The second Polar Law Symposium took place in September 2009 where leading experts in the field of Polar Law and Arctic Governance met at the University of Akureyri. The topics addressed where amongst others; the governance of shipping routes, environmental management and human rights in Polar Regions. The Symposium was organized by the Polar Law Program, University of Akureyri, Iceland in collaboration with: Polar Law Institute; Yearbook of Polar Law; The Stefansson Arctic Institute; The Northern Research Forum and the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists.
Symposium Convener: Dr. Natalia Loukacheva, Director, Polar Law Program, University of Akureyri.
Opening address
Dr. Stefán B. Sigurðsson, Rector, University of Akureyri, Iceland
The President of the Republic of Iceland, His Excellency Dr. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Mr. Ragnar Baldursson, Senior Official for Arctic and Energy Affairs, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs, Reykjavik, Iceland. ‘Trans-Arctic Shipping’
Dr. R. Douglas Brubaker, Senior Research Fellow, Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway. ‘Jurisdictional matters of shipping in the Arctic’
Dr. Timo Koivurova, Research Professor, Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland. ‘What has the Arctic Council done in terms of Shipping?’
Mr. Mead Treadwell, Chair, U.S. Arctic Research Commission and Senior Fellow of the Institute of the North, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. 'How should we respond to an accessible Arctic ocean? Ideas for research, cooperation and administration’
Dr. Louis W. Pauly, Director, Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto. Canada Research Chair in Globalization and Governance, Toronto, Canada. ‘The Increasing Complexity of Global and Regional Governance’
Prof. Alyson Bailes, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland. ‘Potential Roles of NATO and the EU in Northern Security’
Dr. Kees Bastmeijer, Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University, The Netherlands. ‘Effective Environmental Management of the Polar Regions – Protected Areas in the Arctic and Antarctic’
H.E. Victor Tatarintsev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Iceland. ‘The Russian Strategy in the Arctic –current developments’
Dr. Rasmus Ole Rasmussen, Senior Research Fellow, Nordic Centre for Spatial Development, Stockholm, Sweden. ‘Environmental Governance: Perspectives of the Nordic Council and the EU’
Dr. Tavis Potts, Centre for Coastal and Ocean Governance, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Argyll, Scotland. ‘CCAMLR and Antarctic Fisheries: Can it offer a Solution for an Arctic Fisheries Agreement?’
Mr. Niels Einarsson, Director, Stefansson Arctic Institute. ‘Whaling, whale-watching and adaptation to marine governance and environmental change in Iceland’
Dr. Trausti Valsson, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Environmental Planning Division, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland. ‘Harbors and infrastructure in Iceland: Their role in the advancement of Arctic shipping’
Dr. Lassi Heininen, Chair of the Northern Research Assembly, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland. ‘Security Implications of Climate Change in the Arctic’
Mr. Ron Macnab, Geological Survey of Canada. ‘Nationalizing the Arctic Maritime Commons: UNCLOS Article 76 and the Polar Sea’
Dr. Mark Nuttall, Henry Marshall Tory Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, and Academy of Finland Distinguished Professor, Thule Institute, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. ‘Resource Frontier or Extractive Periphery?: The Political Ecology of Oil, Gas and Minerals in the North’
Dr. Björn Gunnarsson, Rector, RES: The School for Renewable Energy Science, Akureyri, Iceland. ‘Renewable Energy Use in Iceland: Lessons Learned’
Mr. Mininnguaq Kleist, Head, Foreign Affairs Department, Greenland Government, Nuuk, Greenland. ‘Greenland’s self-governance’
Dr. Kári a Rogvi, M.P. and lecturer of law, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. ‘Faroese Constitutional Developments’
Ms. Galina Diatchkova, Ph.D. student in legal anthropology, Anadyr’ Chukotka, the Russian Federation. ‘Chukotka Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Prospects’
Legal and Political Change in the Arctic