Friday, February 19, 2010

Witschel et al.: New Chances and New Responsibilities in the Arctic Region

Georg Witschel, Ingo Winkelmann, Katrin Tiroch, & Rüdiger Wolfrum have published New Chances and New Responsibilities in the Arctic Region (Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag 2010). Here's the abstract:
The Arctic in the 21st century is exposed to multiple challenges. Global warming will have far-reaching repercussions, and thus will open up new opportunities. The melting of the ice enables the exploitation of resources and the use of new shipping routes, which were not accessible up to now. However, these opportunities require new responsibilities, which have to be taken seriously. These developments in the Arctic partake an increasing position in the international environmental discussion. The present book contains a comprehensive analysis of the current problems with regard to the Arctic region. It highlights contributions and conclusions of the Conference on New Chances and New Responsibilities in the Arctic Region, held in Berlin from 11–13 March 2009 and organized by the German Federal Foreign Office in cooperation with the Foreign Ministries of Norway and Denmark. The conference addressed the challenges for environment, societies and research, new prospects for resource exploitation and maritime traffic, and emerging questions of an international governance frame work for the Arctic. The contributors are leading Arctic experts from the fields of politics, diplomacy, business, science and civil society.