized by a collaborative framework that involves various stakeholders, including different governments and departments at various levels, as well as non-governmental stakeholders, such as industry partners, Indigenous organizations, and community members. Especially with Canada’s commitment to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the need to consider how Inuit rights can guide Arctic shipping governance has become paramount. The Northern Low-Impact Shipping Corridors initiative is Canada’s comprehensive governance initiative for Arctic shipping activities, that considers the need to engage Inuit. However, few studies have focused on how Inuit rights, which are affirmed in the UNDRIP, can reshape, and guide the development and governance of the Corridors initiative. The objective of this article is to fill this knowledge gap, regarding the integration of Inuit rights into Arctic shipping governance. It starts with an overview of the impacts of Arctic shipping on Inuit communities, followed by an analysis of interactions between UNDRIP rights and shipping governance. The article draws upon existing literature on UNDRIP and Arctic shipping to identify several critical UNDRIP rights that are applicable to Arctic shipping governance. Using the Corridors initiative as a case study, this article examines the potential implications of several UNDRIP rights in terms of Inuit participation in decision-making and the governance of the corridors.

Marine Spatial Planning in Canadian Arctic Shipping Governance: Exploring Its Application in the Northern Low-impact Shipping Corridors Initiative

Abstract This article examines different integrated management frameworks and area-based measures in Canada’s integrated ocean management regime, including their definitions, features and practices. It explicitly analyzes ma-rine spatial planning (MSP) and its practice in Canada’s Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic coasts. Case studies, including the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (ESSIM) initiative, Pacific North Coast Integrated Manage-ment Area (PNCIMA) initiative, and Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP), show that MSP has brought additional value to comprehensive ocean planning and facilitated integrated shipping governance. Arctic marine traffic gov-ernance requires an integrated and holistic framework to address the inti-mate relationship and complex interaction between humans and the envi-ronment. The potential application of MSP in developing and governing the Northern Low Impact Shipping Corridors initiative is examined. MSP is con-sidered as a framework or an approach to inform better decision-making for the Corridors initiative from five perspectives: 1) improving interdepart-mental and cross-jurisdictional collaboration; 2) enhancing Inuit engage-ment; 3) encouraging knowledge co-production; 4) supporting data collec-tion and spatial analysis; and 5) facilitating implementation and adaptation of the Corridor initiative.

The Polar Code Process and Sovereignty Bargains: Comparing the Approaches of Canada and Russia to POLARIS

Owing to a shift from the culture of compliance to the culture of benchmarking, the Polar Code process of ensuring safe operation and environmental protection in Polar waters is still ongoing. The risk and goal-based approaches embedded in significant parts of the Polar Code invite different stakeholders to participate in the development of Arctic shipping governance. The methodology used in the process, such as POLARIS, may serve as a common baseline, but its utility relies on further updates and validation. The reliability of decision-support systems depends largely on whether different stakeholders embrace the system and share their experiences to facilitate systematic updates. This article compares the approaches of the two major coastal states, Canada and Russia, to POLARIS as reflected in their coastal state systems of shipping control in the Canadian Arctic Waters and the Russian Northern Sea Route (NSR). Considering that much Arctic shipping occurs within the Canadian Arctic and the NSR, their regulatory approaches may affect POLARIS’s popularity, acceptance, and, eventually, success in providing a common regulatory baseline.

Toward Sustainable Arctic Shipping: Perspectives from China

As a near-Arctic state and a shipping power, China shows great interest in developing polar shortcuts from East Asia to Europe against the background of shrinking Arctic sea ice. Due to the Arctic’s historic inaccessibility and corresponding vulnerable ecosystems, Arctic shipping activities must be carried out sustainably. In this study, a content analysis method was adopted to detect Chinese perspectives toward sustainable Arctic shipping based on qualitative data collected from the websites of several Chinese government agencies. Results show that, first, China emphasizes the fundamental role played by scientific expeditions and studies in developing Arctic shipping routes. Second, China encourages its shipping enterprises to conduct commercial and regularized Arctic voyages and intends to strike a good balance between shipping development and environmental protection. Third, China actively participates in Arctic shipping governance via extensive international cooperation at the global and regional levels. Several policy recommendations on how China can develop sustainable Arctic shipping are proposed accordingly.

