Editorial

• Author: Kati Kulovesi,Sabaa Ahmad Khan
• Published date: 01 April 2018
• Date: 01 April 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12247

Editorial

This Special Issue of RECIEL is dedicated to environmental govern-

ance in the Arctic region. It is widely known that the Arctic is under

increasing environmental stress. Even with implementation of the

2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, the region is expected to

continue warming faster than the global average. Indeed, the timing

of this Special Issue coincides with this year’s end of the Arctic ice

expansion season, and the new finding that for a fourth year in a

row, the annual maximum extent of sea ice in the Polar Region has

been the lowest on record.

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An expanding body of Arctic research indicates that the con-

tinued decline of Arctic sea ice cover brings with it a myriad of

transformations. Coiled into the progressive disappearance of Arctic

ice are realities of human distress and ecosystem degradation as wit-

nessed in the challenges faced by local communities and by the

region’s biodiversity. With the changes also come new prospects for

resource exploration, development and global shipping, as reflected

by the far-reaching Arctic development agendas of a number of Arc-

tic, non-Arctic and self-identified ‘near-Arctic’States.

This Special Issue addresses some of these Arctic transform-

ations from a diversity of legal perspectives and reflecting the fact

that environmental cooperation relevant for the Arctic takes place

through multiple international, national and transnational fora. One

of the key bodies is the Arctic Council, which brings together the

eight Arctic States, namely Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Nor-

way, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Importantly, the Arctic

Council’s work is substantially informed by the traditional knowledge

of Arctic indigenous peoples. As contributions to this Special Issue

illustrate, various multilateral environmental agreements also play a

role in protecting the Arctic environment, as does European law and

the national laws and policies of various countries.

The contemporary Arctic environmental concerns addressed in

this Special Issue include black carbon pollution and regulation (Khan

and Kulovesi; Romppanen), the development of international rules

on Arctic shipping (Bognar; Kirchner and Kleemola-Juntunen), the

role of Arctic indigenous peoples in Arctic governance (Hughes), gen-

der rights and inequities in relation to the extractive industries (Kou-

touki, Lofts and Davidian), and the Arctic environmental implications

of China’s economic development plans (Liu). Distinct in their

approaches and analytical foci, the various contributions nevertheless

bind together in demonstrating how the Arctic region is being

shaped through the complex interplay of local, national and interna-

tional forces in overlaid legal spaces.

The first contribution by Khan and Kulovesi explores the ques-

tion of black carbon emissions affecting the Arctic from the point of

view of science, law and space. Black carbon emissions are particu-

larly detrimental for the Arctic environment as they accelerate its

warming, including by reducing the albedo effect, in other words,

the ability of snow and ice to reflect back sunlight. Using science,

law and space as the analytical framework, the contribution demon-

strates how global and local actors co-produce Arctic climate out-

comes. The analysis highlights regulatory challenges raised by

borderless climate pollutants such as black carbon, which can only

be mitigated within the Arctic through global engagement. The

authors point to the Paris Agreement and the Arctic Council’s volun-

tary goal to reduce black carbon emissions as inclusive ways forward

to enrol differently situated actors and varying spatial scales of law

in fulfilling globally common environmental and human health pro-

tection objectives. Their discussion of Inuit legal activism on black

carbon pollution brings to the forefront the social justice dimension

of inter-State environmental negotiations, and points to the role of

the Inuit as leaders in an ever-strengthening global movement con-

necting human rights and climate governance.

With a focus on the role of Arctic indigenous peoples, Hughes

analyses the reception of the principle of free and prior informed

consent (FPIC) in international and domestic law in the Arctic region.

Through a comparative overview of legal practices and instruments

that cut across the international, national and local scales, Hughes

illustrates that despite FPIC being internationally recognized as a

fundamental aspect of securing indigenous human rights, practices

of indigenous engagement in the Arctic region have focused largely

on making good-faith efforts to reach consensus rather than on

obtaining consent. She attributes shortcomings in indigenous consult-

ation processes to the continued failure by many governments to

recognize indigenous peoples as equal partners in Arctic develop-

ment. While emphasizing the importance and international legal basis

of FPIC, Hughes also points to other mechanisms that have been

developed in the Arctic region to support the self-determination of

indigenous peoples, including co-management and self-governance

arrangements. She highlights the Arctic Council as a potential region-

al forum that could more actively engage Arctic States to adopt

international standards for FPIC.

The role of the Arctic Council is also addressed by Kirchner and

Kleemola-Juntunen, in this case, in the context of developing an

effective regulatory framework to address waste dumping and oil

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National Snow and Ice Data Center, ‘Arctic Sea Ice Maximum at Second Lowest in the

Satellite Record’(23 March 2018) <http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2018/03/arctic-sea-

ice-maximum-second-lowest/>.

DOI: 10.1111/reel.12247

RECIEL. 2018;27:3–4. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/reel

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