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Challenges for the Establishment of Marine Protected Areas in Response to Arctic Marine Operations and Shipping

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Sustainable Shipping in a Changing Arctic

Part of the book series: WMU Studies in Maritime Affairs ((WMUSTUD,volume 7))

Abstract

Increasing Arctic marine use is driven primarily by natural resource development and greater marine access throughout the Arctic Ocean created by profound sea ice retreat. Significant management measures to enhance protection of Arctic people and the marine environment are emerging, including the development of marine protected areas (MPAs) which may be effective and valuable tools. MPAs have been established by individual Arctic coastal states within their respective national jurisdictions; however, a pan-Arctic network of MPAs has yet to be established despite Arctic Council deliberations. This overview focuses on those MPAs that can be designated by the International Maritime Organization and by international instrument or treaty to respond to increasing Arctic marine operations and shipping. Key challenges remain in the Arctic to the introduction of select MPAs and development of a circumpolar network of MPAs in response to greater marine use: the variability of sea ice; the rights and concerns of indigenous people; a lack of marine infrastructure; application to the Central Arctic Ocean; establishing effective monitoring; and, compliance and enforcement in remote polar seas. Robust bilateral and multilateral cooperation will be necessary not only to establish effective MPAs but also to sustain them for the long term. Reducing the large Arctic marine infrastructure gap will be a key requirement to achieve effective MPA management and attain critical conservation goals.

The research and editing of this chapter and volume was supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant award 1263678 to L. W. Brigham and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Arctic Council Working Group, Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment.

  2. 2.

    The report defined the “Arctic area” as including “sub-Arctic, open-water areas south of the ice-covered areas. In the Pacific sector it extends south to include the Aleutian Islands and the east coast of Kamchatka. In the Atlantic the area extends south to the northern coast of Labrador in the west and to the Faroe Isles and the boundary to the North Sea at 62° N in the east”.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Millicent McCreath

  2. International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    Lawson W. Brigham

Authors
  1. Millicent McCreath
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  2. Lawson W. Brigham
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Correspondence to Millicent McCreath .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. World Maritime University , Malmö, Sweden

    Lawrence P. Hildebrand

  2. International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

    Lawson W. Brigham

  3. Word Maritime University, Malmö, Sweden

    Tafsir M. Johansson

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McCreath, M., Brigham, L.W. (2018). Challenges for the Establishment of Marine Protected Areas in Response to Arctic Marine Operations and Shipping. In: Hildebrand, L., Brigham, L., Johansson, T. (eds) Sustainable Shipping in a Changing Arctic. WMU Studies in Maritime Affairs, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78425-0_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78425-0_17

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