One of the key features of the international forum Arctic—Today and the Future is the resolution published after the event. The 2024 forum's resolution has been finalised and now awaits contributions from regional and commercial entities operating in the Arctic.
As the forum brings together virtually the entire Arctic community, including experts, state officials, and regional leaders, the document is shaped into one of the most important resources for analysing Arctic policy in Russia and understanding the region's needs.
According to the Association of Polar Explorers—the organiser of the event—the new resolution already includes 633 initiatives. The document is structured around twelve topics, with the press service of the Association highlighting the following as those "arousing the highest concern":
The latter proposes aligning with BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation formats for the sustainable development of the Russian Arctic and developing a 'humanitarian strategy of the Arctic.' The actualisation of this strategy and Russia's response to the advancements of various actors in the region were clearly stated and discussed in our article following the December forum.
These initiatives underscore the focus of strategic planning. Despite the forum's emphasis on a human-centred Arctic, proclaimed as the theme for 2024, two geopolitical aims stand out in the resolution: Transport and infrastructure, which refers to the development of the Northern Sea Route—a growing national project for Russia—and actualisation of the Arctic Zone strategy and national security.
Interestingly, Economic development primarily focuses on preferential regimes, tax relief, and financial support within the region, with little mention of international cooperation or trade. Another notable proposal is to expand the borders of the Arctic Zone by including the Oymyakon Region in Yakutia.
The point of such an expansion has been discussed for a long time, as Oymyakon has got a twofold position up to this point. Although the town is located in the southern part of Yakutia, it is a prominent Pole of Cold in the northern hemisphere, with the minimum temperature of −67,7 °C measured in 1933. In other words, climatically Oymyakon is the Arctic, but in terms of latitude, not.
The experts argue that the Region should be included in the Arctic Zone of Russia because it doesn’t present clear criteria for the distinction of Arctic settlements, and geographical criteria don’t quite serve the purpose. Since 2014 (the inclusion of the term Arctic Zone), the borders have been expanded 8 times already, and currently the Zone includes both the Arctic and Subarctic.
Adding Oymyakon is an economically motivated proposition for a number of purposes: the regional officials see potential in increased infrastructure financing, as the Arctic Zone is developed more jointly. Experts say that the primary goal is to stimulate the tourist and transport infrastructure—the Region needs an airport. Another key argument in favour of the Zone’s expansion is that the living conditions in the region are harsh which makes natural development more difficult.
For the country, it would mean adding an extreme tourism destination as an asset to diversify the resource economy of the Arctic. During the previous year, we’ve seen many Russian cities in the Arctic introducing plans for tourism development. There is also an existing competition between Poles of Cold that should be taken into account: in 2020, the minimum temperature of the North was approved by the World Meteorological Organization in Greenland. The recorded value of −69.6 °C was recorded in 1991, but took almost 30 years to be approved as a valid result.
Additionally, the resolution after the Arctic—Today and the Future is expected to include recurring measures such as:
We await the publication of the final document to conduct a thorough analysis of the resolution. However, based on the current information, it appears that our forecasts align closely with short-term plans for the NSR and Russia's response to recent geopolitical changes.
The Editorial Board of the Arctic Century
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