PDF-version of this article	The Internationalization of the Circumpolar North: Charting a Course for the 21st Century by Oran R. Young CHAPTERS: Introduction A Cacophony Of International Initiatives Current Issues Is there a need for a comprehensive and integrated Arctic regime similar to the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) that has developed to govern the Circumpolar South? How can existing Arctic governance systems be structured to minimize problems arising from gaps and overlaps? Would there be added value resulting from the creation of legally binding international arrangements for the Arctic? What is the proper relationship between international institutions and organizations in the Arctic? How should we handle the interplay between global but functionally specific arrangements and regional but functionally broad arrangements in the Arctic? Specifically, are there opportunities to nest Arctic arrangements into global regimes? Are there features of the biotic and abiotic systems of the Arctic that require special treatment in the development of environmental and resource regimes? How should the Arctic Council proceed in developing its Sustainable Development Programme? Conclusion References
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Current Issues How should the Arctic Council proceed in developing its Sustainable Development Programme?   Under the terms of the 1996 Ottawa Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council, this new regionwide body has taken over the environmental initiatives of the AEPS and grouped them into an Environmental Protection Programme. At the same time, the declaration calls upon the council to initiate a new, parallel set of activities in the form of a Sustainable Development Programme. This has proven to be a difficult challenge. What exactly does the phrase "sustainable development" encompass, and what should be the relationship between environmental protection and sustainable development in this setting? Understandably, some of those who have worked hard on the environmental protection activities established under the auspices of the AEPS fear that their efforts will be deflected or even undermined in the name of sustainable development in the deliberations of the Arctic Council. Others, equally understandably, worry that the idea of sustainable development is so encompassing that the Arctic Council will lose direction and stumble over a variety of sensitive issues in its pursuit of sustainability. The resultant situation constitutes both a problem and an opportunity for the council. The cause of international cooperation at the regional level could well founder over disagreements about this issue. Should the council find a way to deal constructively and creatively with the links between environmental protection and sustainable development, on the other hand, it would immediately become a model of interest to those struggling with similar issues in other parts of the world. Clearly, there is no simple formula to be used in addressing this issue. At a minimum, however, success in this realm will require a strategic perspective that offers a solid foundation on which to build these programs rather than a scattershot approach that produces a hodgepodge of loosely related and sometimes conflicting initiatives [24].
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The Internationalization of the Circumpolar North: Charting a Course for the 21st Century, by Oran R. Young. http://www.thearctic.is Copyright Stefansson Arctic Institute and individual authors ©2000 Developed in partnership with the EU Raphael Programme