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Category: News & Press Releases

Nordic Film Festival starts today

Today, Wednesday 11^th of April in the capital city of Reykjavik Nordic Film Festival begins.

The event will take place at the Nordic House from the 11th of April until the 21^st of April.

Organizers will be showing films from all the Nordic countries.

The festival will be opened with Kapringen (A Hijacking), a Tobias Lindolm film about a Danish cargo ship hijacked on the Somalian coast.

All films will be shown with English subtitles. There is no entrance fee to the festival. The event is being supported by the Nordic Embassies in Reykjavik and Green Light Films enterprise.

Source

The Nordic House

April 11, 2013
Russian – Dutch dispatch now reported

Yesterday, 9^th of April 2013, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, supervised the signing of memorandum on cooperation on Arctic shelf between representatives of Gazprom and Dutch Royal Shell.

The memorandum was signed in Amsterdam and it brings together two nations in race for Arctic natural resources.

The memorandum defines key points of cooperation in the Russian Arctic shelf gas and shale oil reserves investigation and development.

In 2010 Gazprom and the Royal Dutch Shell signed a Protocol on a global strategic cooperation, and in June 2011 the companies signed an agreement on making a joint company, kremlin.ru says.

If Gazprom gets licences for two shelf blocks in the Churcha and Pechora Seas, the Russian company will get 66,7% shares in the Russian-Dutch joint project, and Shell will get 33,3%.

The new agreement between “Gazprom neft” and Royal Dutch Shell confirms the General partnership agreement on shale oil investigation and production.

According to the agreement, the companies will make “Salym Petroleum Development N.V” joint company for new shale gas projects in Khanti-Mansi Autonomous district. Both sides will have 50% shares of the company, which is to be registered in St.Petersburg.

Russia and Holland have been working together on Sakhalin Shelf, and believe that Sakhalin experience will be used for work on the Arctic shelf and with shale oil.

Gazprom believes the new company will increase a competence and a technological level of the Russian oil industry.

Source

Barents Observer

April 10, 2013
Jokkmokk Winter Conference 2013 report

Jokkmok Winter Conference’s 2013 Report is now available for the download free of charge.

A melting Arctic and the world’s hunger for energy and natural resources are leading to an increasing interest in exploring the vulnerable regions.

This year’s Jokkomokk Winter Conference was trying to answer questions such as at what costs is that to happen and how will it affect people?

Jokkmokk Winter Conference on climate change, energy and sustainable development is an annual international forum for students, decision makers, entrepreneurs and opinion builders from Northern Europe, North America and Russia.

The annual Jokkmokk Winter Conference 2013 report is available here. More information about the Conference and its partners are available here.

Source

Northern Network on Climate Change

April 10, 2013
Don’t miss the deadline!

Arctic Energy Summit calls for papers. The opportunity for submission expires on April 15^th. Don’t miss this opportunity to share your research and insights with your peers at the premier Arctic energy event. We welcome submissions that directly address the conference theme.

Submissions are accepted for Paper Presentations, Poster Sessions, Panels and Workshops. Click here for more information on the types of submissions accepted, abstract guidelines and the conference themes, or email aen@institutenorth.org.

The 2013 Arctic Energy Summit is a multi-disciplinary event expected to draw several hundred industry officials, scientists, academics, policy makers, energy professionals and community leaders together to collaborate and share leading approaches on Arctic energy issues.

The 2013 Summit will address energy extraction, production and transmission in the Arctic as it relates to three thematic areas and key questions.

For more information about the conference, the registration and sponsorship’s opportunity, please visit the conference website.

Source

Arctic Energy Summit

April 9, 2013
Eurofleets 2 Calls are now open

EUROFLEETS2 which is a EU funded project providing scientists with 200 fully funded days of ship-time and 104 fully funded days of marine equipment to carry out ship-based research activities within any field of marine sciences.

The project has now opened for proposals under three different categories: Polar and Sub polar Call – which is a ship time application to carry out research in the polar and sub Polar Regions. Deadline for applications is 24^th of May 2013.

Super – Integration Call – seeks to identify a truly cross cutting proposal, able to prove its scientific excellence, i.e. mobilizing private and public funding structures on top of EUROFLEETS funding.

Visit www.eurofleets.eu and submit an “Expression of Interest” until the 15^th of May 2013. The “Expression of Interest” is not binding but desirable. Logistically accepted pre-proposals will be invited to submit a full proposal from the 14 th of June till the 16th of September 2013.

Embarked Equipment Call 2013: Equipment time is offered within participating scientific marine equipment (2x 3D HD TV Cameras, 2x ROV and MARUM-MeBo) to be deployed from RVs or from underwater vehicles funded by other sources than EUROFLEETS2. The call will open in June 2013.

For more information, please visit the Project’s Website.

Source

EUROFLEETS

April 8, 2013
Invitation to Iceland
Marine and Coastal Culture Tourism in Northern Territories – Akureyri Iceland – 18-19^th June

A conference that will focus on the fishing environment in northern territories will take place in the University of Akureyri, 18-19 June 2013. The conference is organised by the Stefansson Arctic Institute in collaboration with the University of Akureyri Research Centre, NORA, the Icelandic Tourism Research Centre, Norwegian Seafood Centre and the Icelandic Lighthouse Society.

Marine and coastal culture tourism is growing in popularity in various ways. Some tourists want to learn about life in coastal villages, experience nature and tranquility as well as the wilderness. Others want to experience the excitement of driving charter boats, diving, surfing, go speedboating or hiring a boat and try their luck at fishing. Then there are those who want to sail from port to port and country to country on board gigantic cruise ships.