Governance of Arctic Shipping: Rethinking Risk, the Human Dimension and Regulation

This open access book is a result of the Dalhousie-led research project Safe Navigation and Environment Protection, supported by a grant from the Ocean Frontier Institute’s the Canada First Research Excellent Fund (CFREF). The book focuses on Arctic shipping and investigates how ocean change and anthropogenic impacts affect our understanding of risk, policy, management and regulation for safe navigation, environment protection, conflict management between ocean uses, and protection of Indigenous peoples’ interests. A rapidly changing Arctic as a result of climate change and ice loss is rendering the North more accessible, providing new opportunities while producing impacts on the Arctic. The book explores ideas for enhanced governance of Arctic shipping through risk-based planning, marine spatial planning and scaling up shipping standards for safety, environment protection and public health.

Reducing black carbon emissions from Arctic shipping: Solutions and policy implications

Abstract As the most efficient atmospheric particulate matter to absorb visible light among shipping air pollutants, black carbon (BC) can significantly affect the Arctic climate because of its strong effect on reducing snow albedo. Thus, mitigation efforts to curb BC emissions from Arctic shipping have elicited considerable research interest. In this study, we revisit potential technical and operational solutions to reduce BC emission from shipping. Possible barriers to the main solutions that are applicable to Arctic shipping are discussed. We argue that Arctic shipping, which operates in a sensitive region with complicated navigational conditions, can affect the practical performance of BC abatement solutions. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis, this study mainly recommends that 1) combinations of technical and operational solutions are encouraged, but empirical studies are needed to test the effectiveness of those abatement technologies in the Arctic; 2) given the potential costs and average robust BC reduction performance, the switch from heavy fuel oil to distillate fuels should be prioritized for adoption by shipowners; 3) low impact and fuel efficient fishing needs to be introduced for fishing vessels, which are the largest fleet in the Arctic, to improve fishing practices and gears; and 4) regional actions and global cooperation are imperative for the governance of Arctic shipping.

The imo Polar Code: The Emerging Rules of Arctic Shipping Governance

In the context of the melting icecap and the growing shipping activity in the Arctic, the International Maritime Organization (imo) spent several years preparing polar navigation rules aimed at providing appropriate safety and environmental protection standards. The rules underwent several transformations before emerging as the binding International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code). The Polar Code is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2017. This paper examines the formation and development of the Polar Code and its principles and provisions, expounds upon the unique characteristics of the Code, and discusses expected future practices.

China’s Role in the Changing Governance of Arctic Shipping

This paper explores the role that China could play in the development of an effective international legal system for the governance of Arctic shipping. The first part describes the current international legal regime applicable to shipping activities in the Arctic. The second assesses China’s relations with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Arctic Council. China’s potential contribution to the governance of Arctic shipping is addressed in the final part.

Regime interplay in Arctic shipping governance: explaining regional niche selection

Distinctive institutional features can make a regime particularly suited for conducting one or more generic tasks of governance: building knowledge, strengthening norms, enhancing problem-solving capacity, or enforcing rule compliance. Each of those governance tasks constitutes a potential “niche” that a regime can specialize in within a larger institutional complex. Applying this niche-oriented approach to the case of Arctic marine transport helps to explain the emerging division of labor between regional and global institutions in an issue area marked by rapid change. Drawing on earlier regime-effectiveness research, the article examines the potential of regional institutions, especially the Arctic Council, to contribute to strengthening the international governance system for shipping, based on the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO). Although the Arctic Council is not well positioned to regulate regional shipping activities, it may facilitate regulatory advances in the IMO, in part by knowledge-building and in part by helping Arctic states to find common ground on matters of controversy. The Council is also well equipped to enhance regional maritime infrastructure, like capacities for responding to oil spills, and search and rescue operations. Should binding region-specific international rules on Arctic shipping be adopted, Arctic institutions could play a role in coordinating port-state enforcement measures—but existing institutions with broader participation are better suited and will probably remain dominant. The larger question of achieving cross-institutional interplay that can promote effectiveness is relevant in any region or issue area, because efforts to solve specific problems usually involve more than one institution.