On August 20, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke approved a plan to close 200,000 square miles of the waters off the north coast of Alaska to commercial fishing. The plan, which was recommended by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in February, entails a ban on commercial fishing in the American sections of the Beaufort and Chuchki Seas until further scientific studies are done of the region to assess its vulnerability. Finfish and shellfish, including cod and snow crab, will now be protected indefinitely from trawls, purse seines, and other sorts of commercial fishing gear.  Of course, the native Inuit will still be able to conduct subsistence hunting.

In the future, if fishing is allowed, it will be subject to strict regulations. For instance, ships may be required to have a fisheries observer on board to ensure that catches are within the regulations. You can view the official plan here.

While the author of the LA Times article, Kim Murphy, seems to see the moratorium as a precursor to an international ban on commercial fishing in the Arctic, Anna Mehler Papperney at the Globe and Mail views the ban as a more ominous precedent due to the so-called “Beaufort Sea Dispute.” The US and Canada are still at odds over where to draw the border between the two countries in the Beaufort Sea. While Canada insists on drawing the line along the 141st meridian, the US prefers to use the equidistance principle in order to better serve its interests. You can read more about the territorial dispute here on page 4 (PDF).

Thus, in late July, Papperney wrote that the ban wouldn’t pose too many problems to Canada, since its commercial fishing policy is similar to that of the United States. However, the real contention would center around whether Canada would be seen as losing face to the United States, which is now exercising jurisdiction over the disputed wedge of ocean - and this just as Prime Minister Harper goes on his sovereignty promotional tour in the High North.

Map of Arctic FMP Area. © NOAA

News links

“U.S. bans expanded commercial fishing in the Arctic,” LA Times Blog

“Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke approves fisheries plan for the Arctic,” NOAA

This month, both the Canadian government and military are ramping up their activities in the Arctic.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has embarked on his official visit to the Canadian High North, with his first stop in Iqaluit, Nunavat. He has taken a trip to the region every summer since he first became prime minister in February 2006. But whereas during other visits, Harper would triumphantly unveil new Arctic strategies and plans to strengthen the military, this time, the prime minister got off to a bad start. He ate raw seal heart behind closed doors in order to avoid a lashing in the press similar to the one Governor General Michele Jean received a few months ago, and the first couple of days of his visit were marred by the release of a photo of two young Inuit boys sleeping outdoors in the cold.

PM Harper visits Iqaluit. (C) Adrian Wyld, The Canadian Press

A photo slideshow of Harper’s visit can be seen here.

The Canadian military was off to a better start with their military exercises, Operation Nanook 09, a so-called “sovereignty operation.” The consulting agency ISRIA provides a nice run-down of the activities the military will carry out in the region. It began on August 6 and will continue until August 28. Besides aerial and marine patrols and military exercises, there will also be a “whole of government” exercise “involv[ing] military and civilian authorities in the North, including the Canadian Coast Guard, Transport Canada and local and regional governments, as they test emergency preparedness in response to a critical infrastructure failure.” [1] Such joint efforts echo those in Russia, where the government’s Arctic strategy through 2020 calls for more cooperation between the coast guard, border patrols, and the military, for starters.

Min. of Defense Peter MacKay and the Yellowknife Company

South of Iqaluit, Canadian rangers and soldiers conducted an amphibious assault on a beach as part of a military exercise. PM Harper will board the HMCS Toronto tomorrow to watch the rest of the exercises.

Meanwhile, on August 17, the Yellowknife Company debuted. Canadian Minister of Defense Peter MacKay attended the ceremonies. The Yellowknife Company, which is stationed in the Northwest Territories, will be the first primary army reserve unit north of the 60th latitude, marking a big step forward for a permanent Canadian military presence in its Arctic region.

Guns versus Butter

Talk of an arms race is gaining momentum. UPI is running an article under the subject “Emerging Threats” with the headline, “Canada flies NATO flag in Arctic showdown.” Some more gung-ho journalists, such as Matt Gurney, believe that Canada isn’t doing enough to defend its sovereignty, as he writes in the article, “Promises aren’t enough to protect the Arctic.” Gurney mentions Harper’s visit and the military exercises in the Arctic, lamenting,

“While this seemingly suggests that Canada is joining the arms race, the reality is quite different. The sad truth is that the Canadian Forces have never had much of an Arctic capability at all, and every promise made by Ottawa should not be viewed as a step towards an arms race, but correcting a glaring deficiency.”

