Oceans and coasts of the Arctic

Safeguarding arctic oceans and coasts

Few parts of the arctic marine environment are protected. Oil and gas development, and the ever-increasing pressure on fish stocks, are two of the biggest threats to arctic marine ecosystems.

Another newer threat is the increase in ship container traffic in arctic seas.

As Russia looks to develop cities such as Murmansk as major oil terminals to ship crude eastwards to the US, the risk of oil spills, and the current inadequate facilities to deal with spills, are becoming serious threats. Climate change too is also taking its toll on arctic seas.

Conserve the environment first, ahead of development

WWF believes that future major industrial development in arctic seas should only proceed within the framework of ecosystem-based management. Central to WWF's approach is the Conservation First principle.

A representative network of key marine areas should be reserved before further development, safeguarding key habitats and culturally significant harvesting areas. Planning in advance of new and large-scale developments allows for long-term planning, control of cumulative impacts, minimising of conflicts between different activities, and predictability for all stakeholders.

Other prioritised areas of work include the establishment of PSSAs (particularly sensitive sea areas) to protect vulnerable areas from shipping activities, the establishment of no-go areas to protect vulnerable nature from petroleum development and to improve fisheries management regimes.