Environmentally responsible economic activities vital for well-being in the Arctic

By Erkki Tuomioja. Photo: Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

The cooperation in the Barents region is an important part of the wider arctic cooperation. Its strength lies in its practical nature and its regional and local dimension.

The Government of Finland adopted in August 2013 a new Arctic Strategy, which is broader than the previous one from 2010. The new strategy examines the possibilities for bolstering Finland’s position regarding the Arctic region; the creation of new business opportunities; the Arctic environment and the region’s security and stability; the position of the northern parts of Finland; international cooperation; and the Finnish Arctic expertise.

The Finnish Chairmanship of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, which has just begun, aims to promote dynamic, inclusive and sustainable development of the Barents region. Close cooperation with other regional structures and actors is one of the leading principles of the Finnish chairmanship and it is supported by our parallel presidency in the Council of the Baltic Sea States.

The future of the Barents economy looks in general promising. Also international and regional tourism in the Barents region is growing. Finland will pay special attention to economic and business cooperation, especially to sustainable mining and promotion of the use of clean technology.

In the coming years, investments in the Barents region are being made in different sectors: energy, mining, transport and logistics, shipbuilding and offshore infrastructure. At the same time environmental issues are becoming more and more important in the world’s northernmost regions where the environment is also particularly vulnerable. This means that more attention needs to be paid to waste management, energy efficiency, energy saving, water management, waste water purification and low emissions. The Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership projects are a concrete example of regional cooperation in this field.

It is vital for the well-being of the people living in this region and of the surrounding nature that all economic activities in the sensitive arctic and subarctic regions take place in an environmentally responsible way. Also the effects of climate change need serious attention. This is a precondition for development of the tourism industry and the continuation of traditional livelihoods.

The economic development requires functioning transport networks. Finland will continue work on the joint Barents Transport Plan. Our objective is a common vision among the Barents countries regarding the development needs of the transport network in the region. The Northern Dimension Partnership on Transport and Logistics and its support fund which is hosted by the Nordic Investment Bank can help to implement concrete regional and cross-border transport projects in the Barents region.

Enhancing people-to-people contacts and cooperation with civil society across the Barents region is one of the biggest achievements of Barents cooperation. Cooperation in the field of culture, youth, education and health has an important role in exchanging knowledge, experiences and best practices and in learning to know each other better. The indigenous peoples are an integral part of Barents cooperation and their participation in the activities of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council is of utmost importance.

The Barents cooperation is today as important as it was 20 years ago when it was established. Together we can create a Barents region, which is a good place for its inhabitants to live and work and an attractive region for investors and visitors.