(1) Building trust

(2) Strengthening regulatory frameworks

(3) Enhancing holistic or systems approaches

(4) Promoting adaptation

(5) Enhancing the Arctic as a zone of peace

(6) Achieving regional sustainability

(7) Strengthening policy mechanisms

(8) Amplifying Arctic voices

 

Achieving regional sustainability. What can be done to achieve sustainability on a regional scale in the Arctic, even as outside forces draw the region into a tighter embrace with advanced industrial systems on a global scale?

Amplifying Arctic voices. What means are available to amplify the voices of the Arctic in outside arenas where matters of governance affecting the Arctic are addressed?

Strengthening policy mechanisms. What is the best way to combine hard and soft law arrangements along with more informal social practices into governance systems capable of addressing emerging issues of governance in the Arctic in an integrative and adaptable manner?

Enhancing the Arctic as a zone of peace. How it is possible to avoid tensions in the High North arising from broader geopolitical developments affecting international peace and security? Could the Arctic serve as a model for enhancing confidence-building measures in other areas?

Promoting adaptation. What is the way forward in adapting to the impacts of climate change and related developments on biophysical and socioeconomic systems in the Arctic, taking advantage of opportunities when and where they arise, while minimizing adverse effects when they are unavoidable?

Enhancing holistic or systems approaches. How is it possible to encourage holistic thinking in such forms as ecosystem-based management, spatial planning, and comprehensive impact assessment to foster management of terrestrial and especially marine systems in an integrative manner and, in the process, to make the Arctic an exemplar for holistic management of human-environment interactions in the 21st century?

Strengthening regulatory frameworks. What is the way forward in enhancing existing regulatory regimes and creating new ones to deal with the anticipated growth of commercial shipping in the Arctic, the prospect of new oil and gas fields under Arctic waters, possible expansion of commercial fishing in the Arctic, projected growth of mining activities on land, expected increases in Arctic tourism, and ongoing releases of contaminants either directly into the Arctic or in other areas whence they make their way to the Arctic.

Building trust. How is it possible to alleviate tensions and adversarial interactions among major constituencies possessing legitimate interests in the Arctic (e.g. indigenous peoples, other Arctic residents, environmental organizations, businesses, governments), making use of procedures that can build trust and foster synergy as a basis for pursuing stewardship?