India might become an observer of Arctic Council: US

Lalit K Jha
Washington, May 10 (PTI) India might become an
observer of the Arctic Council though its membership is not
open unless a country has territory above the Arctic Circle, a
US official has said.
"The Arctic Council is not open for membership unless
a nation has territory above the Arctic Circle. India does not
(have such territory). India might be able to become an
observer of the Council, and be able to participate in that
way in many of the working groups the Arctic Council has set
up on a number of different topics," said US Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries David Balton.
India and other non-Arctic nations can also engage in
Arctic issues in a lot of other places around the world,
Balton told reporters ahead of the Arctic Council Ministerial
here.
"Shipping issues, including in the Arctic, are not
actually responsibility of the arctic Council. They are dealt
with by a different forum, the International Maritime
Organisation (IMO). India is a full member. In fact, most
nations of the world are full members," he said.
"The IMO is as we speak developing a new polar
shipping code. India and any of the other governments with an
interest in polar shipping, both in the Arctic and the
Antarctic, can participate in that process," Balton said.
Arctic Council is a high-level forum of the eight
nations that have Arctic territory, territory above the Arctic
Circle.
It meets at the ministerial level every two years, and
it is meeting this week in Nuuk, Greenland.
Balton said he anticipates this meeting to be historic
as for the first time in its existence the US would be
represented by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"The Arctic is a fascinating part of the world right
now and is undergoing major changes. Many of those changes
have to do with the climate. The Arctic is warming faster on
average than the rest of the planet and its warming has very
serious consequences, both for the Arctic region, but also for
the rest of the world," he said.
Balton said the ways of life of people living the the
Arctic is changing as the sea ice is receding, the coasts are
eroding, land glaciers in the Greenland Ice Sheet are melting,
the permafrost is thawing.
"Along with those challenges, however, come some
opportunities. The Arctic is home to a considerable portion of
the world's untapped oil and gas. As the ice recedes, it may
be possible to have access to some of those resources. That
was not possible before," he said adding that it may also be
possible for increased shipping.
"It's possible new fisheries will take place in the
Arctic that did not exist before and so as governments we have
a lot on our plate. Some part of that is within the mandate of
the Arctic Council," Balton said.