ABSTRACT
It can be argued that the status of cooperation does not really correspond to the assumptions of cooperative effectiveness on environmental issues expected by the standard regime approach. The field of international environmental politics seems to attract non-governmental organisations (NGO) or non-state actors. The tasks of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Arctic program, defined by the Arctic coordinator Peter Prokosch, were to create a common pan-Arctic thinking, and acting on and supporting conservation steps and developments in the Arctic. Most environmental NGO participation has taken place through national delegations. The environmental NGO's have been less successful in their effort to create a place for themselves in the Arctic cooperation. The current plans for the Sustainable Development Programme include 'cooperative activities' meaning 'a particular activity of any type authorized by the Arctic Council to be carried out under a Programme of Work, including activities of Working Groups, Task Forces, or other bodies established by the Arctic Council'.