How does this fit in with cultural heritage, everyday life, social development, self sufficiency, fishing quotas and environmental policies of the Nordic nations? How can the Nordic nations collaborate in this area? Do these diverse aspects of tourism have collaborative opportunities? These challenges will be discussed at the conference where further questions will be pondered through group work and perhaps more answers and collaborative possibilites found.

The main workshop themes will be how we meet the challenges of:
- The development of marine and coastal culture tourism in Norway, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
- Opportunities and threats, self sufficiency and environment – the effect of marine and coastal culture tourism and the image of the Northern Territories.
- In what areas can we collaborate?
There will also be excursions where tourism related businesses and museums will be visited.

See the conference program.

The conference is open to all but registration is needed for planning purposes.

Registration deadline: 10 May 2013

Conference fee: ISK 12000 / DKK 545

Registration & hotel bookings (limited vacancy): conference@aktravel.is, tel. +354 4600600

For further information contact Sigurbjörg Árnadóttir: sibba@svs.is.

Source

Stefansson Arctic Institute
April 5, 2013
China to drill in Barents Sea

The Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) strikes a deal with Rosneft over the exploration of three fields in the Barents and Pechora Seas.

As reported by the Barents Observer, the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) struck a deal with Rosneft over the exploration of three fields in the Barents and Pechora Seas.

The Agreement was signed during the last week’s visit to Russia, paid by the Chinese President – Xi Jinping. The Agreement included Zapadno-Prinovozemelsky structure in the Barents Sea and the Yuzhno-Russky and Medynsko-Varandeysky structures in the Pechora Sea.

With the cooperation in place, the CNPC becomes Rosneft’s third foreign partner in the Barents Sea. From before, agreements have been signed with Eni and Statoil. In addition, Rosneft has a comprehensive agreement with ExxonMobil in the Kara Sea.

The Zapadno-Prinovozemelsky is among the least explored areas on the Russian shelf, and resource estimates are sparse. However, the hydrocarbon potential is believed to be considerable considering the highly perspective surrounding areas.

China has over the last couple of years displayed a quickly increasing interest in Arctic issues. As previously reported, China could already by year 2020 send as much as 15 percent of its international trade through Arctic waters.

The country is also bidding for a permanent observer status in the Arctic Council. In the summer of 2012, the country sent its icebreaker “Xue Long” (Snow Dragon) in a historic mission along the Northern Sea Route and made an attempt to reach the North Pole.

Rosneft was one of the last vertically integrated oil companies to emerge from the reorganization and large-scale privatization of Russia’s oil industry in the years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Today its plans are about to reach implementation of a number of hydrocarbon exploration and development projects in Russia, the United States and other countries, as well as to set up a joint Arctic Research Center (ARC) in St. Petersburg.

Source

Barents Observer

April 4, 2013
AFS 2012 report now available

The International Polar Foundation releases the Arctic Futures Symposium 2012 report. Proceedings are available for free download on the IPF Website.

The Symposium was held last October in Brussels and organized by the International Polar Foundation with sponsorship from Belgium’s Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs and many other sponsors.

Sponsors and co organizers were to include: Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, as well as the support of the EU Committee of the Regions, the European External Action Service, and the European Commission.

The highly successful symposium allowed Arctic stakeholders from diverse backgrounds (including EU and foreign policymakers, scientists, industry representatives, indigenous peoples and academics) to take part in lively discussions regarding current and future issues facing the Arctic.

The next Arctic Futures Symposium is scheduled to take place on the 16th and 17th of October 2013.

More information about the event are available on the IPF Website and under the e – mail:events@polarfoundation.org

Source

IPF

April 3, 2013
2013 meeting of the Council of UArctic

The 16^th meeting of the Council of University of the Arctic will take place at the University of Alaska, Firebanks (UAF), June 3-5^th, 2013.

Hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, this year’s Council meeting will run from Monday, June 3^rd through to Wednesday, June 5^th, with an optional day trip to Denali National Park on June 6^th (see Council 2013 – Preliminary program).

Besides regular Council business, the 2013 Council meeting program will include a “UArctic Today – Introduction to UArctic” session which should be of particular interest to new members and new delegates; a couple of sessions to review and discuss the draft UArctic Strategic Plan 2020; side-meetings for Council Committees and Program Teams, as well as for North2north coordinators and partners (these meetings are by invitation only); and a members Networking session.

To complete registration, access the UAF’s website. The information on the meeting venue, accommodation, travel arrangements and ideas for the things to do in interior Alaska are all available here.

Fairbanks serves as the hub city for Alaska’s interior and a gateway to Arctic Alaska. Home to approximately 100,000 residents, Fairbanks has a diverse economy that includes mining, military, tourism, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and regional offices for state and federal agencies. The people of Fairbanks are known for their friendliness, self-sufficiency, dedication to community and pride in Alaska.

Please, consult the Council’s website for more information.

Source

University of teh Arctic

April 2, 2013
Illegal trade on increase in Russia

Illegal trade of polar bears products is on the increase in Russia.

Last month, WWF Russia presented study showing that illegal trade in polar bear products had been booming. Skins are for sale at 600,000 rubbles, mostly in Moscow, but internet ads also come from Murmansk.

The environmental group in Moscow has monitored the internet over the last 20 months searching for ads selling or buying polar bear skins. 47 skins for sale have been discovered, some ads offering more than 3 skins, according to the study.

Soviet Union outlawed polar bear hunting in 1957. Most of the skins where put up for illegal sale in Moscow, but WWF has also found skins for sale in Murmansk, St. Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, Kirov, Izhevsk, Dnepropetrovsk and Irkutsk.

The study says the average price for a polar bear skin is 600,000 rubbles (€14,940), sharply up compared with black-market prices ten years ago.

There are between 5,000 and 7,000 polar bears in Russia. Those in the Barents Region are partly migrating between the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and the Russian islands of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya.

Source

Barents Observer

March 27, 2013