The Artic

The chair is held for the period after the conclusion of one Ministerial Meeting until the conclusion of the next. [...] The Arctic Council has its roots in the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS), which came into being when the eight Arctic states signed the Rovaniemi Declaration in 1991.6 The objectives of the Declaration were to: • protect the Arctic ecosystem, including humans; • provide for the protection, enhancement and restoration of environmental quality and the sustainable use of natural resour [...] With the establishment of the Arctic Council, the programs of the AEPS became “working groups,” and two other groups were added: • Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG): to protect and enhance the economies, culture and health of the inhabitants of the Arctic in an environmentally sustainable manner; and • Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP): to reduce emissions of pollutants into the [...] In addition to three of the indigenous peoples’ organizations mentioned in this section – the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), the Saami Council and the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East – three other indigenous peoples’ organizations are permanent participants in the Arctic Council.