Don Martin of Canwest News Service is no less harsh, writing that while Harper may be quite vocal when it comes to Arctic sovereignty,

“In terms of the oft-promised ice-puncturing ships, ocean floor submarine sensors, deep sea port or mandatory passage registration regulations, his Arctic defence strategy has produced little beyond downgraded contracts, project delays and regurgitated news releases. [2]

But to many Canadians, there are other problems which take precedence over military weaknesses. Enhancing social welfare programs, ensuring health care, and increasing housing, infrastructure, and federal investment are some of the main priorities of MP Dennis Bevington, who represents the riding of Western Arctic. In fact, these problems aren’t all too different from those in Russia, where lack of jobs, housing, and amenities has caused the population in the northern tundra towns to plummet since the demise of the Soviet Union. The Canadian Arctic might also be highly vulnerable to swine flu, a pandemic we tend to associate with hot, crowded places - not frozen, barren lands (“Inuit a high risk for swine flu, leaders fear,” Globe & Mail).

Harper has responded to criticism of the overemphasis on defense by making good on his 2008 campaign promise to open up a Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor). Headquartered in Iqaluit, CanNor’s budget is $50 million over five years, but it is not so much the investments themselves as the presence of a development agency that will help the region, since it will create jobs and help direct growth along a path that enriches the Inuit people instead of primarily resource-extraction companies. MP Bevington noted that the Northwest Territories have the highest GDP per capita in all of Canada, but still has thousands of poor people. I checked these statistics and it turns out that the NWT have a per capita GDP of almost $100,000, about twice that of the rest of the provinces. But apparently, most of this money is not funneled back to the local people. Furthermore, a downturn in diamond mining in the NWT was behind a 6.5% decrease in the province’s GDP last year, which provides fair warning to the Russians as they embark on the Kupol mine project.

Real gross domestic product, 2008. (c) Statistics Canada

Paul Kaludjak, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, remarked,

“We’ve been long aware of the process and we look forward to building policies and programs along that line … to make sure it’s relevant to the Inuit of Nunavut. [The office] has to serve its purpose and the mandate has to reflect what’s needed in the territory. … On many occasions Nunavut and Inuit are not understood, and I hope [Harper] does.”

News links

[1] “PM renews ‘use it or lose it’ vow,” Canada.com

[2] “Harper treks north as Arctic strategy teeters on an icy slope”, Canwest

Russian mines that haven’t been in operation since the days of the Soviet gulags are being reopened in an effort to capitalize on the rise in the price of gold and recoup losses caused by the fall in the price of oil, Russia’s primary export. The Kupol mine lies within the federal subject of Chukotka, all the way in the tundras of the far Siberian northeast. Here, natural resources are plenty: reindeer outnumber people 4 to 1 [1], and besides gold, large reserves of silver, oil and natural gas also exist.

Yet perhaps the region is most famous for being under the control of Governor Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea FC. He has poured $2.5 billion into the region in an effort to stimulate its economy, which is almost entirely dependent on gold exports. After South Africa, Russia has the second largest gold reserves in the world. However, it was only the fifth-largest producer of gold, demonstrating that the country has room to further exploit its mineral resources. Chukotka was therefore a natural location for intensifying the mining efforts.

Five years ago, construction of the mine site began in Kupol, which is 220 kilometers away from Bilbino, the closest large city. The mine is situated over the Kayemraveem ore belt, which contains both high-quality gold and silver. According to Kinross, the mineral deposits are estimated to hold 4.4 million ounces of gold and 54.2 million ounces of silver, on top of 1.7 million inferred ounces of gold and 22.2 million inferred ounces of silver. Inferred deposits mean that the ore is not necessarily accessible due to geological obstacles.

Currently, the Kupol mine is 75% owned by Bema Gold Company, a Canadian company based in Vancouver, and 25% owned by the regional government of Chukokta. Bema itself was purchased by Kinross, a Canadian gold mining corporation with operations all over the world, in February 2007. You can view the company’s website on the mine here, along with a technical report. Thus, despite all the brouhaha you might see take place in the media or even in diplomatic staterooms between Canada and Russia over Arctic policy, there is a good deal of economic cooperation going on behind the scenes.

