Polar Law Symposium Starts up in Iceland. AFP, September 8, 2008. "Some 40 legal experts from around the world gathered in Iceland on Sunday for a three-day conference aimed at staking out a new legal framework for the fragile and changing polar regions. 'A new coordinated international set of rules to govern commercial and research activities in both of the Earth's polar regions is urgently needed to reflect new environmental realities and to temper pressure building in these highly fragile ecosystems,' organisers said... The Polar Law Symposium is being hosted by the United Nations University and the University of Akureyri in northern Iceland, the venue of the event, and features a wide range of legal experts in fields related to new challenges arising in the Arctic and Antarctic... 'With the area being more accessible, there's more activity and thereby more risk of some form of accident... even a new oil spill along the lines of Exxon Valdez,' symposium chairman David Leary of the UN University [said]. Tatiana Saksina of the World Wildlife Fund's International Arctic Programme agreed. 'Arctic sea routes are among the world's most hazardous due to lack of natural light, extreme cold, moving ice floes, high wind and low visibility, and the Arctic marine environment is particularly susceptible to the effects of pollution,' she cautioned... 'Yet there are no internationally binding rules to regulate operational pollution from offshore installations. Strict standards for the transportation of Arctic oil are also urgently needed,' she said... The symposium will wrap up on Tuesday."
2008-09-08
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