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Inuit, the Arctic, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development Introduction In September 2002, up to 50,000 people, including representatives of virtually all countries around the globe, will converge upon Johannesburg, South Africa, for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). Billed as "Rio plus 10," the summit is being held ten years after the famous Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prime Minister Chrtien wrote recently to the presidents of ICC Canada and ITC informing them that Arctic perspectives would feature prominently in Canada's position at the 2002 summit. The Prime Minister's correspondence is printed in this issue of Silarjualiriniq.
Environmental and sustainable development issues were high on the agendas of many states in 1992. In Rio, Canada's Prime Minister Mulroney put his signature to international agreements dealing with conservation of biological diversity and climate change and released a national Green Plan. The summit also witnessed the global endorsement of key environmental principles and the broad acceptance of a legally non-binding comprehensive document called Agenda 21, which mapped out priorities and commitments for the 21st century. The UN's newly established Commission for Sustainable Development was charged with helping countries to translate principles into action. The forthcoming event in Johannesburg will not see the signing of new agreements and conventions. Instead it will evaluate whether and how nations have lived up to their obligations and estimate whether we are on the right track. And what will the nations of the world say? While Agenda 21 did address Indigenous peoples, the Arctic as a region was hardly mentioned. At the time, the world was focussed on "saving" tropical rain forests and the plight of the oceans and deserts. The circumpolar Arctic was not on the political horizon. Indeed, it was then only just emerging from the political rigidities of the cold war. How will the Arctic fare in the forthcoming summit? Might Arctic issues emerge from the wings and take center stage, if only for a brief time, and how will Mr. Chrtien achieve his goal of bringing forward Arctic issues to the world? The Arctic and the WSSD In 1991, the eight Arctic nations committed themselves to an Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS) and five years later broadened their co-operative endeavours by establishing an Arctic Council to embrace and promote sustainable development. At their meeting in Barrow, Alaska, in October 2000, Arctic Council ministers issued a political declaration promising to bring Arctic perspectives to the WSSD. Doing this is not necessarily a simple matter, for the preparatory process to the summit is complex and long-winded. For purposes of the UN, the world is divided into regions, each with an economic commission. The Arctic is a sub-region within the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), which, notwithstanding the misleading title, includes North America and countries of the former Soviet Union. This commission, essentially representing the developed world, prepared a statement for the summit adopted at a ministerial meeting in Geneva on September 25, 2001. While turgidly written, light on commitments and targets, and heavy on platitudes, the statement nevertheless includes paragraphs that address the Arctic, incorporating suggestions by states represented in the Arctic Council. In coming months, global conferences in New York and Indonesia are planned to prepare for the summit. As this preparatory process gathers speed, it will be important to turn these paragraphs into programmes and projects. What is it that we have to work with? Under the heading sustainable management and conservation of the natural resource base: 11. We recognize that natural resources are of fundamental importance for the survival of many indigenous and local communities, including their cultural survival. Many indigenous and local communities are located in areas with few economic opportunities other than those presented by natural resources. 12. Global demands and technological progress may increase the pressure to expand the use of natural resources in remote regions, such as the Arctic. States should assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of exploiting natural resources in environmentally fragile ecosystems, taking into account the latest research on the specific circumstances in these areas. The social needs and traditional livelihoods of indigenous and local communities as well the existence of vast areas of pristine nature will have to be taken into account. In this context, special attention needs to be given to regions subject to high environmental pressure, such as the Arctic and mountainous and coastal regions. While welcome, both clauses are less than complete. The first fails to mention the rights of Inuit or other Indigenous peoples to use and develop natural resources in their homelands. This reflects the nervousness of some states to acknowledge that Indigenous peoples have rights. The second fails to acknowledge that climate change may also increase the pressure to develop natural resources in the Arctic. The prospect of thinning ice and a longer seasonal sea-ice free regime in the Arctic is leading experts to predict year-round use of the Northwest Passage as a shipping route linking western Europe and the eastern seaboard of North America with eastern Asia and the western seaboard of North Americaan event that would profoundly transform the Canadian Arctic economically and geopolitically. Under the heading improving governance and improving democratic processes at all levels: We call for the development and implementation of "Local Agenda 21" strategies on sustainable development. These strategies should promote innovative local solutions supporting partnerships of local people, community and voluntary organizations, consumer organizations and women and youth groups, indigenous people(s), minority groups, local authorities and communities together with business and trade unions, as appropriate. We will facilitate the sharing of experience with existing Local Agendas 21 and the implementation of the Habitat Agenda at local level among countries. This paragraph appears to acknowledge that Indigenous peoples are what they arepeoples. Many states, particularly the United States, refuse to accept the principle embedded in many UN documents that peoples have the right to self-determination. So the fact that this paragraph refers to Indigenous peoples with an 's' is significant. Canada and the WSSD International meetings sometimes degenerate into mud slinging and the politics of blaming and protest. In recent years, international summits addressing globalization have generated violent protest. While all sorts of interest groups will be vying for attention at next year's global summit within an overall focus of poverty alleviation, the Arctic may attract solid attention for two reasons: one negative and one positive. 