INDIA
AND ARCTIC – INTERNATIONAL
News:
Explained | The warming
of Arctic Ocean and its impact on India
What's
in the news?
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The warming is more concentrated in the
Eurasian part of the Arctic, where the Barents Sea north of Russia and Norway
is warming at an alarming rate — seven times faster than the global average.
India’s
Arctic Policy
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India’s Arctic Policy aims to enhance the
country’s cooperation with the resource-rich and rapidly transforming Arctic
region.
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The policy also seeks to combat climate
change and protect the environment in the region, which is warming three times
faster than the rest of the world.
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It was released by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Six Central Pillars of the Arctic Policy:
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Science and research
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Environmental protection
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Economic and human development
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Transportation and connectivity
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Governance and international cooperation
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National capacity building
Objectives
of Arctic Policy:
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To strengthen national capabilities and
competencies in science and exploration, climate and environmental protection,
maritime and economic cooperation with the Arctic region.
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To strengthen institutional and human
resource capacities within the government and academic, research and business
institutions through inter-ministerial coordination in pursuit of India’s
interests in the Arctic.
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To enhance understanding of the impact of
climate change in the Arctic region on India’s climate, economic, and energy
security.
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To promote better analysis, prediction,
and coordinated policymaking on the implications of ice melting in the Arctic
on India’s economic, military and strategic interests related to global
shipping routes, energy security, and exploitation of mineral wealth.
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To study the linkages between polar
regions and the Himalayas and deepen the cooperation between India and the
countries of the Arctic region under various Arctic forums, drawing expertise
from scientific and traditional knowledge.
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To increase India’s participation in the
Arctic Council and improve understanding of the complex governance structures
in the Arctic, relevant international laws, and geopolitics of the region.
India’s
engagement in the Arctic:
1. India’s engagement
with the Arctic began when it signed the Svalbard Treaty in February 1920 in
Paris between Norway, the US, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands,
Great Britain, and Ireland, and the British overseas Dominions and Sweden
concerning Spitsbergen.
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Ever since then, India has been closely
monitoring all the developments in the Arctic region.
2. India initiated its
Arctic research program in 2007 with a focus on climate change in the region.
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The objectives included studying
teleconnections between Arctic climate and Indian monsoon, to characterize sea
ice in the Arctic using satellite data, to estimate the effect on global
warming.
3. India already has a
research station in the Arctic, Himadri, for the research work.
Significance
of Arctic Study for India:
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Though none of India’s territory directly
falls in the Arctic region, it is a crucial area as the Arctic influences
atmospheric, oceanographic and biogeochemical cycles of the earth’s ecosystem.
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Due to climate change, the region faces
the loss of sea ice, ice caps, and warming of the ocean which in turn impacts
the global climate.
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The frigid Arctic, which keeps losing ice
due to global warming, is one of the batteries feeding the variations in Indian
monsoons.