Koivurova, Timo --- "Arctic resources: Exploitation of natural resources in the Arctic from the perspective of international law" [2016] ELECD 1348; in Morgera, Elisa; Kulovesi, Kati (eds), "Research Handbook on International Law and Natural Resources" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) 349

Book Title: Research Handbook on International Law and Natural Resources

Editor(s): Morgera, Elisa; Kulovesi, Kati

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781783478323

Section: Chapter 17

Section Title: Arctic resources: Exploitation of natural resources in the Arctic from the perspective of international law

Author(s): Koivurova, Timo

Number of pages: 18

Abstract/Description:

The Arctic region can be considered one of the last wildernesses and places for industrial exploitation of natural resources. While the concept of natural resources is contested, this chapter relies on the fairly traditional definition of natural resources as ‘stocks of materials that exist in the natural environment that are both scarce and economically useful in production or consumption, either in their raw state or after a minimal amount of processing’. Hence, its main focus will be on substances that can be found in Arctic nature and have economic value – that is, fish stocks, minerals, and oil and gas. This focus is also in line with how the Arctic region is often perceived – as a region supplying raw materials that are exported to other regions for refinement and manufacture. The Arctic region is currently undergoing a dramatic transformation due to economic globalization and climate change. Notably, the Arctic has been warming twice the rate of the rest of the world and climate change is projected to change the Arctic considerably. For this reason, it is useful to examine separately what natural resources are currently exploited in the Arctic region and the future prospects for natural resource exploitation – and what policy and legal measures are available to counter challenges related to these. Until the present, factors other than climate change have had more impact on the exploitation of natural resources in the region.