UNEP calls for effective steps to protect Arctic environment
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E-mail Xinhua, February 20, 2013
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A reduction in Arctic summer ice cover has become more intense in recent years. [File photo] |
The melting of sea ice and the resulting rush for resources require effective measures to avoid damage in the Arctic, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said here Tuesday, citing the UN Environment Program (UNEP) Yearbook for this year.
"A reduction in Arctic summer ice cover has become more intense in recent years, culminating in a record low last year," Nesirky said at a daily news briefing here. "The Yearbook also highlights risks from chemicals and the recent spike in illegal wildlife trade."
The reduction in Arctic summer ice cover registered a record low of 3.4 million square kilometers in 2012 -- 18 percent below the previous recorded minimum in 2007 and 50 percent below the average in the 1980s and 1990s, stated the UNEP, which added that land ice is also retreating and permafrost is melting.
The agency's "Year Book 2013" said that the retreating ice brings easier access to natural resources such as gas and oil, thus prompting increased human activity that may threaten the already fragile ecosystems and wildlife.
"Changing environmental conditions in the Arctic -- often considered a bellwether for global climate change -- have been an issue of concern for some time, but as of yet this awareness has not translated into urgent action," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a news release.
As ice and snow recede, making access and transport easier, the Arctic is expected to play a greatly expanded role in world energy and minerals supplies, the UN agency said.
The United States Geological Survey estimates that 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas is in the Arctic, largely on the continental shelves beneath the Arctic Ocean. More than 70 percent of the undiscovered oil resources in the Arctic are estimated to be held in northern Alaska, the Amerasian Basin, the eastern side of Greenland and other areas.
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