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Current Issues
Specifically, are there opportunities to nest Arctic
arrangements into global regimes? |
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One strategy that can prove helpful
in addressing some of these issues of institutional interplay features
the nesting of regional arrangements into more encompassing global
regimes. Efforts along these lines are already underway with regard
to Arctic issues. I have mentioned already the ice-covered areas
provision nested into the law of the sea as codified in UNCLOS.
Presently, the Arctic Council's Working Group on the Conservation
of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) is endeavoring to nest its programs
into the larger framework provided by the global regime set forth
in the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) [19].
The current negotiations aimed at creating a global regime to deal
with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are attuned to the concerns
of Arctic residents regarding problems associated with these contaminants,
and there is reason for optimism about opportunities to nest Arctic-specific
provisions into this emerging global regime [20].
Developing nested arrangements is often easier said than done. Although
UNCLOS was adopted in 1982 and seven of the eight Arctic states
have signed (but not necessarily ratified) the convention, we still
lack an explicit and generally accepted set of rules designed to
flesh out the general formula of Article 234 and to govern a range
of human activities in ice-covered areas of the Arctic. Still, there
is much to be said for continuing to pursue the strategy of nesting
as one effective means for handling the interplay between global
and regional arrangements designed to manage international cooperation. |
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