1. Key global issues including transboundary contaminants and climate change are visibly and detrimentally affecting the Arctic, a fragile and vulnerable region that has come to be seen as an indicator of the world's health. 2. The views, goals, and rights of Indigenous peoples are being recognized and integrated in national decision-making in some Arctic countries with some measure of success. Key Arctic experiences may provide badly needed models to the world.Canada is preparing a national report for release in Johannesburg. This report will incorporate a chapter with case illustrations of how things are done in the Canadian Arctic. Implementing land-claim agreements, collecting and using traditional ecological knowledge, and Inuit advocacy in global negotiations to ban key persistent organic pollutants that end up in the Arctic contaminating country food are cases that may be featured. All should bolster the ability of Prime Minister Chrtien to stand up at the WSSD and, with the help and participation of Inuit leaders, tell the world about the Arctic and showcase how Inuit and Canada together are implementing sustainable development principles on the roof of the world. * * * * * * 27 April 2001 The Right Honourable Jean Chrtien Dear Prime Minister, We are writing to recommend that you attend the Earth Summit, now referred to as the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 2002. The summit offers an important opportunity for you to inform other nations about globally important events in the Arctic. Canada was viewed as a leading nation at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where heads of governments signed a number of international agreements to foster sustainable development. The forthcoming summit will not result in new agreements; instead, participating countries will examine how they are progressing in the light of earlier commitments and how best to proceed. Arctic issues were a low priority at the 1992 event, but that is unlikely to be the case in 2002. Much has happened since then to project the circumpolar world into global consciousness. Many are looking to the far North of Canada and the Federation of Russia for internationally important energy supplies. Global climate change may cause the Northwest Passage to become a preferred shipping route for general cargos between western Europe and the eastern seaboard of North America to Japan and eastern Asia, with significant geostrategic consequences. Ratification of the recently concluded global convention on persistent organic pollutants, an important issue in northern Canada, will be on the minds of many participants. Under your successive governments, Canada has achieved a great deal in its North. Settlement of land claims, creation of the Nunavut Territory, establishment of the eight-nation Arctic Council, implementation of globally significant research programmes on transboundary contaminants and climate change all come to mind. It is likely that when the world summit convenes next year, decisions will have been made regarding transportation of clean-burning northern gas to southern and continental markets. This too will be seen as a major success story. While we have many problems in the North, your governments, and you personally, can be proud of your northern legacy. It is important that positive lessons from the Arctic be shared with other nations, many of which are struggling to find ways and means to promote sustainable development. In light of the growing international importance of the circumpolar Arctic, and in acknowledgement of your long standing interest in Arctic concerns and your governments' achievements there, we invite you to tell the world about the Arctic and Inuit at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Of course, we would be pleased to help you do this. ICC Canada and ITC are already working with the departments of Environment, Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Natural Resources to promote Arctic considerations in Canada's position and posture at the summit. We look forward to working with you and your colleagues in coming months. Yours truly, Jose Kusugak cc. Hon. R. Nault * * * * * * OTTAWA, K1A 0A2 Dear Ms. Watt-Cloutier and Mr. Kusugak: Thank you for your letter of April 27, 2001 concerning the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg in September 2002 and the opportunity it provides to discuss Arctic and Northern issues. I am giving serious consideration to attending the Summit. The Canadian Government is placing great emphasis on Arctic and Northern issues in its preparatory work for the WSSD. We want to ensure that the Northern dimension is well reflected in our positions at the Summit. We look forward to working with the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada and other key Northern and Arctic organizations to bring an Arctic voice to our preparations for the WSSD. Canada is hoping to champion Arctic sustainable development at the Summit, highlighting the fragility of the Arctic ecosystem and pointing to the Arctic as a barometer of global environmental health. We are also currently exploring work with the other members of the Arctic Council to evaluate the health and safety of Northern and Arctic people and communities faced with the impact of global environmental degradation. As you are aware, Canada is the first country to announce that it will both sign and ratify the UN Global Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in Stockholm on May 23. Canada's leading role in concluding this treaty reflected the strong engagement of Northern aboriginal leaders such as yourselves, early Arctic Council work and the importance of the Northern dimension of our foreign policy. We will promote the early entry into force of the Convention in the lead up to and at the Johannesburg Summit. Yours sincerely, Jean Chrtien Prime Minister | |||||||||||||||
