Ávarp umhverfisráðherra á ráðstefnu Evrópuþingsins

Address by Jónína Bjartmars Minister for the Environment
Parliamentary Conference on the Northern Dimension

Ladies and gentlemen – distinguished guests,

Let me start by expressing my thanks to you for inviting me to this Parliamentary Conference on the Northern Dimension. Traditionally each nation’s foreign policy is to a large extent governed by its geographical location. However, in modern age other factors also shape this policy, in particular including environmental issues, which cannot be addressed satisfactorily except through international cooperation.

ICELAND

Iceland’s geographical location is without question an important driver of its prosperity today. It explains the main reason for Iceland´s high priority on international cooperation on issues related to the Law of the Sea, utilisation of marine resources and environmental conservation.

Sustainable utilisation of marine resources and conservation of the clean marine environment is one of the cornerstones of Iceland’s environmental policy. We feel that we have set good examples and acted responsibly in the mangement of our marine resources.

Unfortunately this is not the case everywhere. Overfishing and overexploitation of fishing grounds are practised in many parts of the world and the marine environment is threatened by pollution mainly from human activities.

Healthy seas sustain the productivity of the ocean and diminish the effects of global warming. The ocean is a very important source of food for many countries and sustainable use of the oceans’s resources forms the base of the economic welfare of many nations.

The major threats to the health, productivity and biodiversity of the marine environment result from human activities on land. Over 80% of the pollution load in the oceans originates from land-based activities.

Therefore the Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the protection of the marine environment from land-based activities is of great importance to the protection of the world oceans. Apart from having implemented various measures of the Global Programme of Action in Iceland we also support Russia in developing their national programme of action to meet the requirements of Global Programme of Action ean international project supported by the Global Environment Facility.

Northern Dimension

In my view the Northern Dimension provides a good common framework for the promotion of policy dialogue and for concrete actions and cooperation in the Northern part of Europe. Therefore Iceland is strongly committed to the work aims of the Northern Dimension.

The Northern Dimension is a common undertaking of all its parties and its success depends on the active participation of all actors involved, whether at the national, regional or local level, among the business community, or among civil society in general.

In our view important work was undertaken last year to modernise and strengthen the Northern Dimension policy tool.

I am pleased that Iceland is among the member countries of the Northern Dimension and thereby has the opportunity to take part in the design of strategies for the Northern Dimension beyond 2006.

Although Iceland is not a part of the European Union we have so much in common with the Northern European countries and active participation in the Northern Dimension and the development of its policies is exceedingly important to us.

The vast environmental problems in the region are well known, including also such specific factors as the particularly severe impact of climate change in the high north, and the negative consequences of pollution in the fragile marine ecosystem of the Arctic.

It is beyond the capacity of any country or organization to tackle these transboundary problems single-handed. The strength of the Northern Dimension lies in the combined impact of the activities of all partners, including member states of the Northern Dimension, international financial institutions, regional bodies and the private sector.

Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP)

From Iceland’s perspective the Environmental Partnership (NDEP) is by far the largest and most important achievement of the Northern Dimension.

The Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership is an innovative cooperative effort to tackle some of the most pressing environmental problems in most northen part of Europe.

Through its pipeline of projects in water, wastewater, solid waste, energy efficiency and nuclear waste management, the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership is helping to deliver real benefits to the environment for the whole area.

We therefore consider it crucial to continue and strengthen this partnership further.

NEFCO

The Nordic Environmental Finance Corporation (NEFCO) is a risk capital institution financing environmental projects in Central and Eastern Europe. NEFCO was established in 1990 by the Ministers for the Environment in the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). Its purpose is to facilitate the implementation of environmentally beneficial projects in the neighbouring region, with transboundary effects which also benefit the Nordic region.

In 1995 the Nordic Ministers for the Environment established another fund, the Nordic Environmental Development fund. Through this fund NEFCO is endeavouring to support the realization of project in the Northen Region, that otherwise would not materialize.

The Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership is supported by NEFCO, and we aim to continue that support.

Nordic Council of Ministers

In my role as a minister for Nordic cooperation I would also like to mention the activities of the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) as an implenting partner to the Northern Dimension.

Through the years the Nordic Council of Ministers has acquired valuable experience from its activities in Northwest Russia and the three Baltic countries, and gives high priority to its co-operation with Russia.

This co-operation is increasing and actually Nordic Council of Ministers is one of the main contributors to the development of the Northern Dimension co-operation and has, on its own initiative, gone so far as to make the Northern Dimension objectives part of its own policy objectives.

The Nordic Council of Ministers has thus assumed a new and more substantial role than acting as an implementing partner of the Northern Dimension.

Arctic Cooperation

Bearing in mind that the aim of the Northern Dimension Policy is to support the existing multilateral co-operation, we should continue to strengthen the Arctic Council and we should also maintain and even strengthen the Arctic Window of the Northern Dimension.

It is vital to strengthen co-operation on further research on climate change in the northern regions.

Intensified research on various factors related to climate change in the Arctic is indeed a major theme of the International Polar Year (IPY), which will be launched on March 1 this year.

The International Polar Year will bring a strong international focus on the Polar Regions with an increase in scientific monitoring and research activities. As a result, we can look forward to better scientific information on which to base implementation of the Northern Dimension Policy in the future.

An large increase in maritime transport is expected in the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic in connection with utilitzation of natural resources in the Arctic region, in particular oil and gas. The main shipping routes for oil and gas tankers lie just off the coasts of Iceland, Norway and Greenland. Accidents on these routes will have direct consequences for the local ecosystem and fishing grounds. It is important to strengthen co-operation and consultation on maritime safety and contingencies by North Atlantic countries to respond to such incidents.

Conclusion

It is vital to strengthen co-operation and specialisation among all stakeholders in our northern region in order to apply their energies as efficiently as possible, avoid replication of tasks and achieve maximum synergies.

A conference like this one, a strengthened dialog and cooperation between regional bodies and other stakeholders and The Northern Dimension Information system are a very good way of sharing information between different partners, who are developing projects in the region. We should make full use of these tools to maximize synergies and avoid duplication.