"The 2012 NATO PA policy recommendations were adopted at the Plenary sitting on Monday 12 November 2012 during the 58th Annual Session held in Prague and are listed below:

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184 ESC 12 E rev. 1 bis
Original: English

NATO Parliamentary Assembly


RESOLUTION 396

on

ARCTIC ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, ENVIRONMENTAL OBLIGATIONS AND SECURITY STAKES


The Assembly,

1.Recognising that profound climatic changes are underway in the Arctic and that this is having a dramatic impact on the region’s fauna, flora and human communities;

2.Noting that more comprehensive data and more sophisticated environmental models are needed to understand better the critical changes affecting biodiversity, fish stocks, atmospheric conditions, coastal and underwater geology, as well as permafrost, snow, ice and water conditions in the High North;

3.Acknowledging that a recent influx of people to the Arctic has become an important source of change and potential tension particularly with indigenous inhabitants;

4.Understanding that the Arctic is becoming an increasingly dynamic economic region that could generate wealth particularly for those firms that build an early lead in the fields of energy and mineral resources, fishing, commercial route development, and tourism;

5.Taking into consideration the importance of proper precautions to avoid spills in deep Arctic waters while oil and gas drilling;

6.Noting that warming trends and receding ice are creating new opportunities not only for more commercial activity but also for increased military activities;

7.Recognising that growing economic activity is transforming the High North into a theatre of economic, maritime and transportation co-operation;

8.Concerned by the dearth of search and rescue capabilities at a moment when human activity in the High North, including mass tourism, is taking off;

9.Appreciating that the members of the Arctic Council maintain co-operation;

10.Noting that an increasing number of non-littoral states want to play a role in the Arctic;

11.URGES member governments and parliaments of the North Atlantic Alliance:

a.to co-ordinate their support for scientific endeavours to understand more deeply the climatic transformation underway in the Arctic and its implications for that fragile region and the planet as a whole;

b.to ensure that interstate relations and Arctic economic development adhere to key international conventions and rules, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea;

c.to encourage international actors to settle outstanding disputes over Arctic boundaries, resources and policies, and to establish new rules of engagement where needed in relevant international fora, including the International Maritime Organization and the Arctic Council;

d.to recognise the important contribution the Arctic Council can make as a forum for dialogue among Arctic and key non-Arctic actors;

e.to ensure greater transparency on matters related to military deployments and strategies in the Arctic region, including through dialogue in the NATO-Russia Council;

f.to minimise the presence of forces operating in the region insofar as this is prudent and feasible;

g.to develop strict regulatory and monitoring frameworks governing oil and gas drilling in the deep seas of the High North to minimise the risk of catastrophic accidents in this highly fragile environment;

h.to contribute to improving search and rescue, disaster planning and other emergency capabilities that are sufficiently robust to cope with the kinds of disasters that are likely to occur because of increased human activity;

i.to ensure that the potential costs of clean-ups and rescues are adequately reflected in the total price of doing business in this remote region;

j.to work with key international partners to ensure that the Arctic remains a zone of international co-operation rather than a theater of international rivalry and tension.

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from: http://www.nato-pa.int/DocDownload.asp?ID=B488944A4D040F0603E3