Arctic indigenous leaders from Alaska, Russia, and Canada to make historic London address on impacts of Arctic Ocean shipping

To our knowledge, this is the first time that the IMO, which sets international shipping law and recently adopted the Polar Code, will hear arctic indigenous perspectives.  Despite shipping’s impacts on indigenous peoples, there is no indigenous representation at the IMO.Indigenous communities are on the front line of impacts associated with climate change, including expanded shipping in the Arctic. Their communities continue to rely strongly on affected marine wildlife and fish for food.  At the same time, they may be the first expected to respond to an oil spill or rescue in remote arctic waters.United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted arctic indigenous concerns while accepting an award from the Arctic Circle conference earlier this month:What happens in the Arctic affects us all — but let us remember those on the front lines: the many indigenous peoples who have lived here for centuries.

They contribute to the Arctic’s diversity and sustainable resource management. Yet as with developing countries, those who have contributed least to climate change are being hit first and hardest by serious consequences for their safety, health and human rights. 

Indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge systems of living in harmony with nature, and their contributions are essential to help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and combat Climate Change. I urge you to ensure that indigenous peoples, their rights and their sociocultural contributions, remain central as we address these shared challenges

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2016-10-08/address-arctic-circle-assembly

The arctic indigenous group will address the IMO plenary session at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, October 26.  (Rules for media access are below.)  They will also meet separately with the IMO Secretary-General.

As well, there will be a media availability for the panelists at 10 am in the lobby of the IMO on Thursday, October 27th that does not require accreditation. 
Concurrently, the  paper  “Arctic indigenous food security and shipping” submitted by several NGOs will be considered.  The paper finds that Arctic indigenous communities’ food security is inextricably tied to the bounty of the sea and threatened by increased shipping.As well, international efforts to phase out the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic – the top identified shipping-related threat to marine resources and arctic communities – are gaining significant momentum as an international coalition, the Clean Arctic Alliance, has formed.

In a paper submitted for next week’s meeting, the United States and Canada formally notified the International Maritime Organization that “a heavy fuel oil spill in the Arctic could cause long-term damage to the environment.”

This follows March 2016 commitments made by President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau to “determine with Arctic partners how best to address the risks posed by heavy fuel oil use and black carbon emissions from Arctic shipping.”  In recent weeks, several other northern nations as well as several international shipping associations have expressed support to phase out use of this dirty fuel in the Arctic.

Heavy fuel oil use is already banned in Antarctic waters.

Panelist Austin Ahmasuk writes about President Obama and heavy fuel oil in the Arctic in the following:

http://www.adn.com/article/20160512/obama-should-join-meeting-nordic-leaders-and-help-make-arctic-safer 

For more information, viewers can contact Sue Libenson or her colleague Kevin Harun who is London this week as well.  They will glad to provide further background information.  Thanks.

Kevin Harun
Arctic Program Director, Pacific Environment
01 907 440 2443
kharun@pacificenvironment.org