More gold mines are expected to open in the near future as Russia tries to capitalize on the commodity’s steadily rising price. However, this strategy is also demonstrative of a failure to develop a services-based economy, one which will not be so vulnerable to swings in commodity prices and depletion of resources. Already, Russia’s largest gold mining company, Polyus Gold, experienced a 14% drop in output in the first quarter of 2009 due to a decrease in its gold ores.

But Russia isn’t the only Arctic country looking to exploit its mineral resources. In Alaska, just below the Arctic Circle, analysis has shown that the Livengood ore deposit is home to 7.6 million ounces of low-grade inferred and indicated gold. The project might run up against some obstacles, however, as many environmentalists are worried that gold mines could leach into the water and destroy wild salmon populations.

By the way, for an interesting article on Siberia, which is home to Chutkotka and many other sparsely populated Russian regions, check out Ian Frazier’s in-depth article on his epic travels in the region, published in the New Yorker last week (registration required).

News links

[1] “Reindeer herders battle alcohol on Russia’s edge,” Reuters

“Remote Russian region builds on billionaire’s legacy,” Reuters

“Abramovich’s Billions Give Hope to Bleak region,” The Moscow Times

On August 3rd, the 50th anniversary of Alaskan statehood, Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) announced the introduction of a package of seven bills focused on developing and protecting the Arctic. Begich, a freshman senator who took over Ted Steven’s seat last November, sat out the traditional “waiting period” before giving his maiden speech on the floor of the Senate. He lived up to his reputation as one of the most active Arctic policymakers in the U.S. by introducing bills which focus on both domestic and foreign policy.

On the home front, Begich tries to balance development with science, research, and preservation. The first bill aims to develop revenue sharing of profits generated by oil drilling off the North Slope of Alaska. In the sixth bill, he is seeking to help coastal villages affected by global warming avoid further decline, namely by researching the causes underlying the medical maladies plaguing the Inuit population in Alaska. Alcohol abuse, suicide, and high blood pressure are all some of the more prevalent problems in the indigenous population. The former mayor of Anchorage connected the issue of Arctic health to the larger policy debate surrounding health care, saying that now is a better time than ever to discuss it. He observed,

“People saw the Arctic as not really important enough. But because the Arctic has become such a national issue and a worldwide issue, people see this now as a potential.”

In regards to foreign policy, Begich is seeking to create a new position of a U.S. Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs and enhance American preparedness for increased maritime trade and shipping. The senator also spoke in favor of ratification of UNCLOS and the Treaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which I discussed here a couple of days ago. He noted about the long held-up UNCLOS:

“That flag being planted by the Russians, I think, woke people up that it is time to be part of this treaty so we have an equal footing to ensure that our interests are protected.” But Begich didn’t just focus on competition in the Arctic: he mentioned the possibility for multilateral cooperation in scientific research, speaking in favor of pursuing “Pan-Arctic research” with Russian and Canadian neighbors to “address scientific issues that span international borders.”
The seven bills are available on Senator Begich’s website here. They will now go through the lengthy committee process. The links below will take you to the original text of the bill, provided by the Library of Congress.

1. S.1560 : To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to provide for the sharing of certain outer Continental Shelf revenues from areas in the Alaska Adjacent Zone.
2. S.1561 : To ensure safe marine shipping in the Arctic, including navigation aids, oil spill response capability, and search and rescue.
3. S.1562 : To provide for a study and report on research on the U.S. Arctic Ocean.
4. S.1563 : To create a U.S. Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs.
5. S.1564 : To enhance the U.S.’ preparedness for dealing with increased maritime and development activity in the Arctic as a result of climate change.
6. S.1565 : To improve Arctic health.
7. S.1566 : To create the American Arctic Adaptation Grant Program to prevent or mitigate effects of Arctic climate change.

I’ll be following the status of these seven bills as they make their way through the senatorial committees.

YouTube Videos

News links:
“Begich introduces package of bills related to Arctic,” Anchorage Daily News