Arctic Council Needs Russian Experience in Marine Environment Protection

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) expects Russia to bring its knowledge of marine environment protection to the Arctic Council, Director of World Wildlife Fund US Arctic Program Margaret Williams told Sputnik.

ANCHORAGE, (Sputnik) — The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum that addresses problems faced by the governments of eight Arctic nations – Russia, the United States, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark.

"Russia has a very long and prestigious history in creating protected areas. I hope Russian delegates will bring this experience, their experience, in protection of the Marine environment to the Arctic Council. We look forward in the next few months to hearing more from Russian experts," Williams said.

"We look forward to having Russia involved in the Arctic Council activities," Williams stressed.

She emphasized Russia’s "long and important history in science," saying Russian biologists have taught about permafrost melts, wildlife migrations, and many other things.

"[Russia] has contributed so much knowledge about the Arctic. It’s really important for Russia to remain an active member in this science community and to share information across the boundaries," Williams said.

In April, the United States assumed the chairmanship of the Arctic Council for a two-year term. During its chairmanship, it intends to address the impacts of climate change, Arctic Ocean safety and security, as well as ways to improve economic and living conditions for people in the Arctic, according to the State Department.

On Monday, US President Barack Obama addressed the issue of climate change at an international conference on Arctic in Anchorage, Alaska, and called on world leaders to reach agreement to make sweeping cuts in carbon to stop global warming in its tracks.

"The United States and Russia, in particular, share common wildlife, we share a common ecosystems in the Chukchi Sea, and so Russia can also play a leadership role in sharing that science and showing the world that it is ready to make some commitments to climate change as well," Williams told Sputnik.

With ice shelves in the Arctic receding by 65 percent over the past four decades, on the one hand opening up access to natural resources while at the same time causing environmental concern, the region has become the subject of renewed interest of all Arctic countries.

Russia's Ambassador to the United States told Sputnik after the Alaska conference that Russia was implementing a lot of projects in the Arctic to protect the environment and introduce new technologies to monitor the situation in the region, but Moscow would like to see the other countries in the region making similar efforts.