ARCTIC SCIENCE MINISTERIAL (ASM3)

ARCTIC SCIENCE MINISTERIAL (ASM3)

Subject : International Relations

Context : India is participating in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3) – the global platform for discussing research and cooperation in the Arctic region (8-9 May, 2021).

Concept :

• The first two meetings—ASM1 and ASM2—were held in the USA in 2016 and Germany in 2018, respectively.
• ASM3, jointly organised by Iceland and Japan, is the first Ministerial meeting being held in Asia.
• The meeting is designed to provide opportunities to various stakeholders to enhance collective understanding of the Arctic region, emphasize and engage in constant monitoring, and strengthen observations.
• The theme for this year is ‘Knowledge for a Sustainable Arctic’.

India and Arctic

• India’s engagement with the Arctic dates back to 1920 with the signing of the Svalbard Treaty in Paris. Since July 2008, India has a permanent research station in the Arctic called Himadari at NyAlesund, Svalbard Area in Norway.
• Since 2013, India enjoys ‘Observer’ status in the Arctic Council with twelve other countries (Japan, China, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, Singapore, and South Korea).
• It has also deployed a multi-sensor moored observatory called IndARC in the Kongsfjorden fjord since July 2014.
• The research in the Arctic region from India is coordinated, conducted, and promoted by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
• The launch of NISER (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite mission by India, in collaboration with the USA, is underway. NISER aims to conduct global measurements of the cause and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.
• India’s contributions to the Sustained Arctic Observational Network (SAON) would continue.