Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre

Concluding statement at the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting

Salekhard, Russia, 26 October 2006

Check against delivery

Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me first of all, on behalf of all of us, reiterate our thanks to Russia and to Foreign Minister Lavrov for chairing the Arctic Council with such skill and for the warm hospitality we have enjoyed here in Salekhard this week.

We have before us a declaration that will guide us in our further endeavours. I would like to thank our officials who have worked hard to hammer out this agreement.

The Arctic Council is celebrating its 10 ^th> anniversary this year, and bearing in mind that the decision-making process is based on consensus, I believe it is fair to say we have achieved many important results since its establishment. The greatest success has been the work to compile new knowledge on the Arctic environment. This work has led to important milestones such as the ACIA report and reports on Arctic pollution issues.

We now need to move forward.

Sustainable development, environmental protection and climate issues have been at the top of the agenda during the Russian chairmanship. For Norway, this is an excellent starting point for our chairmanship. You have seen our programme – it encapsulates the key achievements of our work thus far and sets new targets for the work ahead.

Our key objective should be to produce results, which means facts, insights and – where appropriate – concrete calls for action.

To fulfil this objective, we need to constantly discuss the way we organise our work. We need to adjust and adapt as progress is made, both politically and scientifically. We should bear in mind that just being here together as we are today would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. We might have different views on what kind of role the Arctic Council should play, but we should be open to this kind of discussion.

The focus on sustainable development and climate change will continue, and will be reinforced during our chairmanship. However, settlement, growth and welfare cannot be secured without economic activity. Today, fisheries and the exploitation of minerals and fossil fuels are the basis of the region’s economy. All future economic development must take account of the fragile ecosystems.

Integrated resource management will therefore be one of our priorities during the Norwegian chairmanship. This management approach is based on the importance of healthy and productive ecosystems as the long-term basis for economic development. A few months ago, Norway launched the Integrated Management Plan for the Barents Sea and the sea areas off the Lofoten Islands. This plan is based on an ecosystem approach. Its purpose is to provide a framework for sustainable use of natural resources, while maintaining the structure, functioning and productivity of the ecosystems.

The plan aims to facilitate the co-existence of different industries in the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea, particularly the fisheries industry, the petroleum industry and maritime transport.

Delivering on this plan is Norway’s responsibility. But we know that all the Arctic countries have long experience of managing resources in the Arctic. We would all gain from increasing the exchange of experience and knowledge. We should not shy away from setting bold targets: Our goal should be no less than to develop a common approach to ecosystem-based management of the natural resources in the Arctic.

As we have discussed today, the challenge posed by climate change is more visible here in this region than anywhere else on the globe. We will make climate change a priority during our chairmanship. Since different forums have different roles, we will propose that the Arctic Council gives priority to the implementation of the ACIA report and its recommendations, the Reykjavik ministerial declaration and the ACIA policy document from Reykjavik.

Special attention will be given to filling knowledge gaps and to identifying relevant adaptation and mitigation measures and strategies by means of new studies, assessments and activities. Particular focus should be directed at the situation of and the challenges faced by indigenous peoples.

You have received the programme for the Norwegian chairmanship. In addition I am pleased to present a joint paper from Norway, Denmark and Sweden outlining some priorities we would like to focus on over the next six years, during which our three countries will be chairing the Arctic Council. We are looking forward to the task with commitment and enthusiasm.

We are in this Arctic effort together. Our challenges are of a transboundary nature – but so are our opportunities.

Thus, they need to be addressed through dedicated international cooperation. This is why the Arctic Council is more important today than ever before.