Arctic 2035: Issue 2020 – 4 (4)

Russia's chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021-2023 will take place in the context of a powerful global transformation of the Arctic. It not only opens up broad foreign policy opportunities for the country, but also requires the country's leadership to take on certain obligations. Related issues and tasks are posed in strategic documents on the Arctic, adopted in 2020. The article discusses these tasks and provides practical recommendations for their solution. It was noted that the success of the chairmanship is important:
a) to promote the Russian concept of sustainable economic development of the global Arctic,
b) to enhance the international role and authority of the Arctic Council,
c) to strengthen the Arctic image of Russia itself.

The Northern Forum is an international non-governmental organization which was founded in 1991 to implement interregional cooperation on sustainable development of the North and the Arctic. Until 2013, the organization's secretariat was located in Anchorage (Alaska, USA), and since 2013 moved to Yakutsk (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia). The project activities are a priority of the Northern Forum. Currently, the organization has 14 member regions, of which 10 are Russian and 4 are foreign. The article discusses the history of creation, structure, mechanisms and main tasks of the organization.

The article analyzes the Arctic strategy and policy of the United States, and its difference from similar documents of European countries and Russia. It is emphasized that the priority area of the United States' activities in the Arctic is to ensure military-strategic superiority and the possibility of free operational maneuvering of the navy. The results of the US chairmanship in the Arctic Council (2015–2017) are analyzed.

Climate change poses special challenges for the Arctic regions. Melting permafrost creates new threats to animals, plants and people who have adapted to this environment. Yakutia is a real “laboratory” for finding answers to many questions. global warming is happening there twice
as fast as anywhere else. Hohenheim University in Stuttgart, universities and institutes in Yakutsk have been developing a joint research program to study the impact of climate since 2018, according to which a Memorandum was signed. Joint events, projects, publications, a support program for young scientists ensure the success of the project.

The University of the Arctic is an international network that brings together the scientific and educational potential of more than 200 higher and secondary specialized educational institutions and organizations located in the Arctic and non-Arctic countries. The article analyzes the role of the University of the Arctic in the development of international cooperation in the Arctic region. Particular attention is paid to the role of the North-Eastern Federal University in the international network.

Today, the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation has become one of the main geostrategic territories of Russia. This article touches upon such an important problem as the development of international cooperation in the Arctic to solve the most important tasks of its development. One of the tools to achieve this goal is the activities of scientific and educational centers (SEC), which are created in the Arctic regions and implement projects related to the development of the Russian Arctic, using the successful experience of other countries.

This article shows the centuries-old experience of international scientific cooperation on the example of one territory - the urban-type settlement of Tiksi - the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) of the Russian Federation. The article considers the opinion on the further development of the Arctic settlement as a testing ground for the project "North: Territory of Sustainable Development" with the international participation of the scientific community.

Currently, the Arctic is considered by many states as a strategic region. This is due to the huge reserves of hydrocarbons, as well as to the increasing role of those factors and conditions on which the political and energy security of the world's leading industrialized countries is based. Industrial development of the Arctic involves intensive exploitation of hydrocarbon resources, extraction of biological resources, significant cargo transshipment and, as a result, the development of means of transport and transport infrastructure. The technological complexity of the organization of transport operations in the Arctic, as well as the legal features of the legislation of the Arctic States determine the need for international cooperation in the field of hydrocarbon production, transport, and efficient and safe development of the Arctic territories.

The article is devoted to the problem of permafrost and climate change research, topical for the Arctic countries and regions, and to international research projects of the P. I. Melnikov Institute of Permafrost SB RAS. The need for regulatory regulation of issues related to monitoring the state of permafrost and its protection, as well as practical aspects of the problem, are analyzed on the basis of the regional experience of the largest Arctic region — the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Global warming is making its own adjustments to the current picture of the world. The Arctic is heating up almost twice as fast as the world average. In the face of the growing threat, the role of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in 2015 by the UN member states in relation to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (SDGs 7, 12, 13), is growing. The energy sector, as one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions, must be radically transformed by integrating renewable energy sources (RES) into the energy mix. This article examines the role of the Arctic Council as an intergovernmental body contributing to the resilience of the Arctic zone, as well as measures taken to reduce the carbon footprint.

This article presents the approaches to the existing system "Nature - Man - Production". This system is subject to a number of laws:
a) the law of feedback of the interaction "man - biosphere" or "boomerang law";
b) the law of the immutability of the biosphere (the biosphere is the only system that ensures the stability of the habitat under any disturbances that arise) and others. The article summarizes the results of the analytical work on how easy it is to break the connections existing in nature, and what irreversible consequences this can lead to. A person should always remember this, especially with active intervention in the life of the Arctic regions. Climate warming, pollution of the Arctic seas, changes in magnetic poles, the disappearance of a number of biological species, changes in the landscape, the state of Arctic soils and all elements of the environment - this is a very realistic and predictable scenario for the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The paper presents two approaches to the development of the Arctic:

1) an evolutionary way to improve the operational characteristics of existing equipment and technologies;

2) intensification of basic industries and acceleration of the implementation of projects of the Ministry of Natural Resources in the Arctic. This means attracting foreign companies, including oil companies, to co-invest in some projects.

Education is one of the factors of human development. This is important for the sustainable development of territories. In connection with the adoption of the Strategy of the Arctic Zone and ensuring national security for the period up to 2035 [1], new facets of issues of demography, education, health care, culture and sports have emerged. The strategy provides for the adoption of measures in the field of education, health, culture and sports in accordance with government policy. The article discusses the main directions of activities of state and municipal authorities, public organizations and business structures for the inclusion of this information in the concept of the state program of the Russian Federation "Children of the Arctic". This will allow solving problems:
· to increase the availability of quality general education and provide conditions for organizing additional education for children,

· on the development of distance learning technologies;

· to improve legal regulation in the field of education and create conditions for education by representatives of small peoples;

· on the development (together with large and medium-sized enterprises) of a network of professional educational organizations, including the creation of centers for advanced training and equipping workshops with modern technology in accordance with WorldSkills standards;

· to ensure the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, the development of traditional culture, the preservation and development of the languages of indigenous peoples.

On the 27 October 2020 Sustainable Development Working Group of the Arctic Council voted unanimously on Arctic Demography Index project proposed by Petrozavodsk State University together with University of Laval in Canada and Nord University in Norway under Russian presidency in the Arctic Council in 2021-2023. The project “Arctic Demography Index” focuses on 2 natural and mechanical demography parameters (natural decrease, natural increase, migration flows of 4 types) within 19 arctic territories of 5 Arctic Council member states (Russian Federation, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Canadа). The project “Arctic Demography Index” would allow to disseminate the effectiveness of best practices in the sphere of migration as well as to develop proposals on their future implementation in other Arctic Сouncil member-states.

2020 literally froze the development of world tourism. Tourism has been one of the most vulnerable sectors of the economy, hardest hit by the coronavirus. The development of Arctic tourism is being increasingly studied by the world community. The article will provide an overview of the activities of the international program "CIS + WORLD" in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.