The opening of the northern sea route during summer is likely to emerge as a major shipping lane in future with the possibility of finding vast amount of hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic circle. The Arctic region is also of special significance to the Indian sub continent as several studies indicate a link between polar atmosphere processes and the Indian monsoon intensity Indian station Himadri acts as a research base in the region and from the initial days of its engagement with Arctic, Norway has been at the forefront in collaborating with the Indian scientists on variety of scientific activities. India is looking for such long term collaboration in research activities with other participating countries.

India has taken measures in a big way in stepping up its exploratory and research activities in the Arctic Region and its scientists and engineers have done a great job in collecting data which are of crucial importance in assessing the potential of energy resources in the Arctic region. Indian experts believe that Arctic is going to be an important hub for sources of energy and it could be a passage which shortens transit lines for shipping. Apart, the region contains many areas for scientific investigation in which India has deep interests.

India has presently the Observer status at the eight-member Arctic Council which is now chaired by the USA. China also got the observer status along with India at the meeting of the Arctic Council in May 2013 when six new countries were granted observer status. Other countries include Italy, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The eight member countries are USA, Russia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland.USA assumed the two year rotating chairmanship of the Council on April 24, 2015 and during this period, the US chairman focused on a number of issues including climate change. The US will hand over the chairmanship to Finland in middle of this year at the meeting of the Arctic Council in Alaska.

India has taken note of the US initiatives till now in the activities of the Arctic Council. The three thematic areas of US chairmanship till now have been improving economic and living conditions, Arctic Ocean’s safety and addressing the impact of climate change. India is assessing the impact of the coming of the Trump administration on January 20 this year on the activities of the Arctic Council and the US operations. The Obama administration appointed Admiral Robert Papp Jr. as the US special representative for Arctic and he did a lot for climate change actions as a part of Obama govt’s programme. Now with Trump having differing perception on climate change programme, it will have impact in the coming days and there are reasons to believe that there will be change in Arctic strategy of the US administration in Trump era. China and other nations are equally monitoring the developments to find out what shape the Arctic Policy will take after trump takes over.

According to the Arctic report card 2012, observations of the Arctic marine ecosystem provide further evidence of linkages between sea ice conditions and primary productivity, with impacts on the abundance and composition of phytoplankton communities. For instance, new satellite remote sensing observations show the near ubiquity of ice-edge blooms throughout the Arctic and the importance of seasonal sea ice variability in regulating primary production. These results suggest that previous estimates of annual primary production in waters where these under-ice blooms develop may be about ten times too low. At a higher trophic level, seabird phenology, diet, physiology, foraging behavior and survival rates have changed in response to higher water temperatures, which affect prey species.

Changes in the terrestrial ecosystem are exemplified by vegetation and mammals. The tundra continues to become more green and in some locations above-ground plant biomass has increased by as much as 26% since 1982. The length of the growing season increased throughout much of the Arctic, e.g., by ~30 days in Eurasia, between 2000 and 2010. There is evidence that the lemming population cycle is decaying, i.e., the time between population peaks is increasing, and the amplitude of the cycle is collapsing to relatively low population densities.

One species most directly affected by lemming population dynamics is the Arctic fox, which depends on them as a primary food source. In Europe, the Arctic fox population has declined to near extinction due to failure to recover from over-harvesting at the start of the 20th Century and the recent absence of lemming peaks. In contrast, the Arctic fox is abundant in North America. However, in both regions, the larger Red fox has been expanding northward, leading to increased competition with the Arctic fox for resources.

India’s and China’s involvement in the Arctic dates back to 1925, when both countries signed the Svalbard Treaty on governance of the Svalbard archipelago. More recently, both countries have conducted regular scientific expeditions to the region and have established research stations on Svalbard. China already has one icebreaker at its disposal and is planning to build a second ship, while India is waiting for its first vessel to become operational. China is looking to expand its mining operations throughout the Arctic and both countries hold licences to operate onshore and offshore gas and oil fields in the region. Their strong interest in the Arctic is based on the region’s energy and mineral reserves, new shipping routes, and the influence of climate change in the Arctic and its impact on the Asian climate. (IPA Service)