Building A Treaty-based Comprehensive Environmental Governance Regime For The Arctic

The ongoing sea ice melting and the resulting increase of human activities in the Arctic region are causing environmental issues in the region, which manifest themselves globally as well as regionally. This has given rise to serious ethical and policy concerns, and has stimulated large-scale research accompanied by recommendations for legal arrangements to preserve the Arctic environment. However, no consensus has emerged as to whether to proceed to devise an all-encompassing environmental treaty arrangement specifically for the Arctic region.Following a detailed examination of views on both sides of the intellectual divide, this dissertation sides with authors who favor the establishment of such treaty arrangement, but concludes that those who belong to this camp have failed to effectively refute the opposing views. It thus aims to fill this gap by countering the claims of scholars who express reservations about a wide-ranging treaty-based Arctic environmental regime. It pursues this goal by advancing three propositions:1) the treaty is necessary for protecting and preserving the Arctic environment;2) it is possible to conclude such a treaty despite of the apparent lack of motivation displayed by the major Arctic states; and3) a carefully designed treaty system may prove to be an effective vehicle to confront the environmental problems facing the region.