The 5th Polar Law Symposium 2012

(Photo: J-E Kukko) Keynote speech, Thu. 06.09, by Donald R. Rothwell, ANU, with Professor Timo KoivurovaOn September 6-8 the Fifth Polar Law Symposium was held at one of the birthplaces of Arctic cooperation - Rovaniemi. The meeting was hosted by the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre and the University of Lapland.

The keynote speakers did include Charles Emmerson (Chatham House) and Donald Rothwell (Australian National University). There were number of participants to represent the local Finnish authorities and Sami politicians.

This year's theme for the symposium was quite open. It covered a wide variety of topics relating to the Arctic and the Antarctic. On the first day, the discussions and presentations dealt with the international legal matters.

Topics were to include for example the management of the changing Arctic environment and its resources and enhancing the prospects for better environmental and safety management in the Polar Regions.

(Photo: Joonas Vola) Waliul Hasanat, Nafisa Yeasmin and Prof. Gudmundur Alfresson discussing in the Arktikum hallOn day two, the theme was concentrated around geopolitics. The session included the discussion and presentations on such topics as climate change, security and geopolitics in the Polar Regions and new approaches to Arctic governance.

The last day's topic was to include matters of indigenous communities. The panel sessions were focused on indigenous governance in-between international and national law, indigenous rights and policy in the Russian North and legal rights of the Sami and their influence on others.

The 5th Polar Law Symposium occurred as a great contribution to current Arctic politics and policy making process. The 6th Polar Law Symposium will be held in Akureyri, Iceland in September 2013.

Please, access the Arctic Portal Photo Galelry to see more pictures from the 5th Polar Law Symposium.