Arctic Science Ministerial – INSIGHTSIAS

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Topics Covered: Important international institutions.

Arctic Science Ministerial:

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Context:

Information regarding India’s participation in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3) was recently given in Parliament by the Government.

  • It was jointly organised by Iceland and Japan and is the first Ministerial meeting held in Asia.

 

The theme for this year is ‘Knowledge for a Sustainable Arctic’.

Background:

  • The first two meetings—ASM1 and ASM2—were held in the USA in 2016 and Germany in 2018, respectively.
  • The meetings are designed to provide opportunities to various stakeholders to enhance collective understanding of the Arctic region, emphasize and engage in constant monitoring, and strengthen observations.

 

Need for international collaboration and cooperation in maintaining the Arctic region:

Arctic warming and its ice melt are global concerns as they play a pivotal role in regulating climate, sea levels, and maintaining biodiversity. Moreover, there is growing evidence of connection between the Arctic and the Indian Ocean (which modulates the Indian monsoon).

Hence, improving the understanding of physical processes and quantifying the impact of Arctic ice melt on the Indian summer monsoon is very important.

 

India and the Arctic:

  • India’s engagement with the Arctic dates back to 1920 with the signing of the Svalbard Treaty in Paris.
  • Since July 2008, India has had a permanent research station in the Arctic called Himadri at NyAlesund, Svalbard Area in Norway.
  • It has also deployed a multi-sensor moored observatory called IndARC in the Kongsfjorden fjord since July 2014.

 

India’s contributions further in Arctic:

  • The country would deploy open ocean mooring in the Arctic for long-term monitoring of upper ocean variables and marine meteorological parameters.
  • The launch of NISER (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite mission, in collaboration with the USA, is underway. NISER aims to conduct global measurements of the cause and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.
  • India’s contributions to the Sustained Arctic Observational Network (SAON) are continuing.

 

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. About ASM- objectives and meetings.
  2. About SAON.
  3. What is NISER?
  4. About the Arctic Council.
  5. About NCPOR.
  6. What is IndARC?
  7. About India’s permanent research station in the Arctic.

Mains Link:

Discuss the strategic significance of Arctic region.

Sources: PIB.

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