The Arctic can and must be a land of ecology, UN Environment Head Erik Solheim has said at a major forum on the region held in Arkhangelsk, Russia.

The Arctic is a litmus test for climate change as it is the region of the world that heats up the fastest. The habitats of the four million people and numerous species living there are already being disrupted as a result.

At the event, the UN Environment Executive Director spoke during a panel session on the Arctic’s biodiversity, ways of preventing damage to the region caused by economic activity and corporate environmental responsibility.

The Arctic “is one of the most vulnerable and the least protected regions on Earth,” Mr Solheim underlined, with impacts on the region affecting the entire world. For example, smog is Beijing is being made worse because of stagnant winter weather caused by melting in the Arctic, he noted.

Yet change is within our grasp, he added, pointing to the example of the Ross Sea protected area being created for Antarctica thanks to a political commitment by Russia and dozens of countries.

Sessions were also held on cutting-edge technology and the Arctic as a territory of modern energy, among others.

Mr Solheim furthermore met with the advisor to the Russian President on Environment, Ecology and Transport, Sergey Ivanov, and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergey Donskoi on 30 March.

There, he urged Russia to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change, which entered into force on 4 November last year. Together they discussed protecting Russia’s natural heritage in the Arctic and beyond, as well as the work on the transition to a Green Economy – such as on green finance – during the 2017 Russian Year of Ecology.

Finland has made environmental protection the top priority for its chairmanship of the Arctic Council from May 2017.

For more information contact isabelle.valentiny@unep.org