The Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) Working Group of the Arctic Council recently held their second meeting of 2019 in Reykjavík, Iceland. PAME delegates and partners discussed deliverables to the 2019 Arctic Council Ministerial, ongoing projects to be undertaken during the Icelandic Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, and more.
In addition to the general meeting, IASC engaged in a series of Expert Group pre-meetings including the Resource Exploration and Development Expert Group (REDEG), Ecosystem Approach (EA) Expert Group, Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Expert Group, and the Marine Litter Expert Group. At their invitation, IASC is looking forward to nominating scientific experts to contribute to the work of these groups.
PAME also accepted a presentation on the IASC-initiated MOSAiC expedition. PAME continued work related to enhanced Arctic Maritime Safety, including welcoming a report from the 3rd annual meeting of the Arctic Shipping Best Practice Information Forum, at which IASC was represented by IASC Vice President Henry Burgess. Building on a desktop study and working towards an action plan, PAME also highlighted projects related to Arctic marine litter and plastics pollution by releasing its first “plastic in a bottle.”
PAME also accepted a new Chair, Paula Kankaanpää, who is also an IASC Vice President. IASC hopes that this will facilitate increased cooperation between IASC and PAME.
IASC is an Observer to the Arctic Council and as such supports the work of the Arctic nations, Permanent Participants, and the Arctic Council Working Groups. If you are interested in engaging with the work of the Arctic Council through IASC, please get in touch with the IASC Secretariat.