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The BBNJ Agreement - The cure against marine biodiversity loss?

Dr Nikolas Sellheim Director, Sellheim Environmental Fellow, Polar Research and Policy Initiative Introduction 4 March 2023 allegedly marked a turning point in human history: for during the late of the night of that historic Saturday, the United Nations finally agreed on a text for

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: What's Historic?

Photo: 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference, 9 December 2022. © UN Biodiversity Dr Nikolas Sellheim Director, Sellheim Environmental Fellow, Polar Research and Policy Initiative Introduction With the conclusion of the 15th Conference of the Parties (CoP15) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 19 December

The Stereotype is Dead? No! - A Review of Avatar: The Way of Water

Image © Disney. The stereotype is dead? No. Long live the stereotype indeed. Dr Nikolas Sellheim reviews Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). Dr Nikolas Sellheim Director, Sellheim Environmental Fellow, Polar Research and Policy Initiative Attention! Many spoilers included. In 2009, director James Cameron released a

The Sidelining of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in CITES Media Coverage

Photo: Ng Swan Ti / Oxfam. Dr Nikolas Sellheim Director, Sellheim Environmental Fellow, Polar Research and Policy Initiative The fall and winter of 2022 hosted five of the most relevant and prominent international meetings for the protection of biodiversity and the climate: The 68th

Arctic Media Hotline and Observatory

Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI) launches Arctic Media Hotline and Observatory to improve Arctic media coverage Project Lead: Dr Dwayne Ryan Menezes Project Coordinator: Mikhail Radkevitch Since its inception, Polar Research and Policy Initiative (PRPI) has been committed to promoting greater understanding of

The "Natural Disaster" Misnomer: How are Disasters defined?

Disaster descriptions do not capture many mental health and well-being impacts. Prof Ilan Kelman Professor of Disasters and Health, University College London, UK Professor II, University of Agder, Norway KEY POINTS “Natural disaster”, “black swan” and “disaster event” are misnomers. These phrases represent neither

Are We Psychologically Ready for Power Outages?

The squirrel factor. Prof Ilan Kelman Professor of Disasters and Health, University College London, UK Professor II, University of Agder, Norway KEY POINTS Squirrels and many other factors lead to power failures. The physical robustness of the electricity system has limits, so we need

Do Disasters Kill More Women Than Men?

Disaster death rates may result from societal roles. Prof Ilan Kelman Professor of Disasters and Health, University College London, UK Professor II, University of Agder, Norway An often-repeated myth is that disasters are inevitably more lethal for women and girls than for men and

Will $100 Billion Per Year Tackle Climate Change?

We spend much more creating climate change and other problems. Prof Ilan Kelman Professor of Disasters and Health, University College London, UK Professor II, University of Agder, Norway KEY POINTS Poorer countries are promised $100 billion per year to tackle climate change. This value

Will Climate Change Increase Suicide Rates?

Our new research finds mixed links between heat–humidity and suicide rates. Prof Ilan Kelman Professor of Disasters and Health, University College London, UK Professor II, University of Agder, Norway KEY POINTS This study is one of the first to consider relative humidity and suicide,

Does Climate Change Cause Wildfire Disasters?

Climate change worsens some fires, but we make choices creating fire disasters. Prof Ilan Kelman Professor of Disasters and Health, University College London, UK Professor II, University of Agder, Norway The horror of 2020’s wildfires is captured by hashtags: #AustraliaIsBurning and #CaliforniaBurning, among others.

Cold Cuts: Home-Grown Arctic Food

Image by Ilan Kelman. Prof Ilan Kelman Professor of Disasters and Health, University College London, UK Professor II, University of Agder, Norway Could greenhouses grow food in the Arctic, especially during the long winters? Iceland certainly tries—or so states the myth about growing (or

Case Comment: Supreme Court rules Scottish Parliament can't hold IndyRef2 unilaterally

Image: The Lord Advocate, the Rt Hon Dorothy Bain KC, discusses the case before five judges of the UK Supreme Court. Prof Rachael Lorna Johnstone Professor of Law University of Akureyri (Iceland) and Ilisimatusarfik (University of Greenland) Case comment: Reference by the Lord Advocate

Poland in the Arctic: Interview with Ambassador Andrzej Misztal

Alisa Musanovic Today, I'm with Ambassador Andrzej Misztal, who is Poland's Arctic Ambassador. Could you start off by telling us about yourself and your career in government so far? Well, so far, it has been almost 30 years. During my career, I

One Arctic or Two? Polar Geopolitics in the Wake of the Ukraine Conflict

Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, and Sergei Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, speak at the 12th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, in May 2021. © Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs/Gunnar Vigfússon Prof Timo Koivurova Research Professor Arctic Centre, University

The Estonian Polar Club: Interview with Katrin Savomägi

Alisa Musanovic Today I'm with Katrin Savomägi, who is the Managing Director of the Estonian Polar Club. Could you start off by telling us a bit about yourself and your career, particularly anything that sparked an interest in polar affairs? Thank you

Czech-in the Arctic: Interview with Jan Dusik

Alisa Musanovic I'm with Jan Dusík, who is currently the Interim Director of the Arctic Programme at the Worldwide Fund for Nature. He has worked in the UN Environment Programme and is also a former Czech politician in the Ministry of

