ABSTRACT
In his Murmansk speech in 1987, Gorbachev proposed the Arctic as the shortest searoute linking Europe to the Far East and the Pacific Ocean, triggering a new perspective on the region.1 Since then, the 1991 Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS), referred to as the Finnish Initiative, has been created as a multilateral, non-binding agreement among Arctic states to protect the environment by monitoring, assessment, emergency preparedness/response, and conservation of the Arctic zone. It has been called a major political accomplishment of the post-Cold War era.2 Based on the AEPS, eight Arctic states established the Arctic Council under the 1996 Ottawa Declaration for protection of the Arctic environment and people in the Arctic region. The Arctic Council played a crucial role as a pre-eminent intergovernmental body while maintaining its status as a non-binding high-level forum among member states. During the last 17 years, under the 1st round of the Arctic Council, it has successfully addressed the major agendas described in the founding declaration.
