United States leadership in the Arctic Ocean
Op-ed by three renowned ocean experts on the opportunity for international cooperation posed by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The News and Observer – Paul Arthur Berkman, Kenneth S. Yalowitz and Oran R. Young
“The United States has vital interests in the Arctic Ocean, given Alaska’s location and the impact of climate change in the far north on the world’s environment, natural resources, population and security. The United States needs to assert leadership now to promote ecologically sound, productive and peaceful management of the Arctic Ocean. U.S. ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the urgent first step in this regard but it should be accompanied by an initiative to make the central Arctic Ocean a peaceful preserve for all humankind.”
Paul Arthur Berkman is head of the Arctic Ocean Geopolitics Programme at Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge. Kenneth S. Yalowitz is director of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, Dartmouth College. Oran R. Young is professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara.
