Research Professor Timo Koivurova from the Northern
Institute for Environmental and Minority Law of the Arctic Centre will be one of the
keynote speakers at the Arctic Summit organized by renowned British magazine The
Economist on Thursday 12th of March in Oslo.

The basis of this
year’s Arctic Summit is to estimate realistically, what is and isn’t going on in the
Arctic Region. The public expectations have been downsizing. For example many
projects concerning oil have been put aside due to falling price of oil, and the
Northeast Passage has been used much less than estimated.

According to Koivurova this is only a good thing:

– We
have been trying to bring out viewpoints based on research in almost every possible
situation, but often the media have not been interested.

In his
own address Koivurova will analyze, if in the region there is going on a resource
contest, new cold war or a development based on regulations. One of the crucial
factors producing fears is, that Denmark and Russia both have continental shelf
claims to the Lomonosov Ridge at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.

– Despite how things are, it looks very probable that the states will
behave according the requirements of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. When
Denmark left its “evidence” of the outreach of its continental shelf, it also told,
that the claim probably is overlapping with the Russian claim. In the Danish
application was also included a Danish-Russian accord, in which the countries stated
they will settle their continental shelf border later bilaterally.

According to Koivurova, at least this far the co-operation between Russia
and the Western countries has been possible in the Arctic Region and especially in
the Arctic Council, though the relations in general have become quite
cold.

 

The website of
the Economist Arctic Summit:
http://www.economistinsights.com/sustainability-resources/event/arctic-summit-2015

The Summit can be followed live at
the address: www.arcticsummitlive.com

 

Further information:
Research Professor Timo Koivurova
+358
5519522
Timo.koivurova@ulapland.fi