The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of 22 August, 2022
NATO Secretary General To Visit Canada
As reported by Reuters on August 19, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and traveled to Canada from August 24 to August 26. The Prime Minister’s office announced that the visit focused on Arctic security issues, including climate change, Russia’s military activity in the region, and the invasion of Ukraine. He also visited an air base in Alberta, Canada, to discuss plans to modernize NORAD, the joint air defense and early warning system for the US and Canada. (Reuters)
Take 1: The Arctic has long been a growing area of concern for NATO due to a deteriorating security environment, involving issues such as climate change and Russian militarisation of the region. However, the High North has shifted to become one of the main focuses for NATO following the invasion of Ukraine, especially now with Sweden and Finland’s application to join the alliance. This forthcoming membership creates new opportunities to strengthen collective security across NATO, such as developing a uniform Arctic military strategy and coordinating large-scale exercises throughout the Nordic region. Yet despite the recent attention on the European Arctic, the visit by Secretary General Stoltenberg illustrates that NATO recognises the Canadian Arctic as critical for the organization’s defense as well, particularly NORAD. With Russia successfully testing new technologies in the Arctic such as hypersonic missiles, upgrading the more than sixty-year-old North American threat detection system and early warning radar is essential for improving security. Although the High North has remained stable throughout the current conflict and Russia has recently relocated much of its ground forces from the Arctic towards Ukraine, the region remains a potential source of tensions. At the same time, other security concerns, such as the increasing economic competition and rising maritime traffic in the Arctic, still require continued NATO cooperation to address. Therefore, the Secretary General’s visit is important as it reinforces that the Arctic remains a priority on the NATO agenda, and indicates that NATO is committed to strengthening its role in the region. (Government of Canada, High North News, NPR)
Permafrost Thaw And The Changing Arctic Landscape
As reported by The Washington Post on August 20, a new research paper published in The Cryosphere has identified that landslides caused by thawing permafrost release significant amounts of carbon, and that these events are also increasing in number. Scientists from the Swiss Institute of Environmental Engineering, the University of Alaska, and the German Aerospace Center compared satellite imagery from Siberia’s Taymyr Peninsula in northern Russia from 2010 to 2017 and 2018 to 2021 to estimate that carbon release from landslides increased by 28 times in the study period. The team concluded that the global models used to predict climate change need to consider the carbon released during these sudden events in addition to more gradual permafrost thaw. (The Washington Post)
Take 2: With the Arctic warming four times faster than the rest of the world, rising temperatures pose a severe risk for the permafrost in the region. The perennially frozen soil is estimated to hold twice as much carbon as currently in the atmosphere, and with permafrost covering about a quarter of land in the Northern Hemisphere, thawing permafrost could substantially amplify climate change. Widespread changes in the Arctic landscape, including hillside slumps, disappearing lakes, and polygon fields, provide clear evidence that permafrost is thawing. Unfortunately, these emissions from hillside slumps have largely been a neglected part of the Arctic carbon cycle and are generally not included in climate models. As a result, climate policies and projections may be inaccurate since they do not account for the major releases of carbon from the landslides. Through its findings, the study illustrates the importance of continued research of permafrost, but the scientists acknowledge that the long-term consequences of sliding hillsides for the region remains unclear. With increasing wildfires likely to further accelerate permafrost thaw in the future, further research must be conducted to fill critical data gaps and provide greater information to aid policymakers in developing more comprehensive climate policies. (Indigenous Climate Hub, PBS, Scientific American)
Saving A Language: The Online Iñupiaq Dictionary
As reported by Anchorage Daily News on August 21, Alaska Native linguists have created an online Iñupiaq dictionary. The website, which the Arctic Slope Community Foundation launched in June, is the first of its kind for the North Slope dialect of Iñupiaq, an Inuit language spoken by the Iñupiat people in northern Alaska. Created by linguist and educator Edna Ahgeak Paniattaaq MacLean together with web developers Christopher Egalaaq Liu and Lonny Alaskuk Strunk, the online resource features a dictionary, a word-building function, and an audio library. (Anchorage Daily News)
Take 3: Numbering about 13,500, the Iñupiat people in Alaska have been subjected to colonial policies just like many Indigenous peoples across the Arctic. The US is one of many states that carried out aggressive assimilation and education policies, such as family separation and compulsory residential schools. These policies were aimed at the cultural eradication of Indigenous communities and severely eroded the Iñupiaq language, also known as Alaskan Inuit. Today there are approximately 3,000 Iñupiaq speakers, but most are over the age of 40, and only about 5% are fluent. Language is one of the most important aspects of culture, and one even more crucial in Indigenous cultures like the Iñupiat because of a history of extensive oral traditions and limited written practice. For many Indigenous societies, oral history is one of the primary methods of passing on generational knowledge, so saving these languages safeguards traditional heritage and invaluable wisdom. By combining MacLean’s original physical dictionary with technology to make learning easier, faster, and more accessible, the Iñupiaq online site is an important step towards preserving the language for future generations. The word-building tool is particularly innovative as it can quickly develop phrases and even sentences. The website illustrates the potential of utilizing technology in preserving Indigenous culture, and can serve as a model for languages facing extinction across the Arctic. (National Park Service, The Indigenous Foundation, United Nations, University of Alaska Anchorage)
Chinese Ships Will Not Sail Through Russian Arctic Waters This Year
As reported by The Barents Observer on August 22, Chinese shipping company COSCO will not sail through the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for the first time in several years. Although most of the NSR’s 5000-kilometer-long route is ice-free this year, data from the Russian Northern Sea Route Administration indicates that China’s state shipping company has not applied for sailing permission for any of its vessels. (The Barents Observer)
Take 4: The Northern Sea Route is a critical state priority for Russia, and development of the passage features prominently in Russia’s Arctic Strategy. The federal government has made considerable efforts to transform the NSR into a major transportation route, and recently announced that it will invest 1.8 trillion rubles ($30.1 billion) in 152 projects, including icebreakers, seaports, and other infrastructure until 2035.Yet despite the significant investment and development, shipping and cargo transit through the route remain limited. The NSR is shorter than other global shipping lanes, but harsh weather, logistical issues, environmental concerns, and unreliability have made alternative passages more attractive to international shipping companies. While the NSR has gained limited interest from most shipping companies, China has been one of the few countries to have sailed vessels through the Arctic route over the past few years and has contributed significantly to the region’s development, especially in liquified natural gas projects. However, COSCO’s decision not to sail any vessels through the route this year comes after Chinese manufacturers also halted cooperation with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Although COSCO continues to own stakes in NSR projects, the decision raises questions about the nature of Arctic cooperation between China and Russia. Moreover, with the state spending significant resources on the war against Ukraine and sanctions crippling certain sectors, the continued lack of foreign shipping could have severe economic consequences for Russia and limit future Arctic development. (High North News, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, The Arctic Institute, The Barents Observer)
Last Private Bidder On Wildlife Refuge Withdraws From Lease
As reported by Alaska Public Media on August 23, the last remaining private company to bid on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Knik Arm Services, has now cancelled its lease, citing the current moratorium on oil and gas development as well as legal challenges. The coastal plain, which potentially contains large oil reserves, was opened for bidding in January 2021, but the issued drilling leases were suspended by the Biden administration pending an environmental review. The US Office of Natural Resources Revenue will refund $2.1 million to the company. (Alaska Public Media)
Take 5: The lease sale of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was an extremely controversial event at the time. Although the area potentially contains large oil reserves and could generate significant revenue, it also draws attention to the severe consequences drilling could have on the environment, wildlife, and Indigenous communities, including in particular the Porcupine caribou. The coastal plain of the ANWR serves as a summer calving and feeding ground for a herd of about 200,000 that migrate from Canada every year. As caribou are highly sensitive to oil and gas infrastructure, drilling activity in the refuge could severely impact the caribou population, and the risk of declining numbers is immense. Numerous Indigenous communities rely heavily on caribou for subsistence needs, and with many Arctic communities already facing increasing threats to food security due to climate change, losing such a key food source would exacerbate this crisis. Moreover, changing the migratory patterns of caribou could contribute to greater releases of carbon into the atmosphere, with studies indicating that caribou grazing may have a critical role in preserving permafrost. Without the caribou, more permafrost may thaw, emitting significant amounts of carbon stored in the ground. The decision by Knik Arm Services to withdraw from the lease represents an important step in reversing the lease sale, and therefore also in preserving one of the largest remaining natural areas in the world alongside its wildlife and inhabitants. Alaska’s state-owned Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, the only bidder left, should follow suit. (Arctic Focus, NPR, World Wildlife Fund, Yale Environment 360)