Latvia in the Arctic: Interview with State Secretary Andris Pelšs

Alisa Musanovic Today’s interview is with Andris Pelšs, who is the Secretary of State of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your career in government so far? I have been the Secretary of

Estonia in the Arctic: Interview with Ambassador Märt Volmer

Alisa Musanovic Today, I'm with Märt Volmer, who is the Undersecretary for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Estonia. He is in charge of the interinstitutional working group working on the Arctic Council Observer application for Estonia. Welcome,

Latvia's Arctic Connections: Interview with Mārtiņš Vargulis

Alisa Musanovic Today’s interview is with Mārtiņš Vargulis, a researcher at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs and lecturer at Riga Stradiņš University, who has also served as the Head of the Defence Policy and Strategy Section, as well as diplomat, at the Permanent

Cold Climate Research in Poland: Interview with Dr Mateusz Strzelecki, University of Wrocław

University of Wroclaw Collection Alisa Musanovic Today I'm with Dr Mateusz C. Strzelecki, a researcher at the University of Wrocław, who recently helped establish the new Alfred Jahn Cold Region Research Centre in Wrocław, Poland. Could you tell us more about yourself

Estonia and the Arctic: Interview with Prof Rein Vaikmäe

Alisa Musanovic Today I’d like to welcome Prof Rein Vaikmäe, Professor Emeritus at Tallinn University of Technology, Chairman of the Estonian Polar Research Committee and Counsellor to the President at the Estonian Academy of Sciences, and Estonia's representative on the European

Poland's Polar Policy: Interview with Dr Michał Łuszczuk

Alisa Musanovic Today I'm with Michał Łuszczuk, who is a Member of the National Committee on Polar Research at the Polish Academy of Sciences. Until recently, he was a Polish delegate at the International Arctic Science Committee. Could you tell us

Finno-Ugric Connections: Interview with Sven-Erik Soosaar

Alisa Musanovic Today’s interview is with Sven-Erik Soosaar, a member of the Board of the Estonian NGO, Fenno-Ugria. He is also a member of the UN Permanent Forum of Indigenous Issues. Tell us about yourself and your career so far, particularly

Czech-Arctic Connections: Interview with Amb. Zdeněk Lyčka

Photo by Hasse Ferrold. Alisa Musanovic I'm with Zdeněk Lyčka, who is the co-ordinator of the annual Czech Arctic Festival. He's a former Czech Ambassador to Denmark, the recent co-author of a book on Czech-Alaskan relations and also a polar explorer. Could

The World Needs the Arctic Council Now More Than Ever

Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland, on May 7, 2019. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain] Barry Scott Zellen, PhD Six weeks ago, on 3 March 2022, seven of the eight Arctic Council (AC) member states – called herein

Third Pole’s View on the North Pole - India’s Arctic Policy

Kanagavalli Suryanarayanan The Arctic Policy of India, titled ‘India’s Arctic Policy: Building a Partnership for Sustainable Development’, has been published recently by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India, and has drawn considerable global attention. India’s draft policy was

Ukraine Stands Alone Calling for Sanctioning of Russia During IMO Extraordinary Council Meeting

Image: The headquarters of the International Maritime Organization, Albert Embankment, London © Lord Harris Igor Putinovich Following two days of positioning and posturing by the world's maritime community during an Extraordinary Council meeting, Ukraine was left isolated in its calls for the

Prof Akiho Shibata: How can the Antarctic Treaty System respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

Prof Akiho Shibata Professor of International Law and Director, Polar Cooperation Research Centre (PCRC) Kobe University (Japan) Prof Akiho Shibata responds to an article by Dr Alan Hemmings published on The Polar Connection on 18 March 2022: Does the Antarctic Treaty System have

Does the Antarctic Treaty System have a moral duty to respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Dr Alan Hemmings Adjunct Professor, Gateway Antarctica Centre for Antarctic Studies and Research University of Canterbury (New Zealand) Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, facilitated in part by Belarus, presents an offence against many norms of international relations. Most obviously, it is a breach of

The BBNJ Agreement – The cure against marine biodiversity loss?

Dr Nikolas Sellheim Director, Sellheim Environmental Fellow, Polar Research and Policy Initiative Introduction 4 March 2023 allegedly marked a turning

The BBNJ Agreement – The cure against marine biodiversity loss?

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: What’s Historic?

The Stereotype is Dead? No! – A Review of Avatar: The Way of Water

The Sidelining of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in CITES Media Coverage

Are We Psychologically Ready for Power Outages?

Will $100 Billion Per Year Tackle Climate Change?

Will Climate Change Increase Suicide Rates?

Do Disasters Kill More Women Than Men?

Does Climate Change Cause Wildfire Disasters?

The “Natural Disaster” Misnomer: How are Disasters defined?

Cold Cuts: Home-Grown Arctic Food

Case Comment: Supreme Court rules Scottish Parliament can’t hold IndyRef2 unilaterally

Arctic Media Hotline and Observatory

Poland in the Arctic: Interview with Ambassador Andrzej Misztal

Latvia’s Arctic Connections: Interview with Mārtiņš Vargulis

The Estonian Polar Club: Interview with Katrin Savomägi

Czech-in the Arctic: Interview with Jan Dusik

Estonia in the Arctic: Interview with Ambassador Märt Volmer

One Arctic or Two? Polar Geopolitics in the Wake of the Ukraine Conflict

Latvia in the Arctic: Interview with State Secretary Andris Pelšs

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