ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines changes in the Arctic Council, these have been built on the foundations that were laid down already at the beginning of the period of Arctic-wide co-operation, with the initiation of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS) in 1991. Most analysis of the Arctic Council starts from the premise that it can develop - and needs to develop, because of the enormous challenges the region faces - and move towards whatever direction is desirable. The activities of the AEPS, which were carried out under the auspices of working groups concerned with conservation, pollution issues, and protection of the Arctic environment, were subsumed by the Arctic Council in 1996. AEPS outlines international environmental protection treaties that apply in the Arctic and specified additional actions to counter the identified environmental threats. It establishes four working groups: Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment, Